 "Viral Video: Meet Taher Shah, Pak's answer to Bappi Lahiri")
Is it a frizz-control conditioner ad? Is it a post-modern Pakistani version of Ram aur Shyam? Is it a shrewd conspiracy to throw Bappi Lahiri out of work? Is it a crash course on Facebook pick-up lines? Pakistani singer Taher Shah spoils you for choice with his video ‘Eye to Eye’ which has gone viral in Pakistan. According to
Propakistani.com
, no one knew about Shah till a few days back, until his video of ‘Eye to Eye’ surfaced on the internet. It has registered 200,000 views on YouTube already and has spawned thousands of social media jokes. [caption id=“attachment_912641” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]
Taher Shah. Screengrab from YouTube video.[/caption] Shah, a striking cross between Mandakini and
Semi Girebal
, appears in the video to enlighten the world about the various adjectives that the British would tell you don’t go with the word ’eye’, but can still be used in a rebellious move against colonial impositions on the English language. So apart from ‘stylish’, ’excellent’ ‘human’ eyes you’re told there can be ‘spectrum’ eyes and a ‘dreaming fairy’s’ ‘simple’ eyes. From Nawaz Sharif to Narendra Modi, Shah trumps everyone with his definition of nationalism. After all, what can be a loftier form of nationalism than taking their language away from the English and giving it a whole new post-colonial grammar makeover? On his
website,
Shah describes himself as a ‘Singer, Lyricist, Writer, Model, Actor, Producer & Director’ who is a businessman and a film producer too. While jokes might be flying thick and fast about Shah, not everyone is amused. An article on Propakistani, says:
Again, the “any kind of publicity is a publicity” trick works here. The enormous success of this song can easily be attributed to the fact that its constantly garnering negative publicity over the past few days, and as a result, being the top-trending subject in Pakistan. For proof, just search #EyetoEye in twitter and there you’ll see it, people from all walks of life cornering a helpless guy.
As for us, we’re just worried about Bappi Lahiri. Watch video here: