Swineryy, Pakistan’s favourite anonymous content creator, is making her puppet debut in Bilal Maqsood’s children’s show Pakkay Dost.
She announced the news on Instagram on Tuesday evening and introduced everyone to her character, Mobi. Pakkay Dost, the brainchild of the Strings guitarist, returned for its fourth season on August 22 to make Urdu cool for kids.
“On my first day in the middle of testing different voices for Mobi’s dialogues Bilal Maqsood asked ‘ga bhi leti ho (do you sing too)?’ and I go uhhhhmmmmmm. Despite being a voice artist and belonging to a very musical family, I have always been soo shy and unsure about my singing voice!” wrote the comedian. “So naturally I’m immediately in his recording studio, singing properly in front of a person for the first time. That person being Bilal Maqsood. Koi baat nai (no problem), I told myself. Pakistan Idol ke auditions mein aur bhi bohot besuri besuri awazain suni hongi bilal ne (Bilal must have heard worse voices during the Pakistan Idol auditions), he’ll survive,” she said.
When she heard him say she had a very good voice between recording and guiding her to sing as Mobi, her imposter syndrome took a hit and Mobi began to sing.
“Long story short, that turned into me voicing and puppeteering the little kid for Pakkay Dost season 4. A new character introduced on the show. Mobi! When you’re feeling creatively uninspired and stuck, you’re like a little ghost waiting on your brain to come back and do it’s thing so you can identify as yourself again. And sometimes it feels like EVERYBODY is waiting with you,” she said.
“Being Mobi gave me the chance to collaborate (with such a lovely and talented team), get out of my comfort zone and be a part of something so meaningful, challenging, creative, and fun,” Swineryy wrote, adding that it also let her learn a new skill.
“I have a deep respect for puppeteers now. It is not easy work. I hope you and the kids are watching Pakkay Dost and that you will like Mobi! I like him so much!”
Pakkay Dost is no stranger to star power — Syra Yousuf stars as Mimi in the show.
This season, Maqsood said, there were some very interesting songs in store about things like exercise and vegetables to promote a healthier lifestyle. He also said there was a song about what different bones are called in Urdu.
Kindness and compassion towards animals are also themes discussed this season.
The musician has always said that his aim with the show is to make Urdu cool again. “Pakkay Dost is my way of making Urdu cool again, so our children don’t worry about being judged while speaking our language,” said Maqsood ahead of the third season’s release. “Our kids, their parents — everyone is running away from Urdu.”
Each season of Pakkay Dost features songs, musical segments, and puppet characters aimed at educating and entertaining children while preserving linguistic and cultural roots.
