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"I will stay here now.
I will not leave Pakistan in this condition."
 Atif Aslam gets real
Atif is not moving to Mumbai. On the contrary he is looking forward to being a part of Coke Studio right here in Pakistan. The nation's heart throb speaks to Instep about moving up and moving on.

By Aamna Haider Isani

It was a unique insight into the life of a music sensation who has young female fans hovering around him all the time: Atif Aslam in the company of four of his girlfriends! When I say 'girlfriends', mind you, I mean old friends who happen to be girls, none of the romantic types that we all love to associate with pop idols. And these girls were certainly not groupies. Not only were they not at all in awe of Atif Aslam as they shared Nando's Peri Bytes at the restaurant in Lahore but they were also absolutely at ease when they bullied him into letting them pick up the tab later. These friends of Atif's from his years at the Punjab College of Business Administration were addressed as "boys" and treated like one of the guys. They were no way close to the star struck girls he is usually surrounded by; one witnessed him even turn one fan away when she insisted for a picture.

"You know she'll probably go and tell her friends that I have an awful attitude," said Atif after politely refusing to pose while he was eating. Atif of course is very particular about his image, as he realizes the influence he has on today's youth. He narrated an incident when a diehard fan gave up an addiction to smoking when Atif asked him to do it for him. But he also clarified that while he loved all his fans, he was wary of those of them who didn't approach him for the love for his music but just to go back and tell tales of how well they knew him.

And it wouldn't be wrong to say that everyone wants to say they know Atif Aslam. That includes his most diehard fans: one woman couldn't resist the photo-op and pushed him to the limit by even placing a crying baby in his lap while he was eating! That also includes his arch opponents, Jal who couldn't resist personalizing their differences with him via a video posted on YouTube. That video took their rivalry to another level altogether and they walked separate paths until they were thrust together on the Lux Style Awards platform last year. Even then, Jal - amongst other musicians - complained that the LSAs had become a platform for Atif Aslam alone, granting him a stage for extensive performances. Atif didn't get an award last year but he sure did get most of the spotlight.

"I had centre stage and why should I have objected to all the attention?" he gave an honest answer. "I love it (the attention) and why not? Even when I was wearing the NYPD costume I knew that's all people would be talking about. Jal may have won the award but who was in the spotlight? I didn't get the award but I got all the attention. And I especially enjoyed sharing the stage with Reshma, who is one of my favourite folk singers," he added a bit more humbly.

There are committed Atif Aslam fans in India too; in fact they constitute almost 35 per cent of his fans world wide. Would his popularity suffer, one wondered, now that the bridge between both countries had been blocked, bringing all diplomatic and cultural relations to a screeching halt?Between mouthfuls of chicken and controlling the sniffles that had him down with the flu, Atif felt that the tension between both countries would only last four to five months after which communication would swing back to normal. He confirmed that he was still in contract with TIPS, his official distributors in India, who have played an integral role in launching him across the border. That includes releasing his albums there as well as managing his events/concerts and bringing him contracts to sing on Bollywood film soundtracks like Race or Kismat Konnection.

"I will continue working with them (TIPS)," Atif confirmed, "until or unless things get out of hand (between India and Pakistan). Until then I will release music via Dubai and think of options while things remain in limbo. The Indian audience is 35 per cent of my fan following but there are Indians all over the world that listen to my music. So I'm not really worried. And that said, I'm in no hurry to release my fourth album; not under the circumstances. I think my love ballads would make no sense right now."
There had also been rumours of an Indian film in the pipeline?

"Not yet," Atif summed them up. "I have my priorities right. I will not get into anything that I cannot determine the outcome of. I have a couple of scripts with me but am not taking them seriously. If someone like Shoaib Mansoor offered me a role in his film, I would certainly accept."

And more on the India/Pakistan cross cultural relationship, what did he think of the Indians burning CDs of Ghulam Ali? Would he, as an artiste popular in India, consider performing or traveling across the border while this kind of animosity continued?

"They may burn our CDs but we cannot stop the creative process," Atif answered. "I would not want to perform in India as long as our troops stand face to face and there is so much animosity between both countries but I would never imagine burning CDs of their artistes as they have burnt CDs of Ghulam Ali. Indians say they have great respect for Ghulam Ali sahab but what kind of respect or reverence can they honestly have if they can disrespect him in such a way? This means that their appreciation of music is not so true."

Atif further said that he had seen the changing faces of Indian artistes and was quite used to it by now. He remembered the warm camaraderie he had shared with Kailash Kher when the two had toured India together last year and how it changed soon after.

"We had fabulous rapport on stage," Atif remembers, "but then I caught him on TV and he was making such strong statements against me; saying I couldn't sing and what not! I was shocked at his change of attitude and I had the same experience with Abhijeet Sawant. These people constantly change faces but I do think that's only because they are insecure."

There have been very vocal oppositions against Atif Aslam in India; the outcries by playback singers Abhijeet and Alka Yagnik (amongst others) being constantly negated by his Indian fans who love the brand of music he has to offer. And thanks to them, Atif has managed to make it very big in India. But that said, he is always appreciated as one of the few superstars who strengthened their base in Pakistan before broadening it out across the border. Atif was a star here before his stardom got further fuelled by his popularity in India. Perhaps it is for that reason that he doesn't feel as threatened by the Indian lifeline being cut off. Quite to the contrary, he enthusiastically peddled up his patriotism�

"I can't say what will happen to my country tomorrow," he said, "but even if I was thinking of settling someplace else, I will stay here now. I will not leave Pakistan in this condition."

On that note, Atif brushed off rumours of him buying an apartment in Bombay with Ali Zafar and model/actor Mikaal Zulfiqar as ridiculous. Atif is patriotic - above all of his other 'hidden' characteristics which include a quirky sense of humour and the ability to laugh at himself. And to prove his patriotism further, he insisted that it was the power that popular musicians wielded which could seriously influence the youth of Pakistan today. The popularity that they enjoyed, he said, came with immense responsibility, which he took very seriously.

That said, the wave of popular music culture, which was bubbling over with excitement two years ago, has simmered down to an almost inconsequential music scene. Public concerts have been reduced to small gigs or corporate shows held in private spaces, off limits to the general public at large. The type of concerts which once toured the country and were held at massive amphitheatres exist no longer. The security threat and the financial risks are too grave for any musician or sponsor to ignore. One asked Atif whether he thought it would get better any time soon?

"Big concerts seem a long shot right now," he replied, "though I did have a massive concert in Karachi in the last week of December. It was a 'masses' concert and there were about 2500 people in attendance. It was great. The thrill of the performance is incomparable," he said, drumming his fingers on the table and singing along a Beyonce song (which played in the background) for extra impact.
He went on to say that album sales and appreciation could never match the thrill of performing in front of a live audience. Not to mention that critics had always been a bit too stern in their analyses of his music.
"My albums get constant criticism in Pakistan," he said, apparently unperturbed. "I get constant criticism though I have never understood why - as my albums have done fabulously - but I will hold my ground. All three albums of my albums have been different in terms of sound and even my future albums will be constant experimentation. I will continue to play with sound no matter what anyone says."
And it is that hunger for experimentation as well as the promise of better things to come that have brought Atif onboard the Coke Studio project.

"I am in talks with Rohail Hyatt and would love to do Coke Studio," he confirmed. "I am looking forward to it. I don't know who I'll be paired with but even on a solo, I can improvise on so many of my own songs."
In the absence of mass music movements, it will be projects like the Coke Studio and even gigs organized under the label of The System (a new conglomeration of young musicians developing a platform for music under the supervision of Farhad Humayun in Lahore) that will continue to flourish and take music on the ride of development. In the absence of concerts, these gigs and projects are vital to keep music's pulse alive in Pakistan. And as long as there are superstars like Atif Aslam, willing to be woven into the process, there's a strong chance that the industry will bounce back to glory sooner or later. The only thing it'll need in addition to the pool of talent it boasts today, he agreed, was more female musicians on the scene.

"What we need is another Nazia Hasan," he announced conclusively, proving he was no male chauvinist by allowing his young girlfriends to pay the bill at the same time. "We need another Nazia and more singers like Zeb and Haniya. Though I feel that their last video ('Aitebar') was as bad and off as any of my videos (laughs) I do think the girls are immensely talented. We need these types of girls in music more than we need the Rabi Peerzada types."