This song is the Jawani Phir Nahi Ani amusement park ride: Adnan Malik
If Jawani Phir Nahi Ani is the party film it is touted to be, then its title song is an outright mini-carnival.
The 13-member ensemble cast goes all out in the groovy rap number, glammed to the max (thanks to the collective efforts of Deepak Perwani and Humayun Alamgir).
They take turns leaping on a trampoline, Ismail Tara spins on a tawa as a throwback to 50/50 and Bushra Ansari's brought a rifle to the party. Leading ladies Mehwish Hyatt and Sohai Abro cavort in cages, and cosy up with main man Humayun Saeed on a leather couch. Hamza Ali Abbasi strips out of his jacket (ahem).
"The song will be a real treat for the audience," says the video director Adnan Malik of 'JPNA'. "They'll get to see Pakistan's top celebrities let loose in an unfiltered party environment."
| |
Adnan, who's previously directed the music videos for 'My Punjabi Love For You' and most recently the Coca Cola World Cup song 'Phir Se Game Utha De', was roped in to call the shots for the title track, just days before the shoot.
"Five days before the shoot of this song, Humayun and Ahmed Ali Butt first talked to me about directing this video, and an hour later, I was in Humayun's office. I had no idea how we were going to shoot this song in five days, but it was the only date all 13 actors were available. So we shot it in two nights, and it was like a massive party."
There's fun and games aplenty in the song, but Adnan's also snuck in an element of gender subversion.
While the guys tell Mehwish Hayat and Sohai Abro to "nach, nach, nach ke dikha", soon it's the girls who throw the same words back to them. "This was very conscious decision on our part; we're wanted to subvert the male gaze this way," Adnan said.
The song, produced by Hasil Kureishi, sees Ahmed Ali Butt return to his rap origins, while Faiza Mujahid sings the female hook. It samples Madam Noorjehan's 'Mundeya Dupatta Chad Mera' from the Nadeem and Babra Sharif-starrer Mukhra, and Ahmed reminds us of the credit in a rap verse: "Sur sing kerti thi meri Nani!"
'JPNA' is meant to play in the end credits of the film, and Adnan has the opportunity to capitalise on the collective star power of celebrities, who've shed their character's skins and are just getting their party mode on. It's interesting to see how the presence of a guest director can really switch up a film's feel and aesthetic.
Like Adnan says, "The song is the Jawani Phir Nahi Ani amusement park ride!"