I am missing the haunting tunes of 2017, this season! No, sorry, please don’t mention Hawa Hawa, or I am going to explode! It was even worse than the original video! So, when I heard the incredibly tuneful rendering of Noor Jahan’s super hit of the late ‘80s, Luddi Hey Jamalo, I just threw pillows away from my comfort corner, and rushed to the TV screen. The number is one of my favourites from that era. The folk tune, spruced up with current trends by the brilliant tunesmith of Lollywood, Wajahat Attre, for film, Sahab Jee, is one of those songs that need no video, no illumination, and no glamour to hit the upper music shelves. It’s got all of those ingredients already!

Humeira Arshad sounds the best in this ditty after a long while, along with a highly talented Ali Sethi, whose additional stanzas blend in well. One thing that has to be said is that the local sound, propped up convincingly with the new accoutrements, is the tonic that is essential for Coke Studio to thrive and survive. More teams can’t effectively make a fist of western inspiration, because that needs real professionals. The east-west merger is not particularly working this season. So, Luddi Hey Jamalo has done the trick to bring in the rollicking touch. Better work with local sound until some good east-west merger is fashioned!