Daily Times

Atif Aslam’s Tajdar-e-Haram welcomed Coke Studio’s eighth season with a bang, going on to become the biggest highlight of the show. This season also saw Strings head the project for the second time.

Marking its first time ever crossing the 100 million milestone, it has finally broken all previous records of Pakistani compositions.

The qawwali was initially produced by songwriter Shiraz Uppal. Atif had planned to keep the track for himself and had asked for Shiraz to arrange the music.

“When Coke Studio approached me, I thought why not perform it on the show,” he continued. Atif further shed light on the fact that he brought Shiraz on-board to give the producer a feel of the whole environment.

The work of art, which helped qawwali giants Maqbool Ahmed Sabri and Ghulam Fareed Sabri earn a name for themselves, received mixed reactions from all walks of life within the country.

Whatever the case may be, this 10-minute rendition creates an almost hypnotic trance that engulfs listeners with its inescapable sheer magnetism.

“Coke Studio continues to break records and over the years it has driven the cultural leadership agenda of Pakistan, celebrating diversity while bridging barriers relevant to the youth of today,” said Rizwan U. Khan, General Manager of Coca-Cola Pakistan.

Published in Daily Times, November 4^th 2017.