Afreen Afreen

"Afreen Afreen" (آفریں آفریں ) is a nazm (song) performed and composed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan with lyrics written by Javed Akhtar. It first featured on their collaborative album Sangam in 1996. In 2016, it was covered by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan (Nusrat's nephew) and Momina Mustehsan during season 9 of Coke Studio.

1996 version
"Afreen Afreen" was first released during the IndiPop and fusion music wave of the mid-1990s as a non-film music video. The music video featured Lisa Ray.

2016 version
It was later rendered by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan with Momina Mustehsan, during season 9 episode 2 of Pakistani musical TV show Coke Studio. The music was directed by Faakhir Mehmood.

Personnel

 * Lyricist: Javed Akhtar
 * Artists: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan & Momina Mustehsan
 * Music director: Faakhir Mehmood
 * Produced & directed By: Strings
 * Guest musician: Joshua Keith Benjamin (keyboards)
 * House band: Imran Akhond (guitars), Aahad Nayani (drums), Kamran 'Mannu' Zafar (bass), Kashan Admani (guitars), Haider Alo (keyboard/piano), Abdul Aziz Kazi (percussions)
 * Backing vocalist: Rachel Viccaji, Shahab Hussain, Nimra Rafiq

Popularity
As of June 2024, it has garnered over 509 million views on YouTube, it is currently third on the list of most viewed YouTube videos of Pakistani-origin, just after Atif Aslam's rendition of "Tajdar-e-Haram" having 342 million views. It was the most-watched Pakistani music video of 2016. According to Google, its lyrics were one of the most searched lyrics for the year 2017. Momina Mustehsan became the fifth-most googled person in Pakistan in 2016.