The much anticipated internationally acclaimed Pakistani film Seedlings, is set to release in Pakistan soon, whereas Jab Koi, the promotional song for the movie which is sponsored by Levi’s®, has been officially released today
Seedlings or Lamha (as is its Urdu name which means ‘moment’) has already won five awards internationally since its global release in early 2012. Aamina Sheikh who stars in the film, has won two awards for Best Lead Actress at the New York City International Film Festival (NYCIFF, 2012) and SAARC Film Festival (2013), respectively. The movie itself has won three awards; Best Feature Film (Audience Choice) at the NYCIFF Awards 2012, Best Feature Film at the DC South Asian Film Festival (2013) and Best Feature Film (Silver prize) at the SAARC Film Festival (2013).
Jab Koi, featuring Zoe Viccaji and Omran Shafique has been exclusively released in Pakistan on television through TV One’s popular morning show Muskurati Morning with host Faisal Qureshi on 29th August, 2013. It will subsequently be released on air via Radio1 FM91 on 30th August, 2013.
Meher Jaffri the producer of Seedlings speaks about the production of Jab Koi and what hopes she has both for the video and the film as they release in Pakistan:
“This Mehdi Hasan classic has been close to my heart since I was a child. The bittersweet tone of the song lends itself perfectly to the mood of what we were trying to capture in that scene with Aamina and Mohib’s characters. To me the song has always evoked the sweetest sense of nostalgia that Zoe and Omran have captured perfectly in their cover. Bodhicitta Works is thrilled to be bringing this Pakistani classic back to the forefront (a big shout out to EMI Pakistan for lending us the track) and as we announce the film Lamha (Seedlings’) much awaited commercial theatrical release in Pakistan. We are very excited to finally showcase to Pakistan the wonderful acting, musical and filmmaking talent behind the film!!”
Seedlings is a story about a couple who have to learn to deal with the loss of their only child and the uncertainties that follow. The song Jab Koi is based around the same storyline represented by the flashbacks one sees in the video.
The video for Jab Koi has been shot in a quaint old vintage apartment in Saddar Karachi, giving it an overall feeling of warmth and welcome. In Jab Koi’s video, Zoe Viccaji is shown at the apartment having flashbacks in the form of scenes from the actual movie.
Zoe Viccaji, who also owns the apartment where the video was shot, is the main singer featured alongside Omran Shafique in Jab Koi. Speaking about his involvement in ‘Jab Koi’ and his opinion of the movie Seedlings, Omran states:
“Zoe and Meher got in touch with me regarding a remake of a song that was used in the movie. I had already watched a rough cut of the film by then and I thought the film itself was great, so I wanted to capture the feel of the movie in our cover of ‘Jab Koi’. After a little deliberation with the gang…we went for a slow deliberate melancholic feel, without making it too depressing, and while still retaining that sense of hope one gets by the end of the movie. After the feel was decided, I started tracking all the music…partly at Zohaib Kazi’s studio and partly at mine. Zoe did her vocal parts and we ended up with a great, respectful cover of the original.”
Zoe also speaks about her experience of being a part of this project:
“This project has been such a long time coming, that we’ve seen many many stages of how it’s evolved and changed for the better. Doing a song like Jab Koi was a daunting challenge because not only is it well known, but it’s sung by someone as great as Mehdi Hasan. Every time I’d be singing the song, I’d imagine voices telling me that I should have left the song just as it was, and not tampered with a golden classic. We’ve tried to stay as true as we can to the emotion of the song, while giving it a twist of our own. Working with Omran is always a pleasure because he is so open to various approaches to a song, and Meher to whom this song meant so much personally was always there to make sure we did it justice. A true labour of love, these are the kind of projects I love to be a part of.”
In the Jab Koi video, Omran and Zoe are seen stylishly clad in Levi’s® wardrobes. Omran chose to wear Levi’s® 511 coloured jeans and a Levi’s® Chambaray Shirt, both of which suited him perfectly. Zoe on the other hand slipped into two different wardrobes for the video and behind-the-scenes photo shoot of ‘Jab Koi’ – first she can be seen in a Levi’s® long sleeve tie shirt matched with Levi’s® Slight Curve Skinny jeans. Subsequently she wore coloured Levi’s® Sun Coral Skinny jeans and a Levi’s® Chambaray Shirt. The exclusive behind-the-scenes photo shoot of Zoe, Omran and Meher was coordinated by Levi’s® and shot by talented photographer Nefer Sehgal. This shoot will be seen soon in various print media.
The Jab Koi video has been sponsored by Levi’s® as an initiative to support independent film making in Pakistan and encourage other talented individuals in this field, to release their work locally and internationally.
Check out the teaser of this song below:
Check out the video stills below:
