Over the years, Coke studio has recreated some of the most
celebrated melodies from yesteryear, most of which eventually turned out to be
grander than the original ones in terms of uniqueness and freshness without
taking away any credit from the original composers and singers. However, in a
recent episode of season 10, the production team experimented with Junoon’s hit
number of 90’s ‘Saiyonee’, and missed
the bull’s eye by good few miles. If a listener has to go back to original
version after listening to the newly composed version, it shows that the newer
version needs detoxification from minds and has not worked out at all. You
don’t fix what’s not broken, and that’s what Salman Ahmed and Strings just did
with Ali Azmat’s masterpiece.
To start with, it was hard to digest the lineup of
performers slotted for this song. They got the wrong Ali for the rendition. Why
not Azmat instead of Noor? Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali khan, the king of classical
music for a song of this nature was a massive gamble. Salman Ahmad was the
original Junoon band guitarist and a part of original ‘Saiyonee’, also credited as composer for this Coke Studio’s
version. Watching him without Ali Azmat’s presence was a major disappointment.
We know that the band parted ways long ago but growing up listening to and
watching the original version with both of them on screen was nostalgic and
absence of Ali Azmat, who was the soul of this song was frustrating.
Considering Ali Azmat is still around and has performed in previous few seasons
of Coke Studio, including the inaugural one a decade ago, only Ali Azmat could
have pulled off an Ali Azmat and the production team should have roped in none
other than him if they wanted to renovate the old version.
I presume the idea was not to recreate the original with
original but with something versatile in shape of classical Rahat Fateh Ali
khan, which was fair enough. However, it did not materialize well. The rendition
started off promisingly and the first sixty seconds were the only positives out
of this version. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan was expected to stick with the classical
parts and Ali Noor was thought to take over the high pitched note, but when
Rahat continued towards the ‘saiyonee’
part, the song was done there. It is beyond comprehension why someone would
come up with an idea of replacing Ali Azmat’s part of ‘saiyonee’ which he sang on top of his lungs, with a voice which is
best suited for classical melodies and is too soft for a song like this. Horses
for courses is what Coke studio producers needed to understand before muddling
with the song in name of ‘experiment’. The classical build up towards the part
which was mastered by Ali Amzat was encouraging and audience were hoping for
more energetic take over perhaps by Ali Noor or even Salman but they were left
with nothing except a dull and soft note by Rahat. There can’t be a better
metaphor for this disappointment other than a pre-mature ejaculation. Nothing
against Rahat, he is a very fine singer but with all due respect, his voice was
too feminine for the crucial part of this song. He tried his best to do justice
with the original version, even tried hard to screech in his signature style, but
original masterpieces can never be replaced and forgotten that easily, and they
do nothing but to raise the bar for people who would try to recreate them. Ali
Noor did well for most of his part but was also seen struggling when it came to
more intense notes, or may be Ali Azmat had set the standard way too high.
Although in terms of stature in musical world, Rahat Fateh Ali khan may well
hold a much exalted position, but when it comes to Sufi rock and ‘Saiyonee’ in particular, Ali Azmat’s
were too big shoes to fill, even for someone with Rahat’s caliber.
