Everything you need to know about the Qandeel Baloch music video we never asked for
Disclaimer: The article ahead contains pictures and a video that may be considered explicit by some readers
In case you missed it, Qandeel Baloch and young singer Aryan Khan dropped a music video a few days ago.
And it's everything you might've hoped it wouldn't be.
Featuring twerking (well, almost), a slashed bodysuit and lots of lace, the music video was classic Qandeel: very OTT.
Asked about it earlier, Qandeel said, "Something very big is coming, jo Pakistan ki history me aisa bold video aaj tak nahi hoga (which will be so bold that it will make music video history in Pakistan."
Take a look:
Watching the video might leave you with some lingering questions, like Where did Qandeel and Aryan get those outfits? and Is there a significant social message in here I'm missing?
Luckily, we've got you covered. Read on to find out all you need to know.
1) The guys who made this video were also behind Mathira's infamous music vid.
Jibran Khan, head honcho of the production house, reveals, "Beyond Studios is worldwide famous production house for music videos. Our videos has received millions of YouTube views till date and we have worked with mainstream artists like Raftaar, Zohaib Amjad, Mathira, Dr Zeus, just to name few."
2) How was Qandeel Baloch selected to star in this video?
According to the guys at Beyond Studios, "You can listen in the chorus, it says 'Tere thumkay tey lag jana ban'. There's only one name in Pakistan 'Qandeel Baloch' whose thumkas can go viral."
So we guess, that was that.
3) Qandeel's dancing is all spontaneous, it appears.
When asked about the video's execution, Beyond Studios revealed that they winged it. "It is performance based video so there was no requirement for a storyboard."
4) Qandeel does her own styling, it seems.
"Wardrobe was done by ourselves as the theme of the video was to keep it casual," shares her co-star Aryan Khan.
5) Who paid for the video?
It wasn't Qandeel.
According to Beyond Studios', "The artist himself invest in his songs."
Looks like young Aryan Khan picked up the bill for Qandeel's latest publicity stunt.
6) So, who exactly is Aryan Khan?
Aryan's a 21-year-old singer who refers to music as his "passion, a passion dat (sic) ends no where."
His inspirations range from "my elder brother as he always stood me up in every situation" (we think he means stood by him) and "hip hop artists, like Drake, Chris Brown, etc."
Also, 'Ban' with Qandeel is a test run of Aryan's musical career. "I actually started up this journey as a trial or you can say as a matter of interest. I don't commit that I am a perfect singer. I just give tries to maintain or build what I am fond of. It got great response from social media. Dat (sic) boosted my passion more."
7) What is it like to work with Qandeel?
Aryan "of course loved working with Qandeel. By the way, she's too entertaining."
8) So how well is the video doing?
"BAN is the only Pakistani music video so far, which is trending sense (since?) last three days on YouTube as per Beyond Records stats. BAN is most discussed video on internet right now in Pakistan," says a confident Aryan.
9) Is there a deeper meaning to the video, one that we may have missed?
"As an entertainer, my job is to entertain people through my music. Beyond Studios and I gave people what they actually wanted. Deeper message is to dance on my song and forget tensions," he says.
10) What does young Aryan see in his future?
"More songs with new innovations and fresh vibes" comes the reply. "I just throw songs to in expectations to be liked and lower da any tense situations being faced by my youngster buddies."
11) Are the video makers afraid of an actual ban?
Nah, PEMRA can't touch them.
"This video was only made for social media and released digitally on YouTube and all other leading digital stores via Beyond Records," says producer Jibran. "So technically there is no PEMRA involvement."
Reporting by Irfan-ul-Haq