Category: Entertainment

From ‘Pasoori’ famed Shae Gill to Momina Mustehsan and the ‘Global Mystic Sufi Ambassador’ Abida Parveen, women musicians have garnered immense love from listeners throughout 2022.

Pakistan (Muhammad Yasir)  With the launch of Wrapped 2022, fans are learning more about the most streamed artists, tracks, playlists and genres over the year. The top five most streamed Pakistani women artists of 2022 have also been revealed by Spotify Wrapped. The Pasoori singer and EQUAL Pakistan Ambassador for the month of December, Shae Gill, topped the list followed by Momina Mustehsan, Abida Parveen, Aima Baig and Naseebo Lal completing it.

Spotify through its unique offerings like EQUAL Pakistan has continued to commemorate female musicians in a manner that is fitting to their stature. Now in its tenth month, EQUAL Pakistan has honored Hadiqa Kiani, Nazia Hassan and Momina Mustehsan along with new voices like Arooj Aftab, Mehak Ali, Zoha Zuberi, Eva B, Natasha Noorani, and Shae Gill. Besides magnanimously showcasing EQUAL Pakistan Ambassadors each month on a digital billboard at Times Square, NYC, the campaign amplifies women’s voices to a massive global audience.    

Wrapped Experience:

Starting today, eligible users can also access their personalized 2022 Wrapped experience exclusively in the Spotify mobile app (iOS and Android) on the 2022 Wrapped hub.

To enjoy the Wrapped experience, head over to spotify.com/wrapped.

Top Most Streamed Local Women Artists:

1. Shae Gill
2. Momina Mustehsan
3. Abida Parveen
4. Aima Baig
5. Naseebo Lal

Spotify Wrapped 2022 Is Here: Atif Aslam and Talha Anjum ranked most-streamed Pakistani Artists of the Year.

Pasoori takes the crown for most-streamed song and Atif Aslam sustains his position as the most-streamed Pakistani artist.

Pakistan (Muhammad Yasir)

This year’s Wrapped is both a celebration of a year gone by and an invitation to join in on the fun. Spotify is unveiling its 2022 Wrapped campaign and personalized user experience inspired by just that. At the same time, the world’s most popular audio platform is also unveiling the top artists, songs, and playlists that made up the vibrant kaleidoscope of listeners in Pakistan.

The artists who stole the hearts of Pakistan

Year 2022 has turned out to be the year of Atif Aslam as the most-streamed Pakistani artist who has continued to dominate his fans’ hearts, followed by Talha Anjum who has made it to the top of the lists and remains listeners’ favorite. The local artist list also included Talha Yunus, Young Stunners, and Asim Azhar along with the legendary singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Joining the Top 10 for the first time are Abdul Hannan, Hasan Raheem and Ali Sethi.

Meanwhile, sitting at the helm for most-streamed artists in Pakistan is AP Dhillon this year, followed by Arijit Singh who remains widely popular in the country. Other prominent names among top most-streamed artists include Pritam, Gurinder Gill, Sidhu Moose Wala, The Weeknd and Tanishk Bagchi.

An addition that comes as no surprise to the list, given a dedicated fanbase and the growing love for K-Pop in the country, is BTS. The boy-band that has carved a strong presence for itself amongst the local listeners also made it to the list of most-streamed artists in Pakistan this year.

The Pasoori craze continues

People still can not get enough of Ali Sethi and Shae Gill’s “Pasoori” with the hit becoming the most-streamed song in Pakistan. Earlier this year, “Pasoori” became the first ever Pakistani song that hit the top 3 on Spotify’s Global Viral 50 list, proving its global appeal.

Shae Gill, who is the most-streamed local woman artist and undeniably one of the prominent breakout stars of Pakistan this year, is also being featured as Spotify’s program EQUAL Pakistan’s Ambassador for the month of December.

Other most-streamed songs in Pakistan included “Excuses” by AP Dhillon and Gurinder Gill, and “Bikhra” and “Iraaday” by Fresh Finds Pakistan artist, Abdul Hannan, and Rovalio, taking second, third and fourth spots respectively on the list. “No Love” by Shubh came in fifth.

The rise of the next generation of artists

The year 2022 belonged to some rising stars that not only took over the local music scene but the world by storm. Abdul Hannan, who has been consistently topping the local charts, is a true example of Pakistan’s indie music scene’s tremendous success. His journey on Spotify began with the Fresh Finds Pakistan playlist last year in November. And since then, his followers have increased by 4,600%, and his average daily streams have witnessed a whopping jump of 7,600% over the same period. A year later, his name is shining bright in the top most-streamed local artists list.

Hasan Raheem and Justin Bibis’  “Peechay Hutt”, and Kaifi Khalil’s “Kahani Suno 2.0” and “Kana Yari”, which he sang along with Eva B and Wahab Bugti were part of the cohort that made up the most-streamed local tracks this year.

Wrapped Experience:

Starting today, eligible users can also access their personalized 2022 Wrapped experience exclusively in the Spotify mobile app (iOS and Android) on the 2022 Wrapped hub.

To enjoy the Wrapped experience, head over to spotify.com/wrapped.

To learn more about Spotify Wrapped 2022 results in Pakistan, see below:

Most-Streamed Local Artists in Pakistan:

1. Atif Aslam
2. Talha Anjum
3. Abdul Hannan
4. Young Stunners
5. Talhah Yunus
6. Hasan Raheem
7. Rovalio
8. Asim Azhar
9. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
10. Ali Sethi

Most-Streamed Artists in Pakistan:

1. AP Dhillon
2. Arijit Singh
3. Pritam
4. Gurinder Gill
5. Atif Aslam
6. Sidhu Moose Wala
7. BTS
8. The Weeknd
9. Talha Anjum
10. Tanishk Bagchi

Most-Streamed Pakistani Songs:

1. ‘Pasoori’ by Shae Gill & Ali Sethi
2. ‘Bikhra’ by Abdul Hannan & Rovalio
3. ‘Iraaday’ by Abdul Hannan & Rovalio
4. ‘Peechay Hutt’ by Hasan Raheem, Justin Bibis & Talal Quershi
5. ‘Kana Yaari’ by Kaifi Khalil, Eva B and Wahab Bugti
6. ‘Tu Jhoom’ by Abida Parveen & Naseebo Lal
7. ‘Ik Lamha’ by Azaan Sami Khan
8. ‘Kahani Suno 2.0’ by Kaifi Khalil
9. ‘Phir Milenge’ by Faisal Kapadia & Young Stunners
10. ‘Agency’ by Rap Demon, Talha Anjum and Umair

Most-Streamed Songs in Pakistan:

1. ‘Pasoori’ by Shae Gill & Ali Sethi
2. ‘Excuses’ by AP Dhillon & Gurinder Gill
3. ‘Bikhra’ by Abdul Hannan & Rovalio
4. ‘Iraaday’ by Abdul Hannan & Rovalio
5. ‘No Love’ by Shubh
6. ‘DESIRES’ by AP Dhillon & Gurinder Gill
7. ‘Tu Aake Dekhle’ by King
8. ‘Insane’ by AP Dhillon, Shinda Kahlon & Gurinder Gill
9. ‘295’ by Sidhu Moose Wala
10. ‘Summer High’ by AP Dhillon

Most Popular Spotify Playlists in Pakistan:

1. Desi Hits
2. Hot Hits Pakistan
3. Punjabi 101
4. Bollywood Butter
5. This Is AP Dhillon
6. Today’s Top Hits
7. desi lofi
8. Hip Te Hop
9. Drama OSTs
10. Punjabi X

Lahore (Qasim Ali)

The impressive edifice of PILAC was decorated with beautiful life and its lawn was brimming with cultural performances this Saturday. It was Ajoka Nights, a unique cultural event organized by Ajoka Theatre organized in collaboration with the Punjabi Institute of Language, Art and Culture. The event included short theatrical performances, music and live Qawwali.  The audience were taken to the PILAC Baithak where Ajoka actors presented one person performances and extracts from Ajoka plays. Actors included Usman Zia, Yusra Irfan, Samawia Zaman, Nasir Mehmood, Rai Kamran, Asad Yousaf, Shehrbano Rehmani and Ajoka veteran Sarfraz Ansari, who was appeared on Ajoka stage after many years.

Then the audience shifted to the PILAC lawns where singers Qasim and Umme Laila entertained the audience with their musical talent. The high point of the evening was an amazing performance by Ali Moon khan qawals who rendered a soul- stirring presentation of Sufiana Kalam. The mainly young audience had a great time at an event which they found entertaining and enriching. The audience were treated with a mix of desi and Italian cuisine as well.

Ajoka Director Nirvaan Nadeem appreciated the high quality performances of the artists. He also thanked PILAC Director General Dr. Sughra Sadaf for her support for meaningful cultural activities for youth.  

Pakistan (Nut Desk)

Sevak, The Confessions, web series releases on Vidly.tv: Bold take that revolves around the Hindutva movement in India.

Vidly.tv launch path-breaking content in the form of an original Sevak, The Confessions web series. The first episode is out and can be seen on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huMUC7GiJMM and the full series can be watched on https://sevak.vidly.tv.

Sevak, The Confessions is built on eight stories woven around one crime and based on true events waging between 1984 and 2022. It is a bold depiction of the RSS inspired Hindutva movement in India and the faith-based atrocities. The statement that the series makes is an important one on many levels, especially in raising awareness and voice on the terrorism and human crime taking place by extremist elements in India. It showcases how the power-hungry mislead people towards hate crimes against minorities. It is time that the world starts talking about the human rights violations occurring in India.

The series is based on the life of Deep Singh Sidhu along with events inspired by the stories of Gauri Lankesh, Hemant Karkare, Graham Staines, Junaid Khan, and Surekha Bohtmange and based on the events of the Babri mosque demolition, 2002 Gujarat pogrom among others.

The first episode opens with the accident of Jeet Singh, whose character is based on Deep Singh Sidhu and Vidya, a journalist, witnesses rise in Hindu radicalism, like the demolition of Afreeen Fatimah’s House, while trying to establish her own newspaper. She is contacted by an informant Mannu, who starts narrating a different story of Jeet Singh and his murderer, both born in the year of the 1984 Sikh genocide. Vidya gets suspicious of Mannu’s claims and traces his location but even as she reaches him, they both have to run to save their lives.

This historical action thriller is based on the true story of an assassin. Mannu, leads Vidya on a path to reveal the dark secrets of Jeet’s death. Vidya unwillingly enters the labyrinth of Mannu’s tales encountering many ghosts of his past. The stories shared by Mannu, who unravels the horrors of hate crime, atrocities and genocide. As truth is revealed both of them find themselves in danger for their lives.

Mannu is navigating life with a deep story in his heart and as they encounter Vijay Karkare, Preet Kaur, Arun, Vinayak and Sadhu, the series thrills us with intrigue and mystery entwined in true events that blur the lines between fiction and truth making the series all the more gripping. The multiple dimensions of espionage open with each episode.

The series will entertain us with songs, cajole us with romance and thrill us with action. Every episode will grip us and leave us hungry for more.

A Musician, A Festival Director, An Ethnomusicologist – Natasha Noorani Announced as EQUAL Pakistan Ambassador for November.

 From managing Pakistan’s biggest band, Strings, to being nominated as the EQUAL Pakistan Ambassador for the month, Natasha Noorani has come a long way.

Pakistan (Muhammad Yasir) A woman adorning many hats but most recently creating waves in the ocean of Pakistani music, Natasha Noorani has been introduced as EQUAL Pakistan’s Ambassador for the month of November. Like all ambassadors before her, Natasha was featured on a digital billboard at Times Square, NYC with her track ‘Laiyan’ also being featured on Spotify to celebrate the occasion.

Natasha Noorani is another musical sensation rapidly rising through the realms of popularity within Pakistan’s musical ecosystem. Before her musical career took off, Natasha laid the founding stone for the premier of Lahore Music Meet which has successfully completed 5 iterations so far. Her solo EP, Munaasib is inspired by R&B, neo-soul and prog-rock while at the same time, soundtracks recorded by her have made it to films like Baaji and Chalay Thay Saath.

“It’s an immense honour for me to be Spotify’s EQUAL Ambassador for Pakistan. It feels like a beautiful celebration of my journey as a musician up till now and I am so excited to showcase more of my music to a larger audience. Spotify is putting in the work to create space, especially digital, that supports more female creators in Pakistan and I’m thrilled to be a part of it,” Natasha commented reflecting on her excitement on becoming a part of EQUAL Pakistan’s roster of ambassadors.

A part of the band, Biryani Brothers, and having collaborated with the likes of Strings, Abdullah Siddiqui, Hasan Raheem, Talal Qureshi and Jamal Rehman, Natasha has garnered a significant following for herself.

Listen to Natasha Noorani’s tracks on Spotify here.

 

Pakistan (Muhammad Yasir)

Vidly.tv released the song “Mahi Mahi” from Sevak: The Confessions, in melodious voice of Shafqat Amanat Ali. The song encapsulates the beauty of the passionate and colourful romance of Punjabi culture. Punjab is home to many inspiring romances of pure love, that touches the soul.

Naveed Nashad has done a brilliant job in bringing the concept to life with his composition and Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan’s voice simply added magic to the song. It’s an ode to romance and will surely make you fall in love! The song is true to the genius of Shafqat Amanat Ali and Naveed Nashad. There is no doubt that this catchy song will be a hit.

“It was important for us to produce a romantic song which not only complimented the situation in the series but was also universally relatable to everyone, considering that romance is a global language, “said Sevak: The Confessions producer, vidly.tv.

The song is reminiscent of the melodious music of Pakistan and gives us a peak into the soulful romance that is to be found in the web series to be launched on November 26!

You can hear the song on https://youtu.be/oVB3S8puwEg.

 

Pakistan (Muhammad Yasir) Famous singer Azeem Dar attended filmfare Award Dubai hosted by Danube group based on azeem dar social media activities he was recently bless with artist golden visa for Dubai UAE Government and his close Intereation with bollywood celebrities

makes him feel proud to be a part of this beautiful event where he was first pakistani Dubai based artist who have show his respect to his Co follow artist celebrities fans followers & media azeem says since most of my upcoming projects is from India it will be great opportunities for me to visit India soon to spread a peace message between two countires if I can change a little I ll really do all the efforts trough my work songs and upcoming movie.

Pakistan (Muhammad Yasir) Mahira Khan, an exceptional actress after winning laurels for her work on both big and small screen has just laid her hands on the award for Best Actress – Short Film at Indus Valley International Film Festival which was held in New Delhi, India for Prince Charming, a short film produced by See Prime.

Last year superstar Sheheryar Munawar, after making waves as an actor released his short film ‘Prince Charming’, produced under the See Prime banner, starring countries’ biggest stars Mahira Khan and Zahid Ahmed together for the first time. Prince Charming talks about post-marital depression, a very real issue in our modern day and age, in a very unique and creative way.

 “This award goes out to all the ladies who are silently suffering from post-marital depression, our society doesn’t talk about it, we consider such topics as taboos and yet here we are. I’m glad that this role touched the audiences’ heart, it’s one of the roles which shall stay close to my heart forever. I would like to thank my dear friend Shehryar Munawar for believing in me and the entire team of See Prime specially Seemeen Naveed for providing us with this platform.” said the award-winning actress, Mahira Khan.

Seemeen Naveed, the executive producer See Prime stated, “I truly believe in showing and producing content that comes with a deep message for my audiences. I was amazed by the vision which Sheheryar had in his mind behind this masterpiece. I’m proud that our content has been recognized on an international level, hoping to keep on producing and working with these gems.”

The film is available on SeePrime’s official YouTube channel and you can still watch it here: https://youtu.be/N04DjA5pwFo

 

Pakistan (Nut Desk) Vidly.tv dropped the trailer for their original suspense action thriller series “Sevak: The Confessions” today and it has people buzzing. The storyline, the characters and the geographic setting has given the audience an “OMG, what the..” moment. Dumbstruck and wowed in the same breath, people are pouring out their reactions in a blaze.

The trailer is loaded with power-packed performances and a gripping storyline, with the power duo director Anjum Shahzad and writer Saji Gul promising to deliver what could be the best series of this year. 

Joined by the star cast including Hajra Yamin, Nazarul Hassan, Nayyer Ejaz, Adnan Jaffar and many others, the trailer promises fresh and entertaining content that resonates with the audience and this real-life thriller has been brilliantly adapted for a South Asian audience.

The series is a gripping adaptation of real-life events wagging from 1984 to 2022. The trailer opens with the phone ringing and gunshots going off. From the opening scene this eloquently stylized espionage thriller draws on a strong plot and uber talent of the cast to deliver an elevated historical action series, never seen before.

It builds on the philosophy that when a hero is born his “rakshas” (demon) is born on the same day. The trailer hints on stories about family loyalties, deceit, terror, and crime. There is hatred, there is anger, there is love, there is romance. The series explores and reveals the true antagonists behind the events of a revolution that leaves the audience with an urge to know the full story.

The series will premier directly on the OTT https://sevak.vidly.tv on November 26, 2002.

 

 

 

Pakistan (Nut Desk)

Sometimes the truth is more terrifying than the story itself. Vidly.tv has released the teaser (https://youtu.be/_OnC1FAWtZg) for their original web series: Sevak, The Confessions and it is mind-blowing. The series is a story of resilience and courage of the heroes fighting dark forces lurking in the shadows to seek the truth. Will the truth shock us? In a keenly woven tale of intrigue, terror and deceit, Sevak: The Confessions, intends thriling us with action, mystery and suspense in a historical time travel set within the backdrop of true events between 1984 and 2022. This historical action thriller is based on the true story of an assassin. It follows the journey of Vidya, a journalist, in a quest to find out the truth behind the film star Jeet Singh’s death. She is aided by Mannu, a key informant. Mannu, leads Vidya on a path to reveal the dark secrets of Jeet’s death. Vidya unwillingly enters the labyrinth of Mannu’s tales encountering many ghosts of his past. The stories shared by Mannu unravel the horrors of hate crime, atrocities and genocide. As truth is revealed both of them find themselves in danger for their lives. Mannu is navigating life with a deep story in his heart and as they encounter Vijay Karkare, Preet Kaur, Arun, Vinayak and Sadhu, the series thrills us with intrigue and mystery entwined in true events that blur the lines between fiction and truth making the series all the more gripping. The multiple dimensions of espionage open with each episode.

The series will entertain us with songs, cajole us with romance and thrill us with action. Every episode will grip us and leave us hungry for more. Before the thriller even premieres, its success is confirmed. The incredible talent is perfectly chosen for their roles. All the characters of the series team up for a suspense thriller that will have us on the edge of our seats.

Audiences will be able to watch the series, streamed via the Vidly.tv app (iOS, Android, Apple TV) and on the web at https://sevak.vidly.tv Continue reading “Sevak, The Confessions Teaser Released”