Deciphering ‘Saaki-E-Bawafa’

Ali Sattar is no stranger to the pop culture industry, having worked with the likes of Jamshed Mehmood Raza, aka Jami, and at present the Islamabad-based music group RockLite.

But just like directing the music video of ‘Anjaane’ (for Strings) went a long way in putting Jami on the map of memory of fans, and showcased innovation and beautiful storytelling, the same can be said for ‘Saaki-E-Bawafa’.

The latter, released last year by Saakin, has made us fall in love with it as a single permanently. And, the music video that accompanied it.

Saakin consists of Varqa Faraid, Usman Shakeel, Parham Faraid, Ibrahim Akram and Ali Hamdani.

To learn more, Instep spoke to director Ali Sattar about who he is, where did he come from as well as the video that organically became a success and contains meanings you may or may not have deciphered.

As Sattar begins, he is also based in Islamabad – like the band – and is a lawyer by education. He practiced it before giving it up 6 to 7 years ago and has been a member of the industry since then.

Having worked as an assistant director with Rehan Shaikh on a film called Azad, he has been working independently, not just as a director, but also as Director of Photography. “I worked with Jami as DOP on some projects.”

He has also done commissioned work and music videos as well but, in my critical opinion, it is ‘Saaki-E-Bawafa’ that requires deciphering and a great deal of applause.

For every director in Pakistan, at least, there is one music video in their portfolio that makes us celebrate the art they have created – for years.

For Ali Sattar, it is ‘Saaki-E-Bawafa’.

“Usman Shakeel and the band members are good friends of mine,” says Sattar. “I’ve known them for years.”

As Ali Sattar recalls, “Saakin has been performing for a long time in the underground scene but they didn’t enter the mainstream due to not having studio versions of their songs.”

‘Saaki-E-Bawafa’, according to Sattar, is a song he first heard 10 years ago in the same composition as it is – today.

“I told Usman Shakeel, the vocalist of the band, that ‘whenever you make a music video of this song, I will make it’. They sent me the studio version and the work began. I don’t make boards, I write scripts.”

Sattar tells Instep, the Kalaam featured in the song is 300-400 years old and is by Shams Tabrizi, a Persian poet. “We wanted to make a video that represented the kalaam.”

Having survived centuries, it is being read in Iran, in Gilgit-Baltistan with utmost respect, he says.

“The whole concept of the video is that something that is read again and again, what should its aesthetic be?” says Sattar.

Deciphering the video, Sattar explains that the whole video is a time-loop. When it opens, he says, “Ali Hamdani is opening up his eyes on an island. It still isn’t night. The next thing you see is a flash of images at rapid pace and that’s the entire song. So, the idea is that whatever you see has already happened. When he opens his eyes, it is night time and as they begin reading the Kalaam ‘Saaki-E-Bawafa’, we see the studio version where they are standing in a basement but if you see closely, they appear out of nothingness, from another dimension. The island is one dimension and the basement is another dimension.”

He explains that while performing the Kalaam, they are back at the island. “During the transition when the shehnai is being played, the island where Usman is standing, he, too, is on an island and is a buffer between the real world and a special world.”

There are supernatural elements to the music video as well as the island on which Usman is standing the sky is made up of water. “It is an invitation to another dimension. People sit before fire, a boat is coming. Who are those people?”

The larger meaning to all of it, according to Sattar, is that they will continue to read the Kalaam, it is their job - again and again. “In the last shot, for instance, Ali Hamdani is closing his eyes. That is the same shot you see when he opens his eyes. Basically, everything you see happens in that single instance and when he opens his eyes, it will begin again.”

Sattar reveals that they thought about releasing the concept behind the strong video but people had their own interpretations. “Some thought it was post-apocalyptic, some thought it was science fiction and some thought they had buried their souls; I never thought people would find those interpretations so we decided to let it be.”

Sattar says, on a parting note, that he never expected the music video to become such a success and to a point where people spend time coming up with their own interpretations. “I knew the song was brilliant but I never thought people would like the video as much as the song.”