Iftar With a Star - Trendinginsocial

Okay, never mind… we know you had Ramadan brain-fog, so we’ll just spill the beans. It was you!

But first, a little context. Few countries celebrate Ramadan with such fervor and celebration as Pakistan does. It’s basically a month-long deep dive into the very heart of our cultural and spiritual traditions. Facebook has been celebrating this important occasion for participating markets under the #MonthOfGood campaign for many years. In Pakistan, a quick search of the #MubarakMaheena hashtag will show you a truly diverse cross-section of Ramadan content across platforms, publishers, and creators.

But while there are many aspects to Ramadan, nothing occupies as much attention as Iftar. It’s bewildering how literally everyone drops whatever they are doing as the sun begins to set and just heads on home to have some yummy goodies on a huge table with family and friends?

That’s where ‘Iftar with a Star’ came in. Created by Ishtehari and Metatainment, the influencer-heavy web series was a first-person-glimpse into the pre-iftar rituals of some of Pakistan’s biggest content creators.

Through the series, fans and followers got an unprecedented chance to witness a tete-e-tete with some of Pakistan’s most famous content creators. The video put the viewer in the driving seat as they went up-close and personal into what is otherwise a pretty personal aspect of celeb lives, the iftar! And all you needed to do was hop on over to the Iftar With A Star playlist on Facebook and you were able to feel as if you were suddenly chuddy buddies with some of these super cool internet celebs.

The series had built-in interactivity; as is the Pakistani tradition, the IftarWithAStar team didn’t drop by without bringing them scrumptious gifts of their favorite Iftar dishes. And each creator’s follower base could subsequently impress them by posting a reel of their own iftar-time rituals.

Ever wonder why and how Saadur Rehman happens to be ‘Ducky Bhai’? Or did you know he grew up in Japan and only returned to Pakistan when he was a teenager? Likewise, Sham Idrees is a Canadian citizen and how he had quite a memorable experience during his first visit to Pakistan. Why did a shy youngster and accomplished engineer Haris Awan choose to become a prankster? Had any idea Mooro is amongst the pioneers of v-logging in Pakistan? How many of you know Shahmeer Abbas’s father Farhat Abbas Shah who occasionally features in his prank videos is a renowned Urdu poet as well as a celebrated ninja master?

These were some of the most interesting bits of information the social media stars revealed during their interaction with Meta. Each of them gave viewers a detailed home tour and walked through their personal stuff and Ramadan routine.

Infact, there was so much to rejoice about this series. The stars line-up was so diverse and wholesome to keep fans glued to the Metatainment’s Facebook playlist, where this exclusive content was hosted.

The guest list diligently balanced content creators with public figures. Although people like Inzamam ul Haq, Kamran Akmal, Juggan Kazim, Sanam Jang and others rose to fame for feats in their professional lives even before they joined social media, however, there is an exhaustive list of social media stars who propelled to success and popularity only on the back of social media.

Racking up millions of collective views, the Iftar With A Star felt like the beginning of a great platform that can grow each Ramadan. If you’re feeling extra lazy, here were some of our favorite hosts; Ducky Bhai, Nadir Ali, Rana Hamza Saif, Taimoor Salahuddin, Rizwan Khan, Maaz Safdar, Sanam Jung, Inzamam ul Haq, Mujadid Amjad Sabri, and Mathira.

The IftarWithAStar series was but just one of many initiatives that Facebook inspired in the creator and publishers community of Pakistan under #MonthOfGood and #MubarakMaheena.

Post Eid, Facebook partners across the region will be unveiling new initiatives and series in line with the celebrations.