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 Music knows no boundaries
Piyali Dasgupta
Times of India
Just a day before his much awaited performance in Delhi recently, DT got talking to the Pakistani singer Atif Aslam. "I’m a Pakistani but India is
close to my heart. Hum sab ek hain. Aap ka pyaar hi hai jisne mujhe is
mukaam tak pahuchaya hai,” says Atif, who has a string of Bollywood
hits to his credit.
Talking about The Times of India and Pakistan’s Jang group’s
initiative Aman Ki Asha, he says, "When I came to know about Aman Ki
Asha, I was happy. I am sure this will bring about a positive change.
The two countries hare a common culture. I always wanted to come to
India and bridge the gap between the two countries. Music knows no
boundaries and I always believe in the fact that your work speaks for
you. I am happy that I am accepted in
India and my music is appreciated.”
He thinks that Pakistan has its share of talent too, "Pakistan has a
rich culture, just like India. We have no dearth of talented singers,”
says he, and adds, "My music conveys what I feel. There are songs that
define my life. Through one of my songs, I have tried to ask my
countrymen, ‘Humein kya hua hai, why India and Pakistan can’t live in
peace?’”
Atif strongly supports the cultural exchange between the two
countries, and wonders, "If you can bring together artistes like
Pakistani Sufi singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Abida Parveen with
Indian artistes like Shankar Eshaan Loy, then why can’t Pakistani
players play in India? For me, Delhi is not very far from Lahore and I
see no difference when I am in Delhi. Delhi is like my second home.
It’s after a very long time that I’m happy to be back in Delhi and it
makes me feel great.”
Confessing that he grew up listening to Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan,
Atif has favourites in the Indian music industry too. "AR Rahman is a
big name and I would love to work with him some day. But I also feel
that apart from Rahman there are other legendary Indian artistes like
Rafiji, Kishoreda, Shankar Eshaan and Loy who have contributed a lot to
Indian cinema. And among Indian actors, I like Shahrukh Khan and Aamir
Khan,” says he.
With a rock star like approach which he combines with soulful
singing style, Atif has become a craze in Bollywood after his popular
songs like ‘Pehli Nazar Mein’, ‘Tera Hone Laga Hoon’, ‘Tu Jaane Na’
became chartbusters. Like his songs, is he romantic too? "I sing from
my heart; it comes naturally. I have had crushes but nothing serious.
Probably long time back, I had a crush on Bollywood actress Sonali
Bendre, she was my favourite,” says he.
The buzz is that Atif is now planning to act in movies. Is it true?
"I enjoyed my Bollywood journey. Very soon, I will be acting in a
Pakistani movie called Bol. It is directed by Shoaib Mansoor, who is
known for his directorial venture, Khuda Kay Liye. I play a
middle-class doctor. The movie is likely to be released by this year
end. My primary objective of doing this movie was not to get fame but
to convey a social message. The movie is being shot in Lahore. I will
also be lending my voice in this movie. We wanted to rope in a few
Indian actors like Naseeruddin Shah. I adore Naseerji and would like
him to be a part of the movie. But somehow, his dates were not
available and things didn’t work out.”
Finally, he concludes, "Keep supporting the art, don’t let it die, keep supporting pure music and not the commercial ones only.”
Atif baazi A comeback to Dilli
Performing in Delhi after almost a year long hiatus, Atif Aslam was
visibly happy. He said, "It’s great to come back to Delhi after a long
time. I see no difference between Lahore and Delhi, both the places
look the same. It is always nice to perform in India. Next I shall be
performing in Bangalore.”
Starry entry
Atif made a grand entry, along with brother Shahbaz. And as his fans
got to know that he had arrived they tried to have a closer dekko of
the singer. And the shutterbugs went into a tizzy. Before Atif ’s
performance, two of Delhi’s bands opened the show.
Stage that
As he came on the stage, the crowd screamed his name with frenzy.
Atif, sporting a casual look, sang ‘Doorie’, ‘Tera Hone Laga Hoon’,
‘Kuch Is Tarah’… and many more songs. It was a non-stop two hour
performance and the crowd enjoyed the concert.
One of his fans, Deepika Mehta, said, "It’s like a dream come true to see him performe live in Delhi.”
– Piyali Dasgupta Courtesy:Aman Ki Asha By Jang Group
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