Atif Aslam's 'Tajdar-e-Haram' drowns out Ayushmann and Sara's Udta Teer promotion at Wagah
As the Bollywood stars promoted their India-Pakistan spy comedy at the border, music from the Pakistani side got louder. The clip has gone viral.
A Bollywood film promotion at the Wagah-Attari border on Tuesday, October 21, ended up being remembered for the soundtrack from the other side.
What happened
Ayushmann Khurrana and Sara Ali Khan went to the border near Amritsar to promote their new film Udta Teer and attend the evening Beating Retreat ceremony. On the Indian side, they chatted with the crowd and joined in patriotic chants.
Then, as reported by The Tribune (India), music started playing over loudspeakers on the Pakistani side. Viewers identified it as Atif Aslam’s Coke Studio version of “Tajdar-e-Haram”, and it was loud enough to drown out the actors’ voices.
The clip spread fast on social media on both sides of the border. ProPakistani posted on X that the promotion was “drowned out by Pakistani Coke Studio tracks”.
Was it on purpose?
Nobody knows for sure. The Tribune and Mamaraazzi both say the song was “reportedly” Atif Aslam’s version, based on the viral clips, and Mamaraazzi notes that the intention behind playing the music has not been independently established. Pakistan’s side has made no statement. Music is a normal part of the daily ceremony on both sides, so the timing may have been a coincidence. Pakistani social media, of course, has decided otherwise.
Why people connected it to the film
Udta Teer is an action-spy comedy directed by Aakash Kaushik and releasing in Indian cinemas on October 23. The story follows a Pakistani intelligence agent who enters India on a mission, loses his memory in an accident and starts believing he is an Indian counter-terrorism officer. Some critics online have called the storyline anti-Pakistan.
According to Mamaraazzi, citing India Today, Nepal’s film authorities have also refused permission for public screenings there, without naming specific scenes.
Sara Ali Khan later thanked India’s Border Security Force and called the visit a proud moment.
Why it hit a nerve
“Tajdar-e-Haram” is a qawwali in praise of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), made famous by the Sabri Brothers. Atif Aslam’s 2015 Coke Studio version is hugely popular across South Asia, including in India. That is exactly why the moment landed: a Pakistani song that Indians also know by heart, playing over a film about a Pakistani spy.
Whatever the intent, at Wagah even a film promotion turns into India vs Pakistan.
Sources
This story was researched and drafted with AI assistance, then checked and edited by our editor before publishing.
