Dawn Images

The music video for Coke Studio Nu.WAV’s second offering, ‘Rangeen’, dropped on Friday — and it wastes no time pulling you into its colourful world. It arrived almost two weeks after Afusic, Zoha Waseem and Ali Soomro kicked off the season with ‘Dil’.

Pairing singer Hasan Raheem with rising talent Izzchugtai over an Umair Tahir production — the producer better known simply as Umair — ‘Rangeen’ transforms yearning, affection and young romance into something far more vivid.

It opens with Raheem on a rooftop during Basant, surrounded by kites and the restless energy of Lahore. Then he spots her — a girl (model Sukaina Zaidi) across the way — and just like that, an entire romance unfurls in his head.

From there, the video slips into pure fantasy. Hasan pictures the whole arc — the courtship, the connection — against the backdrop of the song’s central theme: “Rangeen qisson ko tere… mera lahoo kar gaya (My blood lent colour to your stories).”

Izzchugtai’s arrival shifts the energy once again, giving the song another colour and dimension. His character sees what Raheem’s doesn’t — the girl’s evident lack of interest — and in one sequence, he can be seen talking sense into a seemingly frustrated Raheem.

Director Arham Ikram keeps everything deliberately unreal. Hashim Ali’s production design leans into nostalgia — pastel walls, patterned tiles, old computers, CDs, cassettes and film posters that evoke an early-2000s vibe.

With a nod to Coke Studio’s Nu.WAV, of course.

But reality, as it tends to, has other plans.

In a sparkly, pink rickshaw, Raheem, with his mother, played by Salma Hasan, and Izzchugtai and Umair, can be seen travelling to a house in the neighbourhood where there’s a wedding.

Again, Ali’s sets have been intricately designed and bring a wealth of colours to the screen. A two-storey facade glows against a deepening blue evening, dressed for celebration. Warm fairy lights trace the outlines of every window, door and balcony rail.

As the imagined romance reaches what feels like its natural conclusion, we hear a shehnai — played by Muhammad Salim — signalling a wedding: of the girl Raheem has been dreaming about. Unfortunately, she’s marrying someone else.

It’s a sharp, bittersweet twist, yet ‘Rangeen’ resists turning heartbreak into tragedy.

Amidst all of this, ‘Rangeen’ gives us Raheem dressed as a dulha once again while he’s dreaming about his beloved. In an Instagram clip, the singer can be seen grooving with Zaidi to the track.

For fans, it became a moment to poke fun at Raheem — as it inevitably brings to mind his promotional campaign for the music video ‘MEMORIES’, when people thought he had actually gotten married while he was, at the time, still single.

One user pointed out, “Fake shadi bohat pasand hai apko (You seem to like fake marriages a lot).”

Another wrote, “Memories ki memories triggered.”

Is this an obsession? Some users seemed to think so.

Speaking about the new song and music video, Kamal Khan, the executive producer for Coke Studio Nu.WAV, said: “‘Rangeen’ was kind of easy in the best way. Hasan and Umair already had it. The song, the world, everything. They knew Izzchugtai would work. Arham knows Hasan well enough to just get it. He brought this cool filmy, coming-of-age feel to whole video. He just belongs in that.”

With its inaugural edition, Nu.WAV is set to deliver a packed and diverse roster, including Asim Azhar, Maanu, Sabaat Batin, Shae Gill, Young Stunners, and Aaryan SDQ.