Bollywood’s go-to Pakistani singer Atif Aslam started a trend — of disciplining the audiences into decency at his live concerts. And now this is becoming quite a thing to emulate. At least three other singers Asim Azhar, Aima Baig and Talha Anjum have taken a similar stance.
It’s quite a responsibility these artists have taken over, especially considering how many in Pakistan see live music concerts as obscene.
On New Year’s Eve at the Pakistan National Council of Arts, Islamabad, Asim Azhar’s stage highlight became a moment when he started schooling a group of inebriated young men harassing families at the event.
Calling out these men in the crowd, the Tera Woh Pyaar singer said: “Welcome 2022 with safety and joy. Don’t spoil anyone’s New Year Eve”, drawing applause from the audience. Refraining from directing his comments at an individual or a group, Azhar chose to keep the celebratory spirit afloat by acknowledging that it is an artist’s responsibility to ensure public safety.
The singer chose to justify his stance on an Instagram story saying, “I don’t usually share stuff like this; we tolerate anything but families being harassed.”
Three days prior to Azhar’s event, singer Aima Baig faced a similar situation — only this time, it was directed at herself. Enraged against the ‘badtameezi culture’, Baig warned to leave the concert midway should people continue to misbehave. Surprisingly, her audience started echoing “Sorry! Sorry”.
Pakistani rapper Talha Anjum of popular duo Young Stunners was recently attacked with a bottle while performing live in Islamabad. Much to his chagrin, the singer’s mood was ‘ruined’. Twitter too didn’t have much sympathy to offer. While some did laud his reprimanding of miscreants, others say a joke opportunity.
Talha Anjum trying to threat that guy: pic.twitter.com/bonWDOOmuB
— Azan Dar (@AzanDar32) December 25, 2021
A user tweeted that Talha’s next song could be titled Bottle Attack with the lyrics “bhare majmey mein botal se waar kya, main ne jhele hain lafzon ke waar bhi (what does a bottle’s attack mean in a large crowd, when I have been attacked with bitter words)”.
Talha Anjum's next song will be named as "Bottle Attack" with lyrics "bhare majmy mein botal se waar keya, mein ne jhele hein lafzon k waar bhi….etc"😛
— Marwah Khan (@MarwahKhan64) December 25, 2021
Also read: On Pakistan TV drama, an awkward scene on honeymoon and Ramzan. Viewers can’t stop laughing
The trendsetter
For some Pakistanis, what Azhar did was a publicity stunt, joining the league of Asim Baig and Talha Anjum. But in Pakistan, it is Atif Aslam who took this stand first.
In 2017 at a Karachi concert, Atif brought the show to a halt when he saw a woman in the front row being harassed by a group of men. The singer cut no corners in lashing out at the miscreant and told him to him “Act like a human being.” The crowd exploded with chants of “Atif! Atif!”.
A similar incident happened in December 2021, and this time the singer left the concert midway as a mark of protest.
Someone misbehaved with a girl from crowd and she came to Atif Aslam and he left the concert ❤️. Respect👏#AtifAslam #TastePlus pic.twitter.com/IioJyOGoJC
— Bengali Fan Of Atif Aslam (@EmonAadeez) December 12, 2021
After this incident, Twitter users took a dig at other singers and celebrities — “In an ocean of the likes of Ali Zafar, be an Atif Aslam.”
In an ocean of the likes of Ali Zafar, be an Atif Aslam.
What a solid reaction. He walked out of a concert in Islamabad last night when a girl was harrassed by some shameless idiots. I am sure that next time, in Atif's concert, no1 will dare to do anything inappropriate.
— Areesha (@AreeshaPervez) December 12, 2021