Singer Atif Aslam has once again put the spotlight on the long-running rivalry between the two regional versions of the same music franchise. Talking about Coke Studio India, he said the show is missing the spark that made Coke Studio Pakistan a household name across the region.
Summary
Atif Aslam, one of Coke Studio Pakistan‘s most recognisable voices, said Coke Studio India relies too heavily on commercial formulas and star power. According to him, that approach has cost the Indian version the raw, organic feel that defined the Pakistani show for over a decade.
Background
Coke Studio began as a Coca-Cola marketing project in Brazil before Pakistan adapted the format in 2008 under producer Rohail Hyatt. The Pakistani version quickly built a reputation for pairing classical, folk and Sufi traditions with contemporary sounds, and it became one of the country’s best-known cultural exports.
India launched its own edition years later, going through different names and producers over time before settling into its current avatar. Comparisons between the two versions have followed the franchise ever since, mostly because both draw from a shared musical heritage but take very different creative routes.
Coke Studio Pakistan is now on its fifteenth season, produced and curated by Zulfiqar “Xulfi” Jabbar Khan under his production house Giraffe Pakistan. Season 15 released eleven original songs between April and July 2024 and was recognised by Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as one of the country’s biggest cultural exports.
Details
Aslam has been part of Coke Studio Pakistan since its earlier seasons and remains one of its most streamed artists, with songs such as Tajdar-e-Haram crossing hundreds of millions of views online. Speaking about the Indian edition, he argued that Bollywood’s commercial pressures shape the way music gets made there, leaving less room for the kind of experimentation that Coke Studio Pakistan is known for.
This isn’t a new argument. Music industry figures on both sides of the border have made similar points over the years. Xulfi himself has spoken about how Bollywood casts a wide shadow over India’s mainstream music industry, something Pakistani artists don’t have to contend with in quite the same way.
A Spotify executive who has worked closely with Coke Studio Pakistan made a related point last year, suggesting that freedom from Bollywood’s commercial demands is exactly what let Pakistani producers experiment and gave Indian listeners access to more artist-driven music.
Quotes
Aslam described the difference between the two shows in blunt terms, pointing to a missing spark in the Indian version that he feels comes from leaning too hard into commercial appeal rather than artistic instinct.
Industry voices echo a similar sentiment. As one music platform representative put it, Coke Studio Pakistan’s freedom from Bollywood’s commercial pull may be exactly what has allowed it to experiment in ways its Indian counterpart hasn’t.
Impact
Comments like these tend to travel fast across social media in both countries, reviving the old question of which version does justice to the format Coca-Cola built. For Pakistani fans, the remarks reinforce a sense of pride in a show that’s been running since 2008 and has survived several changes in producers without losing its core identity.
For the Indian side, it adds fresh pressure on producers to show that commercial backing and organic music-making aren’t mutually exclusive. It also keeps alive a broader conversation about how much creative freedom a brand-sponsored show can realistically offer once major labels and film studios get involved.
Conclusion
Whether or not Coke Studio India can close that gap remains to be seen, and it will likely depend on who leads the show creatively in future seasons. Coke Studio Pakistan, meanwhile, continues building on the momentum of Season 15, with fans and critics already speculating about what direction Season 16 might take.
FAQs
Why is Pakistani Coke Studio better than Indian Coke Studio?
Many listeners and industry figures argue that Coke Studio Pakistan has more creative freedom because it isn’t tied to a film industry the way Coke Studio India is linked to Bollywood. Without that commercial pressure, Pakistani producers have historically had more room to experiment with folk, Sufi and classical fusion, which is often cited as the reason the Pakistani version feels more organic. This is a matter of opinion rather than a settled fact, and plenty of viewers do enjoy the Indian edition on its own terms, but the “commercial versus artistic” argument comes up often enough that it has become a running theme in how the two shows get compared.
Is there any Coke Studio in Pakistan?
Yes. Coke Studio Pakistan has been running since 2008 and is currently on its fifteenth season, making it one of the longest-running entries in the global Coke Studio franchise. It was created by Rohail Hyatt and Nadeem Zaman, and over the years it has been produced by Hyatt, the band Strings, the duo Ali Hamza and Zohaib Kazi, and currently by Zulfiqar “Xulfi” Jabbar Khan. The show is executive produced by Coca-Cola Pakistan and has featured well over a hundred episodes and hundreds of artists across its run, spanning genres from Punjabi folk to Balochi and Sindhi music to contemporary pop.
Which Coke Studio is most famous?
Globally, Coke Studio Pakistan is generally regarded as the most successful and most recognised version of the franchise, known for songs that have crossed hundreds of millions of views and for introducing artists who went on to build international followings. That said, “most famous” can depend on the region being asked. Within India, Coke Studio India naturally has a larger built-in audience given the size of the market, even if it hasn’t matched the Pakistani version’s global reach or its reputation for artistic experimentation.
Is Coke Studio Indian or Pakistani?
Coke Studio is neither purely Indian nor purely Pakistani. It’s an international music format originally developed by Coca-Cola in Brazil, and it has since been localised in several countries, including Pakistan, India, and others. Coke Studio Pakistan and Coke Studio India are separate, independently produced shows that operate under the same global brand but have their own producers, artists and creative direction. The confusion usually comes from the fact that Coke Studio Pakistan is by far the more internationally recognised version, which leads some listeners to assume the entire franchise originated there.
