StarBytes

When Atif Aslam had a Sufi moment

He's a megastar when it comes to music, but even Atif Aslam slips now and then. This was more than obvious at a recently aired Awards event held in Lahore, where the pop star enacted the whole Sufi scene - chakra dance, white robes and beads galore - to the music of his song 'Rabba' from his album Meri Kahani. He's huge as a star and his performance surely did receive rounds of applause but to those committed to the art of Sufiism, it was quite a joke.

Atif's dance performance at the Lux Style Awards last year was a riot; he kicked up a storm with Aaminah Haq and was phenomenal as he grooved to his popular tracks amongst a bevy of professional dancers. He proved that he could dance. However, no matter how good a live performer he is, a whirling dervish he is not and that was apparent as he went round and round at this show. This makes one wonder why every song that refers to spirituality must be inevitably associated to Sufism? It made sense in Junoon's 'Sayonee' and it even made sense in Rabbi Shergill's 'Bulla' or Jodha Akbar's 'Khwaja Meray Khwaja'. But even ace dancer Hrithik Roshan could not do justice to the routine, despite extensive training. Rabbi Shergill, giving the theme a contemporary twist didn't even try. What made Atif think he could don a couple of robes and step up as a Sufi? The bright side is that the performance was quite humorous at best.

Source : http://www.thenews.com.pk/instep_today.asp