Ahad Raza Mir breaks his silence on ‘Ko Ko Korina’ backlash

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Coke Studio’s rendition of Ahmed Rushdie’s iconic classic, Ko Ko Korina has literally been the most trending topic in the country ever since it released three days. The song received immense hate and trolling on social media and prominent personalities including Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazaari and Senator Sherry Rehman, expressed their distaste for the song on social media.

Shireen Mazaari’s Twitter fued with Ko Ko Korina‘s lead singer Momina Mustehsan was literally the cherry on top and was all Pakistanis could talk about Monday night.

Until now, Ahad Raza Mir, maintained his silence on the matter apart from a single tweet he posted on the day the song released, in which he thanked his fans for “the tremendous amount of love and appreciation” he received.

However, the budding singer and actor has finally broken his silence and addressed the debate in a series of tweets.

“I am honoured that I got to cover Ko Ko Korina,” Ahad began. “Some people enjoyed it and some not to so much, which is fair. Look at how we love to appreciate and criticise. It shows our nation is alive. Even after hearing the song, pun intended.”

He continued, “I loved the way everyone got together to talk about the song. I’ve seen all the memes and I have to say they’re hilarious. Just shows the fantastic sense of humour of this nation. Trust me I take it all very positively.”

Ahad said that despite everything he is very grateful.

“I am very grateful. Grateful to people like HSY who openly appreciated our efforts and has always been a supportive light in our industry. I am thankful to Momina who dared to work with a newbie to Pakistani music,” Ahad wrote.

Ahad then shared a monologue on Coke Studio and its various achievements and how lucky he is to be part of the platform.

Addressing the elephant in the room, which is of course, Dr Mazaari’s comments on the song, Ahad said, “I am also pleasantly surprised that the minister of human rights noticed out attempt, although she did not have very nice things to say, I’m still happy she noticed. Just a piece of advice: better choice of words next time Ms Minister.”

Speaking directly to Dr Mazaari, Ahad wrote, “Ms Minister you represent a party that wants to bring change, support youth and new ideas in Pakistan. The reach and duty of Human Rights promotes a caring approach to life. Don’t “massacre” its meaning. You represent human rights in our country. Think about what that means.”

Ahad rounded up his arguments saying that people should learn to be kind, even in their criticism.

“Really all I’m trying to say is that we should learn to be kind. Even in our criticism,” he wrote. “Trust me it goes a long way. Our song was a cover, and a cover is meant to deviate from the original. Its not supposed to sound or feel the same. And at the end of the day…it’s a song.”

He also asked the audiences to respect the artists, before concluding his comments on the matter by thanking all those who supported him and appreciated his song.

“To everyone that appreciated the song, I am honored and now will work twice as hard to gain the confidence of my critics. Love you as a nation,” he concluded.

Earlier in the day, several members of the Pakistan entertainment industry, including Ahad’s close friend and alleged beau Sajal Aly, lended support to the singers and asked for people to be more forgiving.

Taking to Twitter, Sajal wrote, “Itni nafrat lay kar kahan jaogay? QABAR MAI?”

In another post shared to her Instagram stories, Sajal said, “Three days and counting and its all about Ko Ko Korina! Love it or hate it, your call but you don’t have to go town insulting someone’s effort. It is only a song – sing along or change the channel. We as a country have far more important issues to debate.”

Fashion designer and talk show host, Hassan Shehryar Yasin, also said that “Coke Studio’s Ko Ko korina is not nearly as bad as I’m hearing people say it is. It’s young and Ahad Raza Mir and Momina Mustehsan sound and look like they are having fun singing it. It’s some happiness on TV. I’m all for people wanting to try and give their best.”