'Jhootha' is cute, not chichora: Mathira

Host turned singer says she cannot understand why people have an issue with her new music video.

KARACHI: Mathira is one woman who knows how to stay relevant. Forget New Year’s celebrations and the fate of Pervez Musharraf, Mathira just released a music video!

Right after its release, the video, titled Jhootha, went viral and left more than a few eyebrows raised. Mathira, of course, was her usual sultry self, but more shocking was her collaboration with Arbaz Khan, a 12-year-old rapper.

While public reaction to the video has been against Mathira, with some even calling her a child molester, the late-night show host turned singer considers it a result of Pakistan's chronic double standards.

“It’s a nice, lovable and cute video and there is nothing chichora about it,” Mathira told The Express Tribune.  “It’s just different, and I have no idea why people are creating such an issue about it because it’s not controversial at all.”

Mathira may sound shocked by what she likes to call a ‘strange’ response from the public, but the negative response has more to do with her cosying up to a 12-year-old than anything else. One might find the featuring of the young boy as a gimmick to get the attention, but Mathira believes that it’s just cute.

“What if a kid is praising me in a cute fashion?" she asks her critics.“What’s wrong with a young boy coming up to you and saying that you are so beautiful? After all, appreciation does come in many forms."

She shared the concept behind the video, which was about a young fan that accidentally runs into Mathira, and starts praising her in his own way. Arbaz Khan is an upcoming rapper signed up by the same record label as Mathira, Beyond Records.  Mathira believes Arbaz, who wrote all the lyrics himself, is a very talented musician and has done a great job.

“More than promoting new talent, it was an honour for me and Arbaaz to perform alongside one another, and haters will hate no matter what I do” she says.

The memes popping are mainly critical of Mathira’s wardrobe, deeming it to be vulgar.

“This is where the Pakistani double standard comes in,” she scoffs.

“All the people who found Priyanka Chopra sexy in a swimsuit in her new song, found my jumpsuit to be vulgar and bad.”

“Similarly, what’s wrong with a kid being featured in a video along with a girl in a jumpsuit, when every other kid in Pakistan has listened to songs which are ten times more vulgar, such as Candy Shop.”

Mathira strongly believes that people tend to mix culture with entertainment, something that she had to argue about when she started her career as a late night show, and continues to do so with this video.

“We should not mix media and entertainment with culture. Media is flashy, glamorous and fake, so let be like that!"