Atif aslam - Standard Chartered Priority Night in Lahore at Haveli Asif Jah

The Standard Chartered Priority Night which was a huge success in Karachi was replicated for the cultural capital of Pakistan, Lahore at Asif Jah Haveli few days ago. It was a night full of stars, both pop stars and folk stars, best of the best, all on one stage. These first time collaborations between pop and folk legends took place with a 22-piece orchestra from across Pakistan.

The young sufi sensation, Sanam Marvi started the magical night by enveloping the audience with her voice, a voice so big and skilled for her age it enchanted all. She was followed by the legendary Arif Lohar who made the crowd sway their heads to the lilt of his chimta. His throaty voice, that rides on the crest of waves, delivered ‘Jugni’ with an energy that is unbeatable. He announced his fourth song would be a fusion and that is when Ali Zafar appeared on the stage. Ali lifted his voice with ‘Rangeen’ and Arif Lohar joined him, making the perfect pop and folk duet ever. Not only did both singers captivated the audience with the song but did a little dance performance which made it a complete package to watch. Arif Lohar left the stage to Ali Zafar who gave the audience a flavour of Chal Dil Mere with a blend of salsa and carried it very beautifully. He can be rightly called the show stealer for this standard chartered gathering for a number of reasons. He proved he has a voice gentle enough for a sufi song and sensual enough for a love song. His ting of opera in the performance raised the bar for his contemporaries. With Dastan e Ishq, crowd saw an intensely moved, teary eyed Ali Zafar which reveals a very spiritual and pure side of the singer. Another lovely gesture that he made was stepping down to the crowd reach his wife and dance unrehearsed with her on Channo. But that was not all, he set a new example for the entire music industry by introducing Atif Aslam on stage in such appreciative words that no singer had ever used for their contemporaries. This display of humility even after making it big in Bollywood earned the singer respect from all. May be other singers should learn a lesson or two from Ali Zafar.

After Ali’s appearance, audience saw another star Atif Aslam who kicked off with ‘Wo Lamhe’. He started off well but his performance was not as strong as expected of him. His first number won applause from the audience but somehow Atif Aslam probably could not charm the audience like his past performances as people started leaving after his initial song. The closing number was all four artists on the stage together and it was undoubtedly one of the finest collaborations ever. That is how the night was concluded.