New Delhi: Pasoori, Coke Studio Pakistan’s smash hit from 2022, made history on Sunday. Sung by Ali Sethi, Shae Gill and starring renowned classical dancer and activist Sheema Kirmani, the song hit one billion views on YouTube — the first for any Pakistani song.
“From Pakistan to the world! What started as a song became a global moment, carried by millions of you around the world. Today, we celebrate 1 Billion YouTube Views on Pasoori, a milestone made possible by every single person who pressed play, sang along and made it their own. From all of us at Coke Studio Pakistan, thank you for making history with us,” Coke Studio wrote on Instagram.
Pasoori was released on 6 February 2022 as part of Coke Studio Pakistan Season 14. The song quickly went far beyond Pakistan, reaching No. 3 on Spotify’s Global Viral 50 chart that year. It also became the platform’s most-streamed Pakistani song and ranked among Google’s most-searched songs globally in 2022.
Pasoori extends beyond romance
“Pasoori,” whose title roughly refers to a ‘difficult predicament’ or ‘complication’, explores themes of forbidden love, separation and the barriers keeping people apart.
Its international reach grew through social media and streaming platforms, with the song inspiring covers and reinterpretations around the world. It was also featured in the Disney+ Marvel series Ms. Marvel, while an Indian adaptation, “Pasoori Nu,” appeared in the 2023 Bollywood film Satyaprem Ki Katha.
On YouTube, several listeners commented, saying they had come to the song after the milestone hit. In 2022, Sethi told The New Yorker that the idea for the song emerged when he was invited to take part in a project in Mumbai—a city he had visited many times for literary festivals and music performances. However, travel to India for Pakistani citizens is heavily influenced by the political climate.
The producers informed Sethi that, as a Pakistani artist, he would not be able to work in India because of the risk that extremists could attack or set fire to the studio. The mention of arson immediately reminded Sethi of the line he had seen behind a jingle truck—Agg lavaan teriya majbooriya nu (set fire to your issues).
“So I did what desi bards have done for ages,” he explained, referring to the traditional South Asian poets and songwriters of earlier generations. Although he could not physically travel to India, he realised that his music could cross the border in his place.
Although “Pasoori” appears to tell the story of forbidden lovers, its meaning extends beyond romance. It also serves as a metaphor for the complicated relationship between India and Pakistan—two countries whose histories, cultures, and artistic traditions are deeply interconnected despite years of political conflict, the New Yorker piece noted.
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‘Coke Studio has been culture-shaping’
In early 2021, Sethi sent producer Zulfiqar Khan, better known as Xulfi, a voice note containing the melody and opening lines he had imagined for the song. Xulfi had recently been appointed to lead the 14th season of “Coke Studio,” the well-known Pakistani music series produced by the Coca-Cola Company. He immediately recognised the potential of Sethi’s idea, describing the experience as giving him “goosebumps” and making him want to dance. He believed audiences would instantly connect with the song.
Xulfi then discovered Anushae Gill, known professionally as Shae Gill, an economics student whose best friend had begun sharing videos of her singing on Instagram in 2019. He invited her to join the project, believing that her distinctive, smoky vocal quality would complement Sethi’s deep and expressive tenor. Thus, came Pasoori.
Singer Ali Sethi, along with Shae Gill, thanked viewers via Coke Studio for the milestone. Producer Zulfiqar Ali Khan, also known as Xulfi, in a video on Instagram called it ‘a landmark achievement for Pakistani art, artists and music. In the post, he also shared pictures of every single artist involved in the song’s making.
“Coke Studio over the years has been culture-shaping. It has given the narrative of Pakistan in such a beautiful manner to the entire world, fearlessly. So uss fearlessness ko mubarik baad (congratulations to the fearlessness)”, he said.
“And congratulations to the diversity, of which every time we talked, the world listened and celebrated,” he said.
“The lesson out of this is that when you work for something and do not give up, it gives you a brilliant result. It can culminate in something this beautiful… It’s not a small, small achievement. It is huge; it is grand for Pakistan,” he added.
For him, this is just a beginning. “I have always imagined and believed that Pakistan is the global powerhouse of music. This is a chapter,” he said.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)