Youngster from Pakistan’s Hunza Valley aims for stardom with Coca-Cola Studio hit
Shigar, Gilgit-Baltistan: Pakistani teenager Noorima Rehan shot to fame last year after a video of her singing Indian singer Asha Bhosle’s hit song “In Aankhon Ki Masti” became an internet hit. She has since been selected to be part of a star-studded virtual cast for the coronation concert of King Charles III in May 2023.
But the best was yet to come.
Now the 18-year-old from the Hunza Valley in the beautiful northern Pakistan province of Gilgit-Baltistan is garnering attention both at home and abroad after making her debut on the latest season of Coke Studio, Pakistan’s longest-running annual television music show.
Coke Studio Season 15 concluded with the release of its 11th and final song, “Mehman” (meaning guest). The song features the powerful voices of Rehan, Pakistani singer-songwriter Zebnisa (Zeb) Bangash from Lahore, Punjab, and Nizam Uddin Torwari from Type-se-Ban, a remote town in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The song has garnered almost 5 million views on YouTube since its release two weeks ago.
“My family supported me, my father supported me, and the communities in Hunza and Gilgit supported me,” Rehan, the eldest of five siblings and a professional ice hockey player, told Arab News in an interview. “So I don’t think I faced any barriers that would have put a gap between me and my passion for music.”
She also attributed her success and interest in the music field to her family’s passion for music.
“My mother has a very good voice and is a good singer. My father, brother and sisters also sing very well. But, [from my family] “I’ve pursued music as a career. I mean, I’m the only one who’s chosen music as a career.”
Rehan, who will soon be enrolled in a Bachelor’s in Sociology at Islamabad’s Iqra University on a scholarship, said she got the chance to perform on Coke Studio after the show’s producer, Zulfikar Jabbar Khan (known as “Shulfi”), discovered her version of Asha Bhosle on YouTube.
“Shurfi Bai approached me. [after watching the clip]which led to my journey with Coca-Cola Studios,” Rehan said.
“Mehman.”
A press release from Coke Studios describes Memaan as “a multi-artist collaboration that speaks to the ideals of hospitality not only on earth but from a higher, more divine plane. The song speaks to those who seek answers and guidance from the higher and its rich wisdom.”
Rehan said the song felt to her like Bangash and Torwari “dreaming together” about returning to Eden.
“It was my first time working with them and we had to record it in a very short time,” she says, “but before that, they gave me the lyrics and the melody and I practiced it, and then I went in and we jammed a little bit and then we recorded the song.”
Rehan said she was “a bit nervous” at first as she had never recorded professionally before, but the team at Cork Studios were “very helpful and supportive”.
“For me, the most interesting part of the trip was the Nizam. [Torwali]”So I met him. He was a strange guy, he didn’t speak Urdu, so I took it upon myself to help him. He was kind of a funny guy, so it was a lot of fun working with him.”
For her, singing with already established artist Bangash was also a special moment for her fans.
“It’s been a big thing, from listening to her sing to performing with her,” Rehan said. “She’s such a gentle, humble character and sweet. She’s helped me so much throughout this journey.”
Her father, Rehan Shah, a local politician and jeweller, said his daughter had made the family name “pride”.
“I thank God that she got the opportunity and it makes us proud that she is working at Coke Studios at such a young age,” Shah told Arab News. “Talent is inside kids, but it’s how you support them and stimulate their talent that counts. We have supported her and we will definitely continue to support her in the field of music.”
“In our society, girls are easy targets in fields such as music and Nourima is no exception. She has to face criticism just for singing. However, we will fight against this societal pressure and always support our children.”
