Dawn Images

They say you don’t forget your first love, that’s roughly what Samar Jafri’s new song ‘Chalo Door Kahin’ feels like; it’s young, messy, hopeful and heartfelt. The song was initially slated to be the singer’s debut release and carries hints of inexperience — but from an artist like Jafri, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

With its soft melody, the singer’s smooth vocals and a beach house music video that screams 2000s nostalgia, the song takes listeners into the mind of a young lover, struggling to find words and muster up the courage to confess his feelings.

The song starts with the lines, “Kabhi raste mein chalte phirtay tum say / mushkilon say lartay bhirtay khud say / kya likhoon, parhoon, boloon main tum say / arz kya karoon safhon ko bhar kay,” (Someday, walking along a path / fighting [my inner demons] with difficulty / what do I write, read, say to you / what do I convey by darkening pages,) putting into words the jitters everyone gets when trying to talk to their first crush.

Jafri then goes on to describe the familiar feeling of seeing his lover everywhere he looks and how he yearns to find someone who feels like home, someone he can talk to about nothing and everything. There are subtle notes of melancholy and longing mixed in with the hopefulness of infatuation, a nod to the eternal dilemma of “if I don’t say something, someone else will. But if I do, and it’s not ‘the right thing’, I’ll lose her forever.”

It’s rather fitting that one of the singer’s earliest songs describes love from a distance so vividly, as it remains a recurring theme in his music. In an earlier interview with Images, about his song ‘Hoor’, Jafri said the track was his take on seeing someone who makes you feel like you’re in the presence of an angel.

As with his other songs, Jafri’s voice is the undisputed star of the show; the use of Eastern and Western instruments is also familiar. The music video adds a much-needed visual dimension to the narrative Jafri weaves, with shots of the singer wistfully staring off into the distance. Perhaps the weakest link is the general flow of the song, which leaves something to be desired, with lyrics struggling to fit into the meter of the rhythm.

‘Chalo Door Kahin’ was written, composed and performed by Jafri himself and the music production was done by Alistair Alvin — who previously teamed up with the singer for the song ‘Guzaarishein’.

The direction, editing and cinematography for the music video were done by Arqam Junaid Ghani.