Indus Blues

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Indus Blues
Directed byJawad Sharif
Written byHaroon Riaz
Produced byJawad Sharif
Zeejah Fazli
Arieb Azhar
Adeel Malik
Mohsin Reza Naqvi
StarringMai Dhai
Krishan Laal Bheel
Faqir Zulfiqar
Ejaz Sarhadi
Sachu Khan
Zohaib Hassan
Ustad Ziauddin
CinematographyAsmat Bashir
Edited byJawad Sharif
Asmat Bashir
Music byVarqa
Agha Ibrahim Akram
Release date
  • August 2018 (2018-08)(Regina)
Running time
76 minutes
CountryPakistan
LanguagesUrdu
English

Indus Blues is a 2018 Pakistani documentary film produced and directed by filmmaker Jawad Sharif. The film is about the dying folk and classical musical instruments of Pakistan and the struggle of musicians and craftsmen to keep their art alive. The film was premiered in August 2018 at Regina International Film Festival in Canada and nominated for the Best International Documentary Film Award. [1] [2] The official trailer was released in October 2018 in Pakistan. [3] [4]

Contents

The film has won several awards in the international film festival circuit including the Grand Jury Prize for the Crystal Award at Guam International Film Festival 2018 and the Best Documentary Feature and Best Cinematography Awards at the Jaipur International Film Festival. [5] [6] The film was selected for the CPH:DOX Documentary Film Festival 2019, Denmark [7]

Synopsis

The film starts with a showcase of classical folk music as it travels in Pakistan from Moenjodaro to the Makran Coast. The soundtrack for this part of the film includes instruments such as Boreendo, Alghoza, and Banjo. Moving to Sui, Baluchistan for Suroz, Cholistan for Raanti, Gilgit-Baltistan for Chardha, Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Sarinda, and finally to Lahore for Sarangi. [8]

The cast of the film consists of the musicians and craftsmen narrating the sorry state of affairs and surviving in a society that is intolerant to their art and craft. They recount their experiences and the treatment they receive from people around them, reminding them that they are social outcasts who are looked down upon. They reveal that religious bigotry plays a major role in marginalizing them which has resulted in the lack of patronage and economic problems for these artists. Owing to these factors the fate of the last custodians of the art and the future of the indigenous musical instruments and their craftsmen in Pakistan remains in peril. [9]

Cast

Mai Dhai - Folk Artist
Krishan Laal Bheel – Folk Artist
Faqir Zulifiqar – Boreendo Player Artist & Musician
Ejaz Sarhadi – Sarinda Player
Sachu Khan – Suroz Player
Zohaib Hassan – Sarangi Player
Sattar Jogi – Murli Been Player
Mumtaz Ali Sabzal – Banjo Player
Gulbaz Karim – Chardha Player
Akbar Khan Khamisu – Alghoza Player
Ustad Ziauddin – Sarangi Craftsman
Ibrahim Hajano – Alghoza Craftsman
Muhammad Jan – Suroz Craftsman
Shafqat Karim – Chardha Craftsman
Nighat Chaudhary – Classical Dancer
Saif Samejo – Folk & Sufi Artist
Arieb Azhar – Folk & Sufi Artist
Faqeer Juman Shah – Folk & Sufi Artist

Production

The film took four years to complete with only the post-production taking up to two years and was shot across Pakistan from Gilgit-Baltistan to Sindh and the Makran Coast. [10] Jawad Sharif also has stated that "Independent cinema will send the message that our TV Dramas could not." [11]

Reception

Omair Ali wrote for Wire.in that "As much as the documentary shows the joy that the music brings, it is situated in the bleak atmosphere of a conflict-ridden society, where the musicians are forced to talk of their relatives wounded by mortar shelling, or confronted by villagers accusing them of immoral practices. The pleasure of music, of older, generous traditions is – in the documentary – a small pool of cool water in an increasingly thirsty land." [12]

Dr.Nazir Mehmood wrote in the Daily News about the film:"Now ‘Indus Blues’ has taken up the challenge to document near-extinct music and musicians. This is groundbreaking in the sense that, prior to this movie, no other director or producers had ever attempted to highlight the issues faced by our folk musicians and instrument-makers, and how they are trying to keep their art and craft alive." [13]

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryResult
2018Guam International Film FestivalCrystal Award Best Feature DocumentaryWon [14]
Spotlight Documentary Film AwardsGold AwardWon [15]
South Film and Arts Academy FestivalBest Documentary FeatureWon
Regina International Film FestivalBest Documentary FeatureNominated [16]
Top Indie Film AwardsBest Documentary FeatureWon
2019Mind the Indie Film FestivalBest Documentary FeatureWon [17]
Jaipur International Film FestivalBest Documentary Feature and Best Cinematography AwardWon [18]

Related Research Articles

The Music of Pakistan includes diverse elements ranging from music from various parts of South Asia as well as Central Asian, Middle Eastern, and modern-day Western popular music influences. With these multiple influences, a distinctive Pakistani music has emerged.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarangi</span> Bowed, short-necked string instrument from South Asia

The sārangī is a bowed, short-necked three-stringed instrument played in traditional music from South Asia – Punjabi folk music, Rajasthani folk music, and Boro folk music – in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. It is said to most resemble the sound of the human voice through its ability to imitate vocal ornaments such as gamaks (shakes) and meends. The Nepalese sarangi is similar but is a folk instrument, unornate and four-stringed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abida Parveen</span> Pakistani sufi singer

Abida Parveen is a Pakistani singer, composer and musician of Sufi music. She is also a painter and entrepreneur. Parveen is one of the highest paid singers in Pakistan. Her singing and music has earned her many accolades, and she has been dubbed as the 'Queen of Sufi music'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarinda (instrument)</span> Musical instrument

A sarinda or saranda is a stringed folk musical instrument from North and Eastern India and Pakistan, similar to the Sarangi, lutes, and the fiddle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alghoza</span> Woodwind instrument used in South Asia

Alghoza also called Beenon is a paired woodwind traditional musical instrument of Sindhi culture, also used by Kutchi, Saraiki, Punjabi, Rajasthani and baloch folk musicians. It consists of two joined beak flutes, one for melody, the second for drone. The flutes are either tied together or may be held together loosely with the hands. A continuous flow of air is necessary as the player blows into the two flutes simultaneously. The quick recapturing of breath on each beat creates a bouncing, swinging rhythm. The wooden instrument initially comprised two flute pipes of the same length but over time, one of them was shortened for sound purposes. In the world of Alghoza playing, the two flute pipes are a couple — the longer one is the male and the shorter one the female instrument. With the use of beeswax, the instrument can be scaled to any tune.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sultan Khan (musician)</span> Indian sarangi player and vocalist (1940–2011)

Ustad Sultan Khan was an Indian sarangi player and classical vocalist belonging to Sikar Gharana. He was one of the founding members of the Indian fusion group Tabla Beat Science, with Zakir Hussain and Bill Laswell. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour, in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saieen Zahoor</span> Singer

Saieen Zahoor Ahmed or Ali Saain Shafiu is a leading Punjabi Sufi musician from Pakistan. He has spent most of his life singing in Sufi shrines, and didn't produce a record until 2006, when he was nominated for the BBC World Music awards based on word of mouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suroz</span>

The suroz is a bowed string instrument with a long neck, similar to a fiddle or sarangi and played vertically. It is considered the traditional instrument of the Baloch people in Balochistan.

The All Pakistan Music Conference (APMC) is a volunteer organization founded in 1959 for the promotion of classical arts in Pakistan and continues to preserve and promote Pakistani classical and folk music and dance. It hosts a concert of music every month and a 5 day annual festival in Lahore, Pakistan typically in the last weekend of October. It has a chapter in Karachi as well. Ever since its inception, it has been a constant source of inspiration for thousands of music lovers nationwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarangi (Nepali)</span> Musical instrument

The Nepali Sarangi is a Nepali folk instrument. It is a chordophone played by bowing. Traditionally in Nepal, the Sarangi was only played by people of Gandarbha or Gaine caste, who sing narrative tales and folk song, however, in present days, its popularity extends beyond the Gandharba community and is widely used and played by other caste members as well. It has also garnered much interest in other music genres, such as Nepali rock and film music. While the Sarangi has become the quintessential Gandharba instrument, while its counterpart, the arbajo, which is a plucked lute, has fallen into obscurity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanam Marvi</span> Pakistani Folk and sufi singer

Sanam Marvi is a Pakistani folk and sufi singer. She sings in Sindhi, Punjabi, and Balochi languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tari Khan</span> Musical artist

Abdul Sattar Khan, popularly known as Ustad Tari Khan, is a Pakistani tabla player and vocalist. Tari Khan hails from the Punjab gharana and is the student of Ustad Miyan Shaukat Hussain. He has been awarded with many accolades such as Taj Poshi, the Hazrat Amir Khusrow Award, as well as Pakistan's Pride of Performance Award in 2008. Tari Khan belongs to the tabla playing gharana called the Punjab gharana. Today, he is acknowledged as one of the foremost Tabla players of all time by musicians all over the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saif Samejo</span> Founder and lead vocalist of the Pakistani band The Sketches

Saif Samejo is a musician and founder, lead vocalist and songwriter of the Pakistani Sufi folk band The Sketches. In May 2014 he opened the first music Aashram (School) in Hyderabad, Sindh named as "Lahooti Music Aashram". He composed music for Dastan-e Momal Rano on the show Coke Studio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Sketches</span> A Sufi folk rock band from Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan

The Sketches is a Sufi folk rock band from Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan, created by young musician Saif Samejo. "Sindhi melody is very charming; there is enormous flexibility of words" says Saif Samejo. Their motherland has always been a major inspiration which is portrayed in their work. The love for their language and culture is aimed to bring back the departed old identity and to produce quality work in order to sensitize the world in general and the youth in specific about the grace of Sindhi language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allah Bachayo Khoso</span> Alghoza player of Pakistan

Allah Bachayo Khoso was a popular Sindhi Folk artist and Alghoza player.

Khamiso Khan was a Sindhi folk musician and alghoza player from Sindh, Pakistan.

Munir Sarhadi was a Pashtun-Pakistani instrumentalist, sarinda player and a folk singer. As a musician, he represented Pakistan in several countries. In 1978, Munir became the recipient of Pride of Performance, a civil award conferred by the Government of Pakistan.

Nathu Khan, was a Pakistani sarangi player known for introducing solo sarangi playing tradition with difficult phrases. He was associated with Radio Pakistan and Pakistan Television Corporation. He was also associated with All India Radio before emigrating from India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jawad Sharif</span> Pakistani filmmaker, producer, activist

Jawad Sharif is a Pakistani filmmaker, producer, and activist, who directed the award-winning documentary film Indus Blues (2018). The film won the Grand Jury Prize at Guam International Film Festival in the United States. At the 11th Jaipur International Film Festival, it was declared the Best Documentary Feature and also bagged the award for Best Cinematography. He is also the producer, cinematographer, and editor of the award-winning documentary film K2 & the Invisible Footmen (2015). The film won over 37 awards in several categories.

References

  1. "Indus blues nominated for RIFFA". The Nation. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  2. Abbas, Afshan. "Pakistani Documentary 'Indus Blues' Nominated for International Film Award". Hip. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  3. Desk, Entertainment. "'Indus Blues' trailer explores different musical cultures across Pakistan". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  4. "Trailer of Indus Blues launched". The News International.
  5. Baloch, Sehar. "Pakistani documentary Indus Blues has won two awards in India". BBC Urdu. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  6. "Pakistani documentary wins two major awards at Jaipur International Film Festival". Daily Times. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  7. "Indus Blues to screen at Copenhagen International Documentary Festival". The News International.
  8. "Indus Blues". Indie Meme. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  9. Ehtesham, Amna. "Director hits the right note with film on folk music". Arab News. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  10. Sabeeh, Maheen. "Still got the Blues". The News. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  11. Kamal, Maahir. "An exclusive insight from Jawad Sharif, the director and producer of Indus Blues". APD Prime. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  12. Ahmad, Omair. "'Indus Blues' Documents Musical Traditions Dying out in Pakistan". The Wire. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  13. Mahmood, Dr.Naazir. "An elegy to music". The News International. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  14. "GIFF 2018 Crystal Award Recipients".
  15. "Spot Light Documentary Film Awards 2018".
  16. "Pakistani film 'Indus Blues' makes it to international film festival nominations". The News International.
  17. "Mind the Indie Film Festival 2019".
  18. "JIFF Awards 2019".