While many Pakistanis are proud of Arooj Aftab after her Grammy win, some are on the fence about her win.
It was indeed a proud moment for Pakistanis after the vocalist bagged her first Grammy for the country. Arooj Aftab, in her acceptance speech, said;
“I think I’m gonna faint, … Thank you, this category itself has been so insane. Should this be called Best World Music Performance or should it be called Yacht Party category? Anyway, thank you so much, to those who helped me make this record, all of my incredible collaborators, for following me and making this music that I made about everything that broke me and put me back together. Thank you for listening to it and making it yours.”
Though not everyone is happy. Many complaints and criticism poured in over the fact that she didn’t pen the song herself and did ‘not acknowledge legends’ from whom the song was borrowed. Pakistani guitarist Faraz Anwar posted on Facebook saying;
“Gana Mehdi Hassan ka, award Arooj Aftab ka, wah re wah duniya. She did not even mention Mehdi Hassan’s name, congrats Arooj, well done!”
In her acceptance speech she did mention ancients and those before her saying;
“I feel like I was nervous, this is a life-changing moment for me. I can’t believe any words came out of my mouth at all, … A lot of respect to those who came before us, it’s really important for me. Our ancestors, our ancients, they live on cosmically and they continue to make music through us.”
She bagged the Best Global Performance award for her rendition of Mohabbat Karne Wale. The track was previously performed by legends like Mehdi Hassan and Farida Khanum. However, they too didn’t pen the song as it is Hafeez Hoshiarpuri’s creation.
Meanwhile, Tina Sani told Express Tribune;
“Her song wasn’t nominated, her performance was.”
Is this just a matter of envy with people trying to rain on the young artist’s parade? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
It is pertinent to mention that Arooj was nominated twice; for the first time at the 64th annual Grammy Awards in the Best Global Performance and Best New Artist categories. Additionally, she already won a Latin Grammy.
