Born with a love for the visual arts, Shahan Rao began his career behind a still camera in Pakistan, where his distinct compositional eye captured the documentary filmmaking heyday. This early affinity for the visual would lead him to Los Angeles, where an irrepressible love for cinema saw him work with over 20 directors from around the world — and a short-listing as the Academy of Motion Pictures’ Emerging Cinematographer of 2024. A rare intuitive visual sensibility that elevates a director’s core vision has seen Rao cut his teeth on award-winning productions such as Generation Wells , 40 Days , The Ghost in the Machine and Pieces of Two .
Now this master-class cinematographer has brought his Hollywood gloss back home to Pakistan — with powerful results. As 2nd Unit Director of Photography for groundbreaking Coke Studio Pakistan initiative Coke Studio Nu.Wav, Rao has lent his considerable expertise to help realize the striking look of the smash-hit song Dil and central promo. Set for release to great fanfare, the track has already garnered over 30 million views online within first month of its launch making it a massive hit. The video was Highly inspired by the Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey.
Rao’s work created a coherent play of lighting, movement, composition, and art direction that brought an emotional ideologies to the track. Rao engaged in high-concept lighting design for this video. He combined colors in the atmosphere to create the desired mood and contrasted them with bright lights to create sharp edges and highlight the performers. The camera almost felt rhythmic to the music, creating steady shots that captured the Neo Noir architecture to performance shots that enhanced the energy of Afusic and Zoha Waseem. In all shots, he used painterly compositions to capture the performances of the actors and the setting in which the performance took place. Shahan matched these elements to the production design by incorporating the art direction, textures, and modern themes presented in the video. This has made ’Dil’ to transform into a spectacular visual experience that showcases a work created by great artists in the world.
Dil unites Pakistan’s most exciting musical voices — rapper, singer and songwriter Afusic (Affan Khan) and the mesmerising Zoha Waseem. Fresh from the success of his massive hit "Pal Pal” with over 721 Million views on Youtube, Afusic has been making waves as a rising star in Pakistan’s music scene, with his seamless melding of traditional South Asian cadences with contemporary hip-hop beats earning him a "Future Star" designation from Spotify Pakistan. He is joined by the bewitching Zoha Waseem, whose grounding in classical and ghazal music sees her deliver powerhouse vocals with her hit singles "Majboor" and "Duur Ve". To match this powerful combination of musical voices, Rao has employed his Hollywood-honed technical might to help deliver an astonishingly intricate lighting design for the promo. Moving well beyond the standard music video fare, his 2nd Unit crew has pulled out all the stops to utilise cutting-edge high-concept lighting designs that incorporate razor-sharp edge sculpting, moody atmospheric colour palettes and innovative high-key beauty lighting that reacts to the rhythms and cadences of Afusic and Waseem’s stunning performances.
Adding to the sheer power and impact of the promo is the sheer exuberance of Rao’s trademark vibrant personality that has seen the set become an inspirational workplace for everyone involved. The combined effect? A highly impactful art piece which is influencing the upcoming generation. As Coke Studio Nu.Wav continues its record-breaking trajectory around the globe, this latest promo is a powerful testament to an international cinematographer who is working at the greatest stages.
