Atif Aslam

Atif Aslam is on cloud nine these days. Reason: his project Peace through Music in collaboration with the members of Guns ‘n’ Roses and songwriter-guitarist Lanny Cordola, members of bands like Giuffria, House of Lords and Magdallan (also known as Magdalen after Ken Tamplin’s departure) is on full song.

Atif has already penetrated the Hollywood and Bollywood markets, but with this project the pop icon bags further glory. Images on Sunday recently caught up with him for a chat regarding the project, his future plans and new Bollywood ventures, along with his thoughts on the recent floods in Pakistan.

Q. How has the response been to the project?

A. Amazing. A lot of musicians are really excited about jumping onto the project. Artistes who want to play at different places with different people will have a lot to explore through it.

We started off with a team of three and after the jam session, we are five at the moment. We have many artistes who we expect to join in with the likes of Saeen Zahoor, Abida Parveen, etc., from Pakistan and Matt Sorum, Gilby Clarke, etc., from the West. However, nothing is finalised yet.

Q. Some basic details of the project?

A. It’s about how the Americans should see the brighter side of Pakistan which they haven’t as yet. This is why it’s called Peace through Music. The point of teaming up with American musicians was that there was no better way than that of music to let people from both the sides know what either of them thinks about the other. It’s not just going to be single song; it will be a documentary, a DVD that’ll include the backstage footage of the performances, studio shoots, etc. We will come up with new seasons every year.

I have recorded a couple of songs. One is in Punjabi and another one is called Pakistan. Then there is a beautiful melody, Dreamer Awakes, by Lanny Cordola that I will sing with different famous musicians and artistes.

The songs that I have recently composed are the English track Adam’s Coming out of Heaven and the Punjabi Ek Mein Ek Tu.

Q. How many tracks do you plan to compose?

A. You never know, we might come up with 15 songs, 10 on the CD and the rest on DVD.

Q. When will the project be completed?

A. We haven’t decided a specific date because we don’t want to limit our creativity due to time constraints. When one gets time duration, one becomes very restricted and hence creativity suffers. However, we probably plan to launch it by the end of next year.

Q. Will it be launched season-wise?

A. Yes, but that depends on the response of the first season.

Q. Are you planning to shoot any videos?

A. We haven’t shot a video for this project however we recently shot one for The Sonic Peacemakers Project in Swat for a song called We Will Rise Again composed by Todd Shea in English and myself in Urdu. Urdu lyrics were penned by Shahzad Aslam. It was a great experience.

For this project, there will obviously be many videos but at this time, we are looking for resources because the scope of the project is very big.

Q. Which international artistes are you planning to take onboard?

A. There are many. We have spoken to Chris Martin (Cold Play), Bono (U2) and solo act, John Mayer.

Q. Which local artistes have expressed interest in the project?

A. There are many. To name a few, Strings, Noorie, Saeen Zahoor, etc.

Q. Is this project in competition with Coke Studio?

A. Well, you never know. It might become a part of it. It’s just that we are not going to be egotistic about it. We just want the musicians to come together, be it under any banner; it’s about cultural exchange.

Q. What’s next on your agenda?

A. I will be going to the US to meet up with different inspirational people like humanitarian and writer Greg Mortenson, who wrote the book Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations … One School at a Time, which was about building schools in Gilgit; and author Beo Zafar who wrote the book, The Dreamer Awakes. One of our songs has the same title as that of her book.

Apart from that, Lanny Cordola is going to come to Pakistan and we will be recording a couple of new songs. The idea is to bring the cultural tone with string instruments such the violin, etc. We are constantly exchanging compositions and verses.

Q. You donated your collaborated song with Strings, Ab Khud Kuch Karna Parega, to Azm-i-Alishan. How is the feeling?

A. I thought it would be better if we donated the track to some youth forum because our youth is very distracted right now. I want to create an awareness that we have to do something on our own. We don’t need resources for cleaning up our homes, roads, putting smiles on our faces, etc.

Q. How have you been involved in flood-relief activities?

A. I visited Swat and Charsadda with Todd and Lanny. I am involved with different NGOs and we are sending trucks of food and other items of need to the affectees.

Q. What are your future plans?

A. I will be touring Australia soon.

Q. Any Bollywood projects coming up?

A. A few acting offers are there. I didn’t like one of the scripts. Nothing is final though.

Ajab Prem ki Ghazab Kahani (2009)

‘Tu Jaane Na’

Singer: Atif Aslam

Album – Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani (2009)

Composer: Pritam Chakraborty

This song opens with a chorus eerily similar to ‘Khwaja Mere Khwaja’ from the soundtrack of Jodhaa Akbar (by A.R. Rahman). That sing-along, deep throated chorus leads to a tabla infused beat over which Atif sings about love, and the not-so-literal distance between two lovers. The chorus repeats during the song with Atif’s characteristic alaaps, and the song tends to grow on you.

Verdict: A cue from A.R. Rahman or the classical influence of Coke Studio? Either way, good on Atif for having two songs in the same film.

- by Saba Imtiaz

Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani (2009)

‘Tera Hone Laga Hoon’

Singers: Atif Aslam and Alisha Chinoy

Album – Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani

Composer: Pritam Chakraborty

‘Tera Hone Laga Hoon’ will undoubtedly be this season’s most popular love song. In a year where soundtracks as brilliant as Kaminey or as fun as Wake Up Sid have been released, the Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani soundtrack can’t possibly match up, but it does have gems such as this one. Atif’s raw (the common complaint is ‘OUT OF TUNE!’) voice is an interesting contrast to Alisha’s melodious one but this is a combination that works. (Even though Atif’s voice seems odd on Ranbir Kapoor, but so did Shafqat Amanat Ali for Shah Rukh Khan on ‘Mitwa’). This romantic ballad is sweet. But can we please get a respite from the trend of including English lyrics in a Hindi song? The English verses are ridiculous:

‘Shining in the setting sun / like a pearl upon the ocean / come and feel me / oh feel me / Thinking about the love we’re making and the life we’re sharing / come and feel me’.

Surprisingly, even those cringe-worthy lines don’t distract from the song. Kudos to Pritam for the excellent production on this song and to Atif on upping the ante after the hits he has delivered with ‘Pehli Nazar’ and ‘Tere Bin’. This has hit written all over it, and given the heavy airplay the saccharine video featuring the film’s stars Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif has received, it’ll probably go down as one of the high points in Atif’s Bollywood portfolio.

Verdict: A cheesy, happy love song.

- by Saba Imtiaz