Re: atif aslam goes to bollywood/ Soundtrack of Zaher (Merged)
Just when you thought it was finally over, the Atif-Gohar row has taken yet another turn and this latest bout is turning out to be as bloody as all their previous entangles combined. The reason for this latest falling out is Mahesh Bhatt's latest offering from Bollywood 'Zehar' whose promos have been blaring 'Lamhe' in Atif's voice all over the Indian music channels.
As is the case with every local creation, only a foreign seal gives it legitimacy and so willingly or unwittingly, Bhatt has taken sides in a war that has rocked Pakistan's music industry to the core.
According to Atif, Bhatt's choice is ample vindication of who is real McCoy, who owns the song 'Lamhe' and the legacy of the original Jal. "I came up with the song 'Lamhe' in a bathroom with two of my other friends. We came up with the lyrics and the melody. I then went to Gohar and told him about the song and asked him to work with me on the song. We then worked on it and tried it out in a number of concerts in Lahore. We recorded one such performance and released it on our website. Mahesh Bhatt heard that version and wanted the voice he heard for his film. Fortunately Najam Shiraz was in India then and he vouched for me and that is how Mahesh got in touch with me," Atif tells Vibes.
Gohar argues that Atif has sold his song to Mahesh and that the version used in Zehar is actually the version that Jal (Gohar has apparently ended up with the band name) has in its album and not the one released by Atif in his album Jalpari. "The song that is appearing in the movie is the original version that we have in our album and not the version that Atif has done in his album. When Atif left Jal, Farhan replaced him and we released three of our songs on the Jal website. One of the songs that we released was Lamhe in my voice and that is the song that Mahesh listened to and wanted for his film. It is the same version that is a part of our album and not Atif's. Unfortunately Najam Shiraz was in India then recording his song 'Bheegay hont teray' for Mahesh and he was unaware of the controversy and breakup back home. He had only heard of Atif and did not know what the actual status of the band was. He called up Atif who falsely owned up to the song and agreed to sing it for Mahesh. If this is his version how come it is a part of our album rather than being a part of his?" asks Gohar.
According to Atif the reason for having a faster version of Lamhe on his album is that Gohar had already released the single Lamhe through his video and he needed to be different. "Gohar relased my version of Lamhe before my album actually came out and so I had to change the song somewhat to make it different. But the original song on the net was mine and thus it only made sense that I did it for Mahesh," responds Atif.
This according to Gohar is totally untrue. "His album was released much before our Lamhe ever hit any of the music channels."
Good luck to everyone who tries to make sense of this set of counter-allegations. The fact remains the bad blood between the two since the breakup will never allow them to settle down. The two are still in litigation against each other and none of the two feels any shame in bad-mouthing the other.
"The band broke up because Gohar wanted more money. He was the one who decided to appoint my brother as the band manager but when the band started making some money he was not comfortable that my brother and I were getting a better collective share in profits than him. The second reason was that he was actually not good enough and he simply cannot play in a studio. When we went to Meekal Hasan's studio for recording Aadat Gohar tried several times but he simply could not play guitars for the song and eventually Salman Albert had to step in and perform. So the guitars for the song Aadat have been done by Salman Albert," Atif tells Vibes.
Gohar agrees that he faced some difficulties in performing as it was his first attempt at recording a song in a studio. "I didn't even have my own guitar and I was not familiar with Meekal's guitar. We didn't have the money to afford a second shift so we simply had to get the song recorded and that is why I myself asked Salman to step in. The fact of the matter is that even Atif was unable to sing properly and I had to sit with him for an hour to get him to hit the right pitch or else a few of the lines were pretty flat. You must also know that the guitars have been done collectively by Salman and I and I have played all the acoustics for that song as well. Since then I have been playing my own guitars for all of the band's songs," explains Gohar.
There is little point in debating the matter any further as both sides have their own stories to tell. The real test shall not be what has happened in the past or the songs that we have already heard but in fact what lies ahead -- in their respective second albums.
According to both the artistes and their respective managers they are in the industry "for the music and not for the money". So it really doesn't matter who owns Lamhe, when the fact of the matter is that the Bhatts of India will score big in the Indian market thanks once again to another talented Pakistani musician.