Falak Video Banned on MTV

Falak’s debut video for Yadein II has been airing on the networks for a couple of weeks now. The video generated a lot of feedback, mostly positive and some negative. As ever, we remain grateful to everyone to took the time to get in touch with us. Many thanks for the support, and for your critical insights; we’ll certainly take them onboard with our future videos.

Unfortunately, MTV Pakistan decided to ban our video and refused to play it on air. Also regrettably, they did not provide us with any coherent reason for doing so. As we see it, this isn’t exactly censorship. We no longer live in the Pakistan of the 1950s to the 1980s when overt media repression was the norm and viciously enforced by the government. As a private entity, MTV has the legal right to choose what to air and what not to air. But it is still extremely disheartening to see how far a network that stood for youth counter-culture in its heyday (or are we just getting nostalgic in our old age?) now seeks to limit the musical choices available to Pakistani youth, and in turn, places limits on free expression.

Perhaps this stems from internalizing the media repression we faced for decades, or perhaps it’s about a recognized international brand protecting its bottom line. Or maybe there was something wrong with our approach? In any case, if you have any thoughts on it, feel free to stop by at our blogs at www.myspace.com/falaknation and let us know what you think.