Last weekend, Pakistan businessman-turned-singer Taher Shah took to the internet with a music video – in which he wears a papal-style maroon robe with a train and sparkly wings stuck to his back, singing his latest song, Angel. Oh, and he wears a tiara, too.
Crooning in English, the Karachi-based Shah sings about love, heavenly beings and mankind for over five minutes, while wandering in a green field and staring up at the sky.
The song has taken the internet by storm, and the trolling has been merciless.
Within 12 hours of being uploaded, the video had received 200,000 hits and triggered such a social-media frenzy that #TaherShah was trending on Twitter in Pakistan, India and the United Kingdom. More than 30,000 tweets have been posted since the video went live.
While some tweets commend Shah for his confidence, others troll the bad vocals, garish costumes and shoddy production value of the clip.
Indian celebrity Twinkle Khanna tweeted: “Pakistan doesn’t need nuclear weapons they can just drop this purple bomb on us.” Indian fiction writer Amish Tripathy called Shah “a new weapon of Mass Devastation!”. And one Twitter user posted a photograph of an ancient Singer sewing machine with the caption: “Still a better singer than #TaherShah.” Among the many jokes was a fake tweet by Indian prime minister Narendra Modi: “We stand firmly with the people of Pakistan in this time of grief.”
Reactions were similar in 2013 when Shah first tried his hand at music with a song called Eye to Eye. It shot to fame minutes after it was released and went viral on social media. The video showed Shah dressed in a white suit against a white background singing, in English, about "sensational eyes, emotional eyes, colourful eyes, exciting eyes, fabulous eyes, spectrum eyes, human eyes, my eyes".
On his official website, www.tahershah.com, Shah has posted a few details about himself but coyly refuses to give his age. The website's picture gallery features, beside Shah in his purple robe, a young boy, believed to be his son, wearing a blond wig, crown and wings. Next up for the never-say-die Shah? He has plans to launch a television channel.
artslife@thenational.ae
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY PROFILE
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
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Tips from the expert
Dobromir Radichkov, chief data officer at dubizzle and Bayut, offers a few tips for UAE residents looking to earn some cash from pre-loved items.
- Sellers should focus on providing high-quality used goods at attractive prices to buyers.
- It’s important to use clear and appealing photos, with catchy titles and detailed descriptions to capture the attention of prospective buyers.
- Try to advertise a realistic price to attract buyers looking for good deals, especially in the current environment where consumers are significantly more price-sensitive.
- Be creative and look around your home for valuable items that you no longer need but might be useful to others.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
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2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
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Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
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The biog
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Likes the colour: Black
Best movie: Avatar
Academic qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in media production from the Higher Colleges of Technology and diploma in production from the New York Film Academy
Cricket World Cup League 2
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Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
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SPECS
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099