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Meesha Shafi brings her electro pop A game with new single 'Hot Mango Chutney Sauce'

Meesha Shafi brings her electro pop A game with new single 'Hot Mango Chutney Sauce'

The song mixes Urdu, English and Punjabi lyrics and features a cameo from our favourite anonymous content creator, Swineryy.
10 Sep, 2021

Meesha Shafi went all out with her newest single 'Hot Mango Chutney Sauce', a electro pop dance number that mixes Urdu, English and Punjabi lyrics and a beat that is modern yet quintessentially desi.

The music video features models Eman Suleman, Zara Peerzada, Rubab Ali and Baemisaal, producer Abdullah Siddiqui, Hashim Ali and anonymous content creator Swineryy.

The makers of the song have described it as one with a joyful mood that "employs irony and sarcasm to question an unfortunate yet comic facet of urban Pakistani society: the rampant obsession with consumerism and the inability to understand ourselves beyond the facade of “wealth” or “success” we put up in social settings".

“The idea of writing this song came out of a period of reflection on the rat race we often find ourselves in, where much of the focus is on what people own instead of who they are. It’s a pitfall that is particularly hard to avoid in an industry literally called showbiz, so coming to this realisation has been fascinating,” Shafi said in a press release.

“Ultimately, the song pokes fun at our collective identity crisis, which is only worsened by our colonial hangover as many of us have begun to realise. Even within the race, we’ve come to attach a higher value to aspects of pop culture that have no roots in Pakistan or the wider South Asian community. So whether it was cultural references in the lyrics or the visual translation of the track into a music video, I aspired to create something uniquely us — desi and proud.”

Shafi has written and composed the song while Abdullah Siddiqui has produced it. “The themes Meesha was working with on this song really resonated with me because I’ve personally begun to feel like culturally there’s an obsession with keeping up appearances, and sacrificing authenticity in the process," he said. "The lyrics really excited me and amused me, especially because they are in such stark contrast to the kind of introspective and sombre work Meesha has been known for, but I’m so excited that people finally get to see this side of her.

"I had the time of my life producing this track to reflect the spirit in which Meesha wrote it; brash, maximalist, super-charged and unapologetically fun. We tried to create a representation of South Asian motifs that felt completely fresh yet authentic, and I really hope that comes across.”

The video, which is bursting with colour — and flavour — has been co-directed by Shafi and Awais Gohar. The art direction was led by Meesha Shafi and Hashim Ali. It also features hilarious cameos from everyone’s favourite catty aunty and Shazia's daughter hater, courtesy of the very talented anonymous internet sensation Swineryy.

One thing that immediately caught our eye in the music video was the clothes. The outfits worn by the models and Shafi are all modern twists on desi outfits. The clothes are all colourful and wild and very Meesha Shafi, which makes sense since she had a hand in the styling and wardrobe along with Hashim Ali.

The music video was filmed in Lahore and Toronto. The Lahore part of the video features the models grooving in the back of a truck carrying mangoes. The truck is decorated with neon lights and adds to the groovy vibe of the video.

The song itself mixes Urdu, Punjabi and English. One example are the lyrics:

'Why are you so jealous,

Teray ansoo mangay umbrellas

Why are you so jealous baby

Hunn das tey, just tell us'

We don't usually see a lot of electro pop in Pakistan music and we're definitely enjoying the way Shafi has blended three languages and a lot desi sassiness in her song.

Collaborating with Swineryy on 'Hot Mango Chutney Sauce' was also hilarious. But for all her witty one liners in the music video, the best was the one she ended with: "I just want Meesha to know that consent is very important."

Comments

Fareed Ashraf Chaudhry Sep 10, 2021 07:36pm
Mindless song. Waste of time and energy.
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insaafian Sep 10, 2021 09:07pm
good song very addictive
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Zulfiqar Sep 10, 2021 09:14pm
Very creative effort.
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Vijay Sep 10, 2021 09:20pm
Hope neighboring countries will not copy it !
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Jaws Sep 10, 2021 09:25pm
Great fun, super creative!
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Say no to political correctness Sep 10, 2021 11:37pm
Third-class song.
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Azeem Sep 11, 2021 12:05am
What have we done to deserve this....
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Listener Sep 11, 2021 12:22am
Total waste of resources Total waste of money Total waste of time Very disappointed with this song, she can much better than this rubbish
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Listener Sep 11, 2021 12:22am
Total waste of time and money
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M. Saeed Sep 11, 2021 12:25am
This is a good tribute to her ex.cellent past in the country.
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ST Sep 11, 2021 12:30am
Such a stupid song. She teied to mix and mingle everything together , but nothing worked. . Thumbs down
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meer Sep 11, 2021 01:07am
She is wanted to the court btw, she is not appearing before court....
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Gollum Sep 11, 2021 01:14am
Can meesha please appear before the court in harrasment case againt ali Zafar?
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Syed Azhad Wasti Sep 11, 2021 01:38am
Rather then facing her case she is doing such stuff. Cheap stunt.
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Ali Akbar Sep 11, 2021 03:40am
Great sound mixing. Mindless lyrics.
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ambreen Sep 11, 2021 05:37am
Umm not my thing .
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Hassaan Sep 11, 2021 06:05am
Defame and then cash it. Nice strategy by Meesha!
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Ali da Malanga Sep 11, 2021 06:44am
Meesha has no doubt done good work in music and especially from the Coke Studio's platform but I am sorry to say, this doesn't qualify in that category.
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Kiwi Sep 11, 2021 07:31am
Very nice beats. Enjoyed the song tremendously.
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SKZ Sep 11, 2021 08:36am
I will hate to eat hot mango chutney sauce after this. Why cant we Pakistanis make sensible songs. Where are all the good musicians, lyrists and equally important sensible listeners. Why don't we decide one language to stick with. Why mixing Punjabi with Urdu or vice versa.
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Faisal Sep 11, 2021 08:37am
Song isn't great, but the music video is really fun
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Raheel Sep 11, 2021 08:47am
@Fareed Ashraf Chaudhry tere aansu mangay umbrella
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Sara Sep 11, 2021 09:52am
@Vijay This is copy from neighbour. "Chandu ke chacha,chandni chowk lines is not from here"
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Abrar Sep 11, 2021 10:09am
No words to describe this charba of a song
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Qadir Bhutta Sep 11, 2021 10:32am
I just want to tell you "Consent" is very important
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Toni Sep 11, 2021 12:27pm
Fit for what, a bit foreign but they may like it?
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JS Sep 12, 2021 09:00pm
Attempting satire is worthy of appreciation but ultimately, if the music and melodies aren't up to the mark, the song becomes useless, as is the case here.
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faizan Sep 13, 2021 11:29am
excellent way of showing desperation to become a desi Lady Gaga - neither the voice nor the looks - hate it to the core!
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