i have pictures but the upload isnt working =/
"I am going to host the MTV Immies
with Saif Ali Khan" – Ali Zafar
Instep catches up with Pakistan’s smartest pop wonder who
is making all the right moves across the border
By Ahmer Ashraf
Above all else, Ali is a crowd pleaser
“I am going to host the MTV Immies with Saif Ali Khan,” comes a nonchalant voice from the other side of the phone. Ali Zafar is calling to ask if Instep can report it in the paper. He keeps the media updated as and when he keeps doing things. Yes, Ali Zafar knows well the ropes of being a star and all that being one and more importantly, staying one entails. His casual tone tells me that this isn’t an earth moving moment for him, merely another day’s work.
Today Ali Zafar rules the roost of pop music in Pakistan and his magic is spreading through India like wildfire. He is being touted as the best import to India, the crowd puller, the ‘Channo’ boy and what not. Ali’s fame is sky high all the way across. He has been offered to sing in India, to act in Bollywood, to lend his music for soundtracks and more, all of which he has turned down. Playing his cards right, he has however agreed to host the MTV Immies. To be chosen to co-host with Bollywood superstar Saif Ali Khan is certainly no mean feat. Ali Zafar is thinking before taking each step into the Indian market, unlike his colleagues who have jumped at the joy of being exploited by Bollywood producers. Ali can stand his ground today and say that no Bollywood producer has promoted him. He has made it on his own.
There has been involvement of Pakistani singers in Bollywood productions for quite some time now, the trend starting with Paap just a couple of years ago. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s ‘Mann Ki Lagan’ become a bigger hit than the film itself. Atif/Jal’s ‘Lamhey’ and ‘Aadat’ became overnight sensations. Whether they were sung by Najam Sheraz, Ali Azmat or Shafqat Amanat Ali, all the pop songs that were imported from Pakistan saw success. To Ali, this trend is healthy but like everyone else, he thinks aloud on the matter of the fact: why do Pakistani songs make it big in India?
The first reason is the non–existent pop music industry in India, he agrees. “They think I’m a rock star because I play guitar in my songs,” an amused Ali says. Apart from the fact that there is no concept of pop in India, Ali feels that since most of the songs which go to India are already chart toppers in Pakistan, there is little or no reason why they won’t make it big there. Credit goes to the superb talent that has always been a part of Pakistan’s pop industry. “We have fabulous musicians. We make music from the heart. Most of the Indian music is made for films and it has creative restrictions; songs are written keeping in mind the film situation, the actors and everything else. Our pop music is more liberated which is why it’s perhaps more successful and different from what’s being churned out in Bollywood.”
He also believes that culture and historical influences have a major role to play in the kind of music a country produces. According to Ali, there is a rebellious tone to Pakistani pop music which comes as an artistic catharsis from the military rule of the Zia government in the eighties – the time when the pop industry was born. “As I said, we do music from our heart, everybody produces what they feel and like and that gives it an individual identity. We have our own influences, aims and objectives – all of which reflect in our music,” he says.
Be it the shy lover in ‘Channo’, the philanderer in ‘Rangeen’ or the brooding young man in ‘Ek Pal’, Ali Zafar seems to have evolution down pat
Ali has become hot property in India but he assures that entering the Indian market was never top priority for him; it was almost a year and a half after storming through Pakistan that Huqa Pani was actually released in India. “I was busy touring the States, UK and many other countries before I felt that I should release it (Huqa Pani) in India,” recalls Ali. It was a smart move as this was his debut album and he had learnt from the experience of releasing an album in Pakistan. Before entering India, his team researched the market and looked for the appropriate releasing label rather than giving in to the first offer.
Despite his fame, Ali admits that Bollywood has little or no space for pop stars, and they find it hard to get recognition in the Bollywood–dominated entertainment industry, “Shahrukh will always be a bigger star than anyone else and I think Adnan Sami is the only Pakistani artist who has earned a name in the Indian market,” says Ali, adding that even Adnan Sami’s major break came from Lucky, the Salman Khan starrer that he composed music for. Whether it was his collaboration with Asha on the soundtrack of Sargam, the presence of Amitabh Bachchan or beautiful Bollywood heroines in his videos or the odd songs he sang for movies (‘Mehbooba’ in Ajnabee), it was his affiliation with the Indian film industry that gave Adnan his platform.
Ali Zafar’s success was different and in all respects more celebratory; Universal Music was the record label Ali chose and within few months of the release, the album was a hit; Huqa Pani’s sales made it to the platinum status in India without the blessings of Bollywood. His music videos were aired repeatedly, the clubs were buzzing with the tunes of ‘Channo’ and ‘Rangeen’ and Ali Zafar became a household name across the border. Even the movie Aashiq Banaya Aapnay couldn’t help stealing the tune of ‘Rangeen’. “Their top singers (Shaan and Sonu Nigam) sung the copied version of my track,” he commented with a tinge of pride, letting the fact explain it all.
According to Ali, many production companies approached him to use his songs; Mahesh Bhatt being on top of the list asked for ‘Channo’. But instead of opting for a single release in a soundtrack for which his songs would have been modified, twisted and turned into Indian remixes, Ali signed a deal with Universal. He got copyright and identity protection. Though he couldn’t do much when the Rangeen tune was ripped off, he did file a lawsuit against the producers.
Ali was asked to act in Bollywood productions as well, offers he easily turned down. “I got four offers to act, I have rejected all so far,” says Ali, feeling that he would not want to risk doing anything that gives him or his country, a bad name. “I enjoy acting and I think I can do it on the side but I want the offer to be on my terms and conditions,” insists Ali adding that his permanent date problems would make it difficult too. And what about playback singing? “I have done vocals for one movie in India as I felt that the offer was very strong,” he admits. “I have told them to send me the song for approval. If I am fine with it, I’ll let them use it, as I have already recorded the song. I heard the music and the lyrics were also fine,” he justifies his decision. The singer who sounds uncannily like Kishore Kumar has given his vocals to a track in Sohail Khan’s upcoming venture, Fight Club.
Ali also reveals that he has been offered an International production on the lines of Bend It Like Beckham and that he might make a big screen appearance. “I want to have some international recognition so people can recognise me and my country all over the world,” he says displaying a patriotic streak. The grass may seem greener on the other side, agrees Ali but reiterates that he is not inclined to make it big in India. “I’d rather be a part of improving the cinema here than go and be successful in Bollywood. My objective is not to be a Bollywood superstar. It’s very easy to run away from troubles but it’s hard to stay on the ground and face them. I choose the latter.” He feels that staying here and working for cinema would be a better option for him. He wants to be remembered as part of a revolution that turned around the dying fate of cinema in Pakistan. Ali is vague about what he is doing but according to him he is working in a couple of projects to ‘revive cinema’ in Pakistan. Knowing his media savvy nature well by now, I’m sure he spill the beans when the time is right.
His commitment to the Pakistani scene makes me remember the rugged course his career took before making him the sensation he is today. He was merely a cute boy from Lahore when he began appearing in ads and print shoots. Not many people knew his name when he used to sketch in the PC lobby a long time ago. Success hasn’t been a smooth drive for Ali at all – the road was winding and the lights blinding – he eventually discovered music to be his true calling. He ran the full nine yards of modelling, acting and art (he graduated from NCA) before ‘Jugnuon Say Bhar Lay Aanchal’ had industry insiders calling him the next Kishore Kumar, and then came the musical coup d’ etat ‘Channo’ that gave Ali Zafar his own identity and a place in the sun.
His manoeuvres as a Pakistani in India prove that what puts Ali Zafar a cut above other pop wonders is that he is an entertainer who knows full well the tricks of his trade.
The MTV Immies will air on December 17