The Highs and Lows of Being a Coke Studio Fan ft. Mundiya

Imagine being offered the perfect looking plate of biryani and then eating it and realizing it has no taste? Being a Coke Studio fan this year is kind of like that. Yes, Coke Studio is a marketing channel for a multinational company that sells carbonated beverages after all and it’s no surprise they’re able to pull audiences every year but it used to be a fulfilling musical experience until a few seasons ago. Now, it’s mostly just good hype.

Take the recently released “Mundiya” for example. Ali Sethi and QB are two of the most distinct voices in the industry, I’m a big fan of both. And the song “Mundiya” originally a Noor Jehan hit from the movie mukhra has been a part of my childhood growing up, Coke Studio has always been able to bring similar songs back and give us something to be nostalgic about. At the same time, CS remakes are a song in their own.

When I found out two of my favorite singers were doing a remake, I was hyped and so was my twitter feed. What could go wrong when Ali Sethi and QB are about to sing the fun, flirty number with a “Spanish” twist as touted in the BTS. But really, what a disappointment. While Rohail Hayatt has always been able to bring out the uniqueness of his artists, Mundiya is a slow-paced disappointment. What could’ve been an upbeat sing-along song is an underwhelming remake of Noor Jehans original.

I feel as if I was lured in with two decent names, the promise of nostalgia and a BTS that set my expectations too high. What was supposed to be biryani was actually boiled rice with too much orange color in them. And you know how that feels, the highs and lows of being a Coke Studio fan is becoming much like deciding whether to fall for the good-music-thirst-trap or go to youtube and listen to nescafe basement instead.