Iffat Omar viral video: what happened with the 'Aaqa' kalaam at LAAM Fashion Week

If you’ve seen the clip of Iffat Omar on a Lahore runway this week, here is the short answer: the actress was the showstopper for designer Nilofar Shahid at LAAM Fashion Week Season 2, and during the finale the devotional kalaam “Aaqa”, sung by Abida Parveen and Ali Sethi, played while she, the models and others on stage danced. The video spread fast, and so did the criticism. Iffat has since said on Instagram that she didn’t know what the track was.

What does the video show?

Iffat, in an embellished gold saree, walks out as the closing look of Nilofar Shahid’s collection, 24 News and The Current report. Designers, models and guests then come on stage for the finale while “Aaqa” plays, and the clip shows some of them dancing. Several outlets say the music was the kalaam “Ye Sab Tumhara Karam Hai Aaqa”, a piece long associated with Abida Parveen; 24 News credits the version played to Parveen and Ali Sethi.

Pages such as Filmi Shilmi reposted the moment, and that’s how most people first saw it.

What did Iffat Omar say?

She responded on her Instagram Story rather than in a post or interview. Her words, as reported by The Current and 24 News: “Just to clarify I had no idea what song it is but as soon as wording started I stopped, if I had known I would have never.”

It’s a clarification, not an apology, and it was a Story, so it disappears after a day. She didn’t comment on the designer’s or organisers’ choice of music.

Mishi Khan’s reel

The sharpest criticism came from actress and host Mishi Khan, who posted a video on her Instagram (below). Her caption doesn’t name-call; it goes after the practice:

• “Please don’t make a mockery of religious kalam in fashion shows & events.”
• “It’s so disrespectful & crude.”
• “Stop this nonsense of fashion shoots in mosques & religious buildings.”
• “Have some shame for heaven’s sake.”

In the video she aims as much at organisers as at Iffat, asking why a devotional piece was chosen for a fashion finale at all, The Current reports. Some reports say she also criticised Iffat’s dance steps.

Who’s actually responsible?

This is where the row gets fairer than the comment sections. Performers on a runway rarely pick the finale music; designers and show producers do. Neither Nilofar Shahid nor LAAM had commented publicly when this was written, according to 24 News. If Iffat’s account is right, the bigger question Mishi Khan raised, whether kalaam belongs on a catwalk at all, is one for the people who built the soundtrack.

Where it stands

Iffat Omar’s Story is the only statement from anyone on that stage. Watch for whether LAAM or the designer explains the music choice; until then, the clip will keep doing the rounds without that context.