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We live in a time where the actual stars behind films and songs get overshadowed because the actor or model tends to take away all the attention. For instance, if we hear a really upbeat track which is bound to be the next Shaadi anthem, we remember the star in that song. Malaika Arora took the credit for ‘Munni Badnaam‘, ‘Sheila Ki Jawani‘ belonged to Katrina Kaif, ‘Baby Doll’ belonged to Sunny Leone, and so on and so forth. It’s the same for men as well. Whether it’s Aamir Khan, Ranbir Kapoor or Salman Khan, all that is remembered in the end is who was featured in the video.

Nobody even knows who the real talent is; who wrote the song, who composed it, who sang it etc. That’s why when we saw Shah Rukh Khan’s latest track, we were quite impressed with the way it has been picturized.

Safar‘ is a song from SRK’s highly anticipated film Jab Harry Met Sejal and it already has almost 7 million views on YouTube. One of the greatest things about the song, no doubt, is the fact that it’s absolutely soulful and Arijit Singh, as usual, does full justice to it.

But what is even more amazing is the fact that instead of having a picturesque video, the filmmakers decided to go down a different route and give credit where it’s due. The video features the director, Imtiaz Ali, music composer Pritam and lyricist Irshad Kamil sitting with Shah Rukh Khan and working on the lyrics of the song.

Directors, producers, and playback singers still get attention some way or the other. But when was the last time we recognized the name of a lyricist? And the job of a lyricist is an important one because, without him, there would be no words in a song.

Thanks to Shah Rukh Khan’s popularity, Irshad Kamil’s name is now known to nearly 7 million people. We really wish to see something similar being done in Pakistan, where we are only obsessed with the stars in front of the camera, forgetting about the stars who work behind the lens and are just as brilliant.

 

 

 

 

Manal Faheem Khan

The author is Contributing Editor at Something Haute who has studied film and journalism from SZABIST. Will be found at the gym if not in the office.