What if Emily ditched Paris and headed to Lahore?

Bonjour, Emily in Paris fans. Enchanté!

Summer brought with it our favourite treat — a new season of Emily and her Parisian adventures! As the show’s fourth instalment took over our screens, we couldn’t help but wonder, what if Emily in Paris was actually Emily in Pakistan?

We let our imagination run wild and thought of offering a little creative detour for our Desi Emily fans. Picture this — Emily is trading the chic streets of Paris for the bustling roads of Lahore. Yes, you heard that right, Emily is coming to Pakistan!

Our fabulous lead is here on a project for Agence Grateau, working for her Parisian client who has Pakistani roots and, in a stroke of creative genius (obviously), has decided that Pakistan is the perfect backdrop for their latest campaign.

Naturally, Emily is sent halfway across the world to oversee the shoot. But what will her week in Lahore bring? Well, think less croissants and couture, and more chai and cholis — with all the culture shock, mishaps, and picture-perfect Instagram moments you’d expect from our favourite social media maven.

Hold on tight — it’s time for Emily’s rickshaw ride

Emily checks into her hotel, ready to explore Lahore. When it’s time to grab an Uber, she’s presented with an unexpected option: an Uber rickshaw. Being the adventurous spirit that she is, Emily opts for it, marking her first real introduction to Lahore’s chaotic traffic.

She’s greeted by a Pashto-speaking driver, thrilled to have a foreigner in his rickshaw. A hilariously awkward conversation ensues with Emily trying to answer his questions: “Where is she from? Does she like biryani?”, all of which get lost in translation.

As the rickshaw zips through the streets, Emily attempts to capture the moment for Instagram, except her hair is blowing everywhere and she’s holding on for dear life as the driver takes sharp turns. Emily’s only thought: “Is this really efficient transportation?!”

At her work shoot, Emily befriends a local stylist on the set, which is none other than the Badshahi Mosque, and she’s offered a tour of Old Lahore. Already briefed on the culture, Emily is all set in a vibrant pink shalwar kameez — and dare we say, she’s slaying it. She quickly bonds with the stylist, who, coincidentally, is wearing a similar outfit, great minds think alike, right?

Their tour kicks off with Emily hopping onto a qingqi rickshaw and heading to a local dhaba. She attempts to order a café au lait but quickly learns that chai is the only option. Reluctantly, our heroine takes a sip and voila! She finds herself developing quite a taste for it. Who needs the coffees of Paris when Lahori chai revives the soul?

We all know Emily loves food, so of course her next stop is trying biryani and barbecue, which leads to the ultimate showdown — Emily versus Pakistani masala. Spoiler alert, it isn’t looking too great for her but she gradually gobbles it down, chugging water with every few bites.

Khussas, dupattas, and jhumkas: Emily takes on desi fashion

Did you even talk about Emily in Pakistan if you skipped fashion? Emily’s trip wouldn’t be complete without a visit to a local bazaar. With her stylist friend, she heads to Liberty Market to step up her fashion game.

Naturally, the moment the shopkeepers spot a foreigner, the prices start to skyrocket. Emily, caught by surprise, tries to haggle using Google Translate, but the app just doesn’t cut it. In the middle of this translation mess, Emily accidentally buys 10 khussas, thinking she was only negotiating the price of one. But hey, one can never have too many shoes right?

All the while, Emily is on video call with her bestie Mindy, showing off the vibrant market. “Look at all the colours! The prices are practically free!” (erm not for the locals, Emily).

With a little nudge from Mindy, Emily doesn’t just stop at khussas. She picks up embroidered shalwar kameez, stunning jhumkas, and vibrant dupattas to up her desi fashion game. By the end of the day, she is well over her luggage limit, but surely Agence Grateau will pay the extra charges? Maybe even let her open and run the Lahore office?

No WiFi, no problem!

As Emily wraps up the shoot, she and the team have a final meeting with the client when, of course, due to heavy rain, the WiFi stops working.

Emily dashes around trying to reconnect but nothing works. Finally, she takes a breath, realising this is just part of the adventure. After all, who needs WiFi when you can have chai and pakoras in the rain?

And, in classic Emily style, she’s probably tweeting and posting excessively on Instagram — and getting millions of likes, of course — and making things far more complicated than necessary. But hey, that’s just Emily being Emily.

We think we just created a whole new series and are totally manifesting it! Does anyone have Netflix’s number?

Disclaimer: Emily is not actually in Lahore, so all the photos have been edited.