Confession: I’m a red carpet newbie. I still get nervous when I spot a celebrity, so when one of my editors pushed me through a crowd of fast-talking, mic-wielding reporters to interview some of the country’s biggest musicians at Coke Studio 10’s grand launch this weekend – I panicked.
“I can’t do this,” I whispered, mostly to myself.
It is easy to feel intimidated when you are surrounded by impeccably dressed glitterati and talented artists who created the trend-setting music genre that has been called the “sound of the nation.” What could I even ask these people: how are you so awesome?
Little did I know one of the Coke Studio stars felt just a little bit like I did.
Daniyal Zafar the singer with a trendy Instagram profile has already inspired crushes across the internet and though he may have once been known as the younger brother of actor and singer Ali Zafar – he is a veritable talent of his own.
I was intimidated: Daniyal Zafar.
“I was in a room with people I usually see on television and it was overwhelming,” he told me when I finally worked up the nerve to walk across the carpet and ask him how he felt on set.
I could relate. So how did he overcome his anxiety?
“At the end of the day it is all about making music,” he says with a signature cheeky grin.
It hasn’t been easy for the hunky musician. Social media is rife with questions about whether he earned his place on to the Coke Studio sets or not. Daniyal wants to answer his critics with his music: “People usually ask me if I am making a debut because of my brother Ali Zafar? Or if I am going to be next Ali Zafar?And I just have a simple answer to that. Nobody can be a better Ali Zafar than Ali himself and no one a better Daniyal, than me”
Zafar has established a unique sound with his romantic duet with Momina Mustehsan ‘Muntazir’. The sweet, pure innocence of the song reminds me of first loves and
Main yahaan hoon muntazir
Tum wahaan ho be-khabar
Aur halke halke se mann chaahe
Maanga jis ko woh mil jaaye
Yeh raat tham jaaye sau saal ko
Aur ek ho jaaen hum tum
Here, I wait for you
There, you have no clue
And softly but steadily, I hope
That you should become mine
That this night should stand still for a hundred years
And the two of us become one
