Saad and Ahsan – Jaago (KM Single Review)

By Ahmad Uzair

Lately there has been a trend going on to release patriotic singles on days of national significance. While some of them are really good ones, others are pretty easy to forget. But in the end it’s the visual and lyrical theme which carves its own niche out there. Same is the case with “Jaago” by Saad Tauseef and Ahsan Bin Arif, commonly known as Saad and Ahsan. They are an up and coming band from Islamabad and are new comer to this industry.

There was a time when Islamabad was considered to be a dead city in terms of entertainment but recently this has changed and all for good. There has been lot of activity going around in Isloo and many of it has really become prominent over the time. Such is this talented duo who are rather really new to the business but seem to be promising ones.

On 14th of August, they came up with a brand new song of their own, precisely their first one.  This song basically caters to a lot of problems and frustration faced by an average youth of today. It also reflects the normal reactions when we find ourselves in such circumstances. And last but not the least it gives us the hope and determination to face all the odds with bravery and expect a better future from our coming generations.

The Video is directed by Mariam Saleem Nawaz and it really complements the entire sense of the song and above all the lyrical content of it. These youngsters have been successful enough to rope in some seasoned musicians as this single is mixed and mastered by Sarmad Ghafoor who is a veteran musician from Islamabad music scene.

The video starts by depicting our present circumstances and a person appearing on the screen reflecting the normal Pakistani, how he feels and thinks about what is going around. It opens up with Clock ticking away, perhaps the biggest reality of this worldly life, showing that we might not be left with much time. Like every one of us, this person has also got questions wobbling in his mind which really frustrates him when he sees the inequality prevailing around him in the society. But the vocalist tries to give hope to get up and strive for better. There are some unspoken facts of life which often leave us in state of confusion. There are children who are fighting for a loaf of bread but at the same moment we see people hanging around in expensive restaurants and women adorned with glittering jewels. Every one of us sees our self helpless in such situation and don’t know how to react to it. These disparities are perhaps the very harsh realities of our world and one cannot just deny them. From these social issues reigning around, the video takes a turn around and addresses some other grave issues like national unity which is another serious concern for us lately. With this, the entire situation changes and heart wrenching clips from partition are shown, and here comes the Legendary speech by Father of nation Quaid-e-Azam Muahmad Ali Jinnah which really gives you a gush of adrenaline. Specially the heroic words of our founder “Musalman museebat mein ghabaraya nai karta” (When obstacles come, a believer never backs down) are really a food for thought for our new generations as we have to work harder every time we face a failure, no matter how worse the conditions are.

The video closes up beautifully with the little girl stepping forward perhaps giving a hint that the secret to our success as a nation lies in the hands of our youngsters and we should really expect them to come up to the anticipations.

Here one should not forget to praise some marvelous efforts put in by the director of the video as she has really shown her concern on so many serious issues which are faced by our society but not addressed many times. Although at times one feel that there could have been a bit more improvement possible in this video and the execution of it might not be up to the mark. But seeing her talent and little experience which she has, one would give full marks to her on the concept of it. For now, it’s great to see the way she has handled the song and has come up with such a broader concept. Kudos to Mariam.

Saad and Ahsan really give a special feel to the song with their melancholic vocals mostly spearheaded by Ahsan. The lyrics were very straightforward and one can easily relate to them. Lyrical content is so simple that sometimes it feels being overshadowed by the video. Their music is also good to listen and makes you nostalgic at times. It’s the beautiful combo of audio and video which makes the song interesting to watch and engraving too. Good luck to you boys.