The joke is on us, not Taher Shah

Not to be a killjoy, but get a bloody grip.

It's all well and good being that self-appointed ironic, postmodern, nudge-nudge-wink-wink social commenter who's so cerebral that he can laugh at someone else's shitty art and feel superior. (And I say this as a person guilty of the exact same thing, so there might be an element of hypocrisy involved here.) But to what extent? At what cost?

Taher Shah's bizarre new song, called "Angel", already has close to two lakh views at the time of writing, with some 1,300 comments. Is this peak post-irony yet? Or do we have to plunge further before we hit rock bottom? Thousands of songs releasing every day and this is what makes its way out of the sump. 

For some background, Shah is a Pakistani singer-songwriter who unleashed his creative musings to the world via his debut song, "Eye to Eye", a couple of years ago, which (along with its video) became the subject of many a sarcastic chortle among the burgeoning community of bored, sardonic, self-aware internet hounds. It was so bad it was good. 

Shah became an internet star, for being several shades of terrible but lacking the awareness to know it. It was "ironically popular", you see, like how people wear ironic T-shirts ironically, or listen to the awfully catchy "Friday" by Rebecca on repeat ironically, watch masala Bollywood films ironically, indulge in camp humour ironically.

His biggest crime, though, was committing the unforgiveable sin of being sincere. Sincerity is the mortal enemy of the jaded, cynical, post-ironic hepcat sifting the internet for transgressions, and it must be destroyed.

"Angel" shows Shah wearing a purple robe and wings (!), doused in not inconsiderable make-up, walking around in this stunning open green expanse, singing: "Charming angel/ you are beautiful. OMG, you are so special/ as you are my lovely reflection."

At the risk of inviting ridicule, "Angel" is a catchy tune that, if sung well, would probably classify as an average-ish pop song, since it meets all the requisite criteria of the manufactured sound. Further, it is, by all accounts, an ode to his son, who also makes his way into the video in the latter half. It does sound just a little cruel to be scoffing at the musical manifestation of what is, in essence, a very pure and earnest emotion.

But those are the breaks you get when you put yourself out there. So I'm not suggesting that laughing at it is wrong - by all means, go right ahead, because it's always loads of fun. (As one YouTube commenter put it: "Angel nahi brinjal lag raha hai!")

An artist's craft is meant to be absorbed in many ways, and I see nothing immoral about questioning the motives, judging it harshly, dismissing it outright, even mocking it if that's what it calls for. But we're not laughing at Shah's music, are we? We're laughing at his feckless candour. We're laughing because we think: this guy wants to be a musician? The nerve. We're laughing because we think he's a blooming idiot. (To be honest, he does provide enough ammunition but that's an aside.)

It seems misplaced because, the way this writer sees it, the campy howls of scorn and glee at Shah's expense are just a little mean-spirited and, ironically, not very self-aware. It appears to be classic herd mentality in the digital age, where the need for approval by peers and the "influencers" of our time supersedes individual taste and opinion. Is it really even that funny? Is it genuinely as bad as everyone claims? Or is it just because Shah is an easy target? A funnyish-looking man with an everyday voice and not a lot of talent. Oh, and his pronunciations aren't spot on; the audacity of this guy…

I'm fully aware that all of this might sound patronising. Well, it's not meant to be (if that helps), but more than a defence of Shah - god no - this is a plea that we direct our gaze inward first, ask ourselves the difficult questions before we indulge.

And that's without even considering the very plausible alternate theory: That Shah is a nutty postmodern genius. That all of this has been one elaborate hoax, a prank on nudge-nudge-wink-wink morons, serialised performance art Yoko Ono would be proud of. Or that he experienced the backlash after his first single and, instead of letting it affect him, he decided to embrace the humour of it all, and he's now pulling a fast one.

He's an opportunistic troll, and we're unwittingly feeding him. That Taher Shah decided to become the joke he wanted to see in the world - and now the joke's on us. Either way, let's get a grip.