'The Red Robe' ['Soha Jora'] is a 2007 hit Punjabi Cinema film from Pakistan with great songs sung by Naseebo Lal and performed by actress/dancer Nargis. Nargis also produced 'Soha Jora'.
The story of the film highlights the phenomenon of old men in the Punjab sometimes insisting on marrying young girls, sometimes by pressuring the families in the villages...
The song we have here 'Badhe Ware Vi Ishq' ['And Later The Love'] is an imaginary 'fantasy' song in the mind of the old man who gets his eye on young Nargis in the village and decides that she is the one he wants to wear 'The Red Robe' of marriage...However, Nargis and her elders have different ideas and resists the old mans increasingly extreme demands for her hand in marriage. The old man's family begin a campaign of fear and death on Nargis' extended family. Nargis is made to wear 'The Red Robe' on her head, but it is a white scarf dipped in the blood of her murdered relatives. Nargis and hero Shaan come together in a revenge to kill the old man and his sister. The story is acted out in traditional dress and is a dramatic presentation of Punjabi Mythology and Folklore.
The movie highlights Pakistan's FEUDAL society. FEUDALISM in this sense means groups of families or villages where there are STRONG MEN LEADERS and PEASANTS. The PEASANTS are looked after but work and the LEADERS take goods for protection. Everyone 'knows their place' and violence will take place if anyone challenges the situation. However, violation of PEASANTS can occur similar to 'Soha Jora' which lead to FEUDS, violence and even death.
Pakistan can be said to be similar to how CLANS in Scotland used to live, and infact the whole of Europe until the Dutch, in the 1500s, decided that FEUDALISM and CAPITALISM could not exist together as a small number of people at the top of FEUDALISM benefit from and steal everything for themselves and the little people have no rights or say in how things run.
It took Europe over 400 years to removed FEUDALISM and replace it with 'DEMOCRACY'. The need to equlise rights of all for CAPITALISM was one of the main driving forces. The main opposition to DEMOCRACISATION was FEUDAL LORDS who were benefiting so much from the FEUDAL system and did not want to lose their financial and social perks.
CINEMA & MUJRA IN PAKISTAN
What we see in Cinema and MUJRA [entertainment dance originating in the Palaces of The Mughal Empire] of Pakistan is something really unique. Unique performers, a kind of 'raw' energy and intense approach to entertainment that is becoming quite rare in the Globalised World.
Due to the FEUDAL nature of Pakistani Society, the people who work in Music, Dance and Cinema all tend to be from the same CLAN. In Lahore, these people tend to originate in Hira Mandi area which is famous for dancing girls, prostutuion and acting. This CLAN of people are quite accepted to do this work as their CLAN has been designated to undertake this as their employment. It might be said that they 'take the shame' for the society as they provide dancing, companionship, MUJRA and Cinema for the other members of other CLANS to watch. However, their work is considered by soem to be 'low' or 'sinful', but it is their role, so that may 'absolve' them from some of these negative aspects.
ORCHESTRATION
The main things we notice about the music of this MUJRA are the PERCUSSION [instruments you hit] and the intense voice of Playback Singer Naseebo Lal.
The DRUMMING in Pakistani is first rate. The Punjabis have a great affinity for RHYTHM and BHANGRA dance that goes with it.
Naseebo Lal has a voice that is typical of Punjabi Cinema. The songs are very simple in construction but are quite difficult to sing well because they need a lot of micro-variety of TIMBRE [tone colour] and a tightened throat to deliver a voice that is intense with nasal and throaty RESONANCE [where the voice vibrates to gain its TIMBRE].
One media commentator noted, "Naseebo Lal is one of the last rare singers who can bring her audience to hysteria from the singing of the first line of a song in the cinema". This is quite accurate of one observes the reactions of audiences in Punjabi Films in Pakistan.
One of the main downfalls of new Pakistani movies is the lack of revenue. One of the ways this shows is that the ORCHESTRA has been replaced by ELECTRONIC KEYBOARD. So only the drums and singing are real. The 'VIOLINS' and 'FLUTES' and all are KEYBOARD sounds carefully mixed to try to make them sound real but the effect is cheap.
