Daily Times

LAHORE: The ‘Song Of Lahore’ is an adroitly crafted classical and musical documentary by Academy Award winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and tyro filmmaker Andy Schocken.

The world premiere of the documentary was held at Tribeca Film Festival on April 18, 2015 and its screening in Lahore was held on Saturday in Alhamra as part of the first day of the Lahore Music Meet (LMM) 2018.

The duration of the documentary was 82 minutes. Unfortunately, Sharmeen who had to grace the screening with her presence and indulge in a Q&A session with the audience could not be there, however the screening was still held for the LMM visitors.

Sharmeen is renowned for uncovering the hushed voices of Pakistan. The ‘Song Of Lahore’ is another impressive documentary by her that exposes the crises faced by the music industry

The documentary begins with a musician playing a vinayaka, which is an indication that the story is about musicians and their struggle to attain prominence. A Pakistani band is invited by Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz Lincoln Centre to perform in New York and after a couple of rehearsals with Wynton Marsalis’ band The Jazz, they collaborate at the Lincoln Centre.

Sharmeen is renowned for uncovering the hushed voices of Pakistan. The ‘Song Of Lahore’ is another impressive documentary by her that exposes the crises faced by the music industry. The cast includes veteran musicians as Najat Ali, Salim Khan, Ballu Khan, Najaf Ali, Asad Ali, Wynton Marsalis, Baqir Abbas, Rafiq Ahmed and Sachal Studios Founder Izzat Majeed, and also shows footage of former president Ziaul Haq.

The documentary is about the rise and fall of the music industry and highlights the demise of the music industry during the regime of Ziaul Haq. It also showed the stereotypical thinking of the society and how musicians are ridiculed with names like “Mirasi”. And then the era of 1990s began which brought with it a ray of hope and rejuvenated the music industry. Moreover, in the year 2000, Sachal Studio by Izzat Majeed took an initiative by giving a platform to skilled musicians such as Nijat Ali, Ballu Khan, Salim Khan, Najaf Ali, Rafiq Ahmad etc. Their sincere efforts and passion for music proved prolific and they were eventually invited to New York by Wynton Marsalis to perform with the band ‘The Jazz’ at Lincoln Centre. It was an opportunity of a great magnitude for Pakistani musicians to showcase their talent internationally, where being in Pakistan their skill was never really valued.

The documentary is about the rise and fall of the music industry and highlights the demise of the music industry during the regime of Ziaul Haq. It also shows the stereotypical thinking of the society and how musicians are ridiculed with names like ‘Mirasi’

Cutting long short, this documentary by Sharmeen pays a rich tribute to great veteran musicians, their perseverance in crises and also bewares masses about the importance of music.

Music is not just an art, rather a gift by God that runs in a musician’s blood. Neither it should be disparaged by calling stereotypical name slogans nor should it be neglected by the society.

The notion about music being a sin should be eliminated from the minds of the masses completely. This positive approach towards music would not only create a peaceful ambiance but also would flourish and develop the music industry productively in Pakistan. Musicians with their instruments are the jewels of our society. They should be valued. Music and musicians are greatly admired globally and Pakistanis should also feel proud of their talented lot.

Published in Daily Times, December 7^th 2017.