Description:

Zeb Bangash from Pakistan and Sunidhi Chauhan from India collaborated on an episode of BBC"s Baat Sarhad Paar, which debuted on YouTube on July 15. The vocalists were heard praising one another"s work and talking about the dynamics of writing music for a large, dispersed audience that is unified by art and music but divided by geography and politics.

Chauhan opened the session with appreciating Bangash"s Sooha Saaha from Alia Bhatt"s blockbuster movie Highway. The Pakistani singer has a "huge fan" in Chauhan, who admitted as much. The Kamli singer admitted, "I listened to the song every single day for months after it came out, and I still do. "Sooha Saaha became a part of my life. I listened to it as I worked out, when I was recording, and after I had a kid, I sung it as a lullaby. She continued, thanking Bangash for providing us with such a calming music, "It"s very near to me.

Bangash took the chance to share her favourite Sunidhi Chauhan song, Bhaage Re Mann from the Chameli film from 2003. She claimed that the song still makes her think of the times when playing a CD in her car to listen to music in Lahore. Chauhan thanked Coke Studio for helping her stay connected to Pakistani music and for introducing her to talent on this side of the border as they expressed their admiration for one another"s music.

Bangash recognised that the Pakistani music industry is extremely minor in compared to India"s enormous music industry while speaking more specifically about venues like Coke Studio. She also mentioned Bollywood as a significant element in India"s music industry"s success and subsequent growth.

"This is the reason why we get exposed to more Indian music in Pakistan whenever a new film is released in India. Such a notion doesn"t exist in Pakistan. When Coke Studio wasn"t around, we all worked on our own projects. Perhaps for this reason, India never heard from us on this level. They only watched Pakistani dramas before Coke Studio, she claimed.

She continued by giving thanks to Coke Studio for also identifying and effectively utilising the "connection" between Indian and Pakistani listeners. "When Coke Studio was released, the only news coming out of Pakistan was about political unrest; as a result, the country"s reputation for terrorism and bloodshed was already established. So, I suppose people were astonished to see that people were singing here. Then, classic songs began to be revived. As a result, a connection was restored when many individuals, including those from Punjab, came to claim Bulleh Shah"s poetry.

While Chauhan and Bangash both made their debuts in Pakistan three years ago for the film Baaji"s Gangster Guriya starring Meera and Mehwish Hayat, respectively, and Bangash made her Debut film with a song for John Abraham"s Madras Cafe before singing the soundtrack for Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda"s Highway. She also sang the song Noori, which was featured in the Superstar movie with Mahira Khan and Bilal Ashraf. Chauhan most recently performed Aatish for Chaudhry - The Martyr. The song features Amna Ilyas as its subject.