By Danial Shahid

Since many music artists such as Atif Aslam, Jal and Roxen, came into the limelight in recent years, our youth got inspired by them more than anything. Starting from how they dress up to how they talk, our Youth is copying that sort too vigorously and the only thing, they see in them is – GUITARS.

Read more at: Buying a Guitar DOES NOT make you a Musician

Qayaas, the just awarded best rock band of South Asia at IndieGo Awards, stole the hearts of all head-bangers present at Karachi Arts Council on Sunday night.

It was a full power packed performance by the band, appreciated and supported by music maestros like Rohail Hayat-the name behind Coke Studio success, Louis J. Pinto aka Gumby, Atif Aslam’s guitarist Asad Ul Hafeez and Viccaji sisters. Fashion designer Muneeb Nawaz, with some of his well known male models, was also spotted at the event.

USS PAAR, the debut album launch show of the band was started at 10:10 pm, with Qayaas Band’s popular number Shehrezade. The stage and lights were truly creating an atmosphere for all headbangers to bang their heads on the beats of Qayaas songs. They had specially called their sound-man from Islamabad to see all the sound related things and he then proved his presence by his excellent sound work skills.

Before they started their second track of the night, Umair Jaswal, the lead vocalist of the band, asked all the headbangers to come near right in front of the stage. This created even greater atmosphere and Umair started screaming even louder. Umair’s vocals were hell loud and power packed.

The band started their third track Halaak at nearly 10:30 and it may not justify or may be sound lame but literally this was the time when I started feeling that, this is it, I haven’t seen any other local rock band performing live at this caliper and with this energy. It was not only me who was getting this feeling, I talked to many guys there and almost all had the same feeling like me. They were enjoying, headbanging and cheering Qayaas. It was hell loud, packed with energy and power, awesome guitar riffs and solos played by Khurram Waqar and Sarmad Gafoor, heavy drum beats by Salman Rafique aka Fifo, the very experienced base guitarist and only Karachiite Shaheryar Ghayas and with the heavy vocals of Umair Jaswal.

The whole crowd completely involved into their music when they started their fourth track of the night, Umeed. Umeed is one of their very popular track and almost all the crowd remember the complete lyrics of the song. The fifth track of the night was a cover song named Charkha, which is also included in their debut album Uss Paar. Just after this track, Umair, the lead vocalist introduced his band members. Sarmad Gafoor and Khurram Waqar (the founder of the band) on guitars, Salman Rafique aka Fifo on drums and Shaheryar on base guitar.

I also saw there Muneeb Nawaz involving into Qayaas music and singing loud back in crowd when they started their fifth track of the night Pal. It was such a catchy song which addicted myself too when I had first got a chance to listen it.

The sixth song of the night Terey Liye, was an acoustic version. Khurram Waqar played acoustic guitar on it. It gave enough time to Sarmar Gafoor to set his Piano for the seventh track of the night Pukaar, which they dedicated to the flood victims.

The band played another very popular track Tanha, which later on ends up with the drum solo of Fifo. Mera Wana, another very meaning full song which they have dedicated to the people of Wana, was the second last track of the night. It created a guitar battle between Khurram Waqar and Sarmad Gafoor, which both won indeed.

It was 11:40pm when the band dedicated the title track of their album Uss Paar to the music maestro Rohail Hayat, who was sitting back in crowd. This all was end up by 11:50pm when Umair Jaswal thanked the whole crowd and specially all the big names sitting back in crowd.

Talking to the team members of Pakium, the band founder, Khurram Waqar expressed his feelings that it felt very good that the whole crowd eventually remembers the lyrics of our all songs and we haven’t even thought that we will get this much big response from them.

Sarmad Gafoor, the guitar-man said that it was great experience performing for such a supportive crowd and music lovers. The drum-machine Salman Rafique aka Fifo was also very excited with the response they get from the crowd. Shaheryar Ghayas, the only Karachiite in the band was very happy and said that it is his first time when he played for this band Qayaas at this venue, he had played two times at the same venue before but with two other band.

Umair Jaswal the lead vocalist of Qayaas was also seen very excited and thankful to the crowd and organizers.

This concludes all what I have witnessed at the Karachi Arts Council of Pakistan. I must give 10/10 for their excellent live performing and managing the show in a much disciplined manner. I would love to see the bands like Qayaas performing in upcoming seasons of Coke Studio and getting shows abroad so they can put the rock music of Pakistan to its next level.

The after show video interview that we conducted will be up in a day or two. So stay tuned !

Read more at: Gig Review: Qayaas performance wins the hearts of rock music lovers in Karachi

Humsafar – Best Pakistani Drama Serial

Drama Serial Humsafar has seen an unprecedented success for Hum TV in recent years and is now being considered as one of Best Pakistani Drama Serial. Since past few years, television audiences have forgotten what it was like to be glued to a TV set when the show is on air and to wait for the day to come when the show will be broadcast. It does not take much time to realize what has made the drama series so popular. The paramount reason is simple and that it is a complete cast and crew of drama, where everyone has done their part of the work really well. Already people are fans of the story as it is based on Farhat Ishtiaq’s novel of the same name.

Humsafar’s Drama Cast:

A lot of them are seeing their imagination come to life through this drama series by having to see their favourite characters from the novel portrayed effectively on screen by:

Mahira Khan as Khirad Ihsan

Fawad Afzal Khan as Ashar Hussain

Naveen Waqar as Sara Ajmal

Sara Kashif as Hareem Hussain

Atiqa Odho as Farida Hussain

Behroze Sabzwari as Baseerat Hussain

Hina Khawaja Bayat as Zareena Ajmal

Noor Hasan as Khizar Alam

Qaiser Naqvi as Batool Bano

Five Reasons of Humsafar’s Success

Seeing the recent success and getting so many viewers attracted while it is on, the question does arise what makes it enjoy such a success. Not only has the drama received many views on YouTube, but it is also being repeat telecasted from the first episode due to such high demand. Here are the five reasons which make it so popular:

1. A strong woman standing for her own defence

Firstly, it is great to see a woman standing on her own in defence of her honor, dignity and self-respect. Domestic issues such as a mother-in-law being extremely jealous of her daughter-in-law are relatively common, the only difference lie in their intensity. The drama shows the extreme side of this aspect that many women can connect to. It is about an issue of being accepted for who and how you are in your own right than what others want you to be. The relationships between Farida and Khirad in the drama are like this.

2. Seeing favorite characters from the novel on screen

Secondly, people are interested to see their favorite characters come to life on screen. All the cast-members have done a remarkable job in holding up the fans’ expectations in terms how each character should appear like. The script has been written brilliantly by Zakir Ahmed who is the screenplay writer for this drama. Though the drama Humsafar is different than the actual novel by Farhat Ishtiyaq, but then again it has to be shown on television and hence has to fit the format.

3. Complex relationships between the characters

Thirdly, the relationship that has been shown between Khirad and Ashar and between these two for their daughter Hareem is immensely deep. Their relationship gets complicated due to untoward circumstances in their lives. But this is not the only angle that the story holds. The other characters like that of Sarah and Khizar tell us what negative love or lust can do not only to a person carrying such dark emotions, but also to others whose lives could get ruined coming under their wave.

4. Unacceptability and preconceived notions amidst the characters for each other

Another angle to the story is of unacceptability for each other due to certain preconceived notions which are hard to shed away for someone who is unwilling to be open-minded. This holds true especially for Farida who never accepted her daughter-in-law since the beginning because she was totally against her being married to Ashar. Same goes for Sarah who is not willing to let go of her love for Ashar whom she likes since her own childhood and always thought about marrying him. Due to Farida’s and Sarah’s image of Khirad being an ignorant, ill-mannered, poor girl from a low background is what stand between them and her to cover the distance of getting to understand her anew. Despite the fact that Khirad is the daughter of Ashar’s father’s sister, which makes her the first-cousin of Ashar. Between the class differences are strongly depicted.

5. A brilliant direction and acting

Lastly, the drama has gotten more people attracted due to brilliant direction and dedicated acting efforts from everyone. Most people who have not read the novel are now into it and those who have already read it and re-reading it. Not only the novel is getting more popular than it already was, but the drama itself is getting much positive reviews from the critics too. Television viewers are happy to see the quality drama and it has swept a wave across the nation of entertainment aficionados.

Read more at: 5 Reasons that make Humsafar Best Pakistani Drama Serial

Rising Singer and Female sensation of Pakistan, Quratulain Balouch (QB) , along with the musicians Shajar Fakhar will give the title song to an upcoming Urdu feature film titled as “Rangeen”.

QB’s soundtrack for epic drama serial Humsafar, is already making huge buzz all over. The said Humsafar soundtrack has brought Balouch into the limelight and has made her popular overnight. This new soundtrack (title song) for the feature film “Rangeen” may well take the film to another great level, provided it has some quality production and storyline.

Along with QB, there is talented young duo Shajar-Fakhar who, we assume, will be giving the music to the song. In recent few years, Shajar Fakhar have released some decent song numbers and music videos such as Chala Hun and Azma Lay.

Rangeen is a reality based dramatic film, directed by Shoaib Khan. The director claims that “Rangeen” is as green as its name sounds. It’s a mixture of emotions, humor, glamour and fun. The movie revolve around various characters inter connected to each other, which ends up in different humorous and emotional situation.

Unlike other Pakistani flicks, Rangeen does not contain a serious script rather it revolves around different aspects of life and is trying to cater to its audience with a variety of “entertainment”.

Read more at: Quratulain Balouch, Shajar Fakhar to give title song to “Rangeen” Feature Film

It all started when a rockstar Ali Azmat was first spotted on a stage of a political sit-in. Soon after this we saw the band Strings performing their patriotic song in a historical PTI Jalsa in Lahore. Then, renowned bhangra singer and philanthropist announced not only his support for the party, but he vowed to join PTI as a political worker.

As of yet, many other musicians and bands have showed their support for Imran Khan’s political party PTI and if we have to believe the rumors, Atif Aslam too is planning to support Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaaf.

The cyber space is buzzing today with the rumors that Atif Aslam is to join PTI. The rumor, first reported on PlayTV’s website, is being pressed right now on various other online publications without any verification. When we tried to confirm this with our sources, we didn’t get an affirmative answer. The source however quipped:

“Atif Aslam is a big name whose popularity is far wide in the world, if he decides to support any political party in Pakistan that would be a great support for the party as Atif has a huge fan following in Pakistani youth. But I don’t see it happening! Star like Atif Aslam would not put all his weight to a single party and would rather like to remain neutral.”

It also looks like a remote possibility as Atif Aslam is on the peak of his career and busy with mega projects like Indian Reality Show Sur kShetra and Sonic Peacemakers Project. Either joining the party or get into the ground to support a political party can take him away from his actual fan following, who loves his songs and not the speech!

Read more at: Atif Aslam joins Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf (PTI) ???

The author of this post, Sehrish Raja, has written and contributed a lot of blog posts here on Pakium.com. One of her post on Nadia Khan Show is also one of the most popular and read stories on this blog. Due to some personal reasons, she couldn’t  be consistent with her writing passion, but now she is atleast back with another opinion based blog post. We hope our blog readers/visitors will like her post and add their productive comments on this special blog post. – Editor Pakium dot com

Pakistani Morning TV Shows: What Culture do they represent?

By Sehrish Saqib

Hey there. I am back (not with a bang of-course). Now that I am married and have a kid to look after, I hardly get time to write. A full year of absence and no writing!!! I could actually write so much about all the media happeneings but I just didn’t get time.

OK! OK! OK! no more blabbering about why I didn’t write. Lets all come to the real issue which is pinching me this time and only sharing with you guys can soothe me. Like all simple, sweet, tension-lainay-wali-khushian-dainay-wali and most of all free-free-free house wives, I also switch from one channel to another ONLY to check out clothes. But these days I am  a little (ok! so very much) disappointed in all the morning shows.

Wait! before you read any further , let me mention that it is not some from-a fakingly-emotional-patriot article.

Yesterday, I got a call from my brother’s wife who is born and raised in america ( she is a Pakistani). As she is an acting house wife because of her child and a pregnancy, she also watches TV, she commented ” yar tum Pakistani extra stupid ho….. itna complaint kyun kertay ho kay flood aya hai. target killing hai, Government bad hai. your women dress up so lavishly in the morning and you have awesome weddings… mine was so boring…. I watched this wedding of ‘shakir bhai’ on that channel and OMG it was a dream wedding…. and then all those merry shows… kuch problem nahe hai wahan.”

I think I need not to mention how much embarrassed I was. Only two channels actually took part in the fund raising activities and gave their broadcasting space to such shows. I am sorry but most of the morning shows are run by soul-less morons. Seriously!

Its so distressing to see all these aqal-say-paidal, itna-ziada-fazool-bolnay-wali women wearing bling bling clothes, dancing and jumping for some, God knows what, reason. When we want to entertain ourselves by such things, we come up with an excuse and that is : ” yaar agay hi itni tension hai, her time ro toh nahe saktay”. People like me don’t even ask for this. All I need is a little feel that we all are together in this time where half of the country is fighting with flood and targeting killing and the rest is combating dangue.

Take out a few minutes from your busy schedule and take a look at what is being broadcasted. If any one from the media people read this, please understand that our media holds a very serious responsibility and yes! you will be answerable. Please dont make us insensitive Pakistanis. Trust me, whatever you telecast affects our mentality. We all know that its all mind games. Please let us be the nation we used to be back in 2005 and before.

Dear readers, by writing this article I didnt mean to offend anybody. it was just an opinion from an independent citizen of an independent country. If you don’t agree with me, its one right you are born with i.e. not agreeing. Remember, if you think there is no point, it  doesn’t mean there really isn’t any.

Happy Reading!

Read more at: Pakistani Morning TV Shows: What Culture do they represent?

With the growing popularity and demand of Pakistani singers beyond the border, we are seeing most of our stars lending their voice for Bollywood. In the list, the new name is of Shahvaar Ali Khan, who is a talented singer and left a great impression with his first ever single release ‘No Saazish, No Jang‘ that was a peace anthem, released last year.

Reportedly, Shahvaar has composed, written and sung another track which has now been taken as the Background score of upcoming Bollywood Movie ‘Desi Boyz’ starring Akshay Kumar and John Abraham.

But wait! His story is not like all other artists of Pakistan. Making it more clear, Shahvaar Ali Khan is among one of the besties of Desi Boyz’s director ‘Rohit Dhawan’. Although, his featured track is not included in main tracks of Desi Boyz but its background movie score is contingent on one of Shahvaar’s song ‘Filmein Shilmein, Gaane Shaane’ the lyrics of which are like:

• Filmein Shilmein Chalti Theen  /  Hum Gaane Shaane Gaate Thay
• Woh Raatein Ab Kahan Gayeen  /   Jab Pal Bhar Mein So Jatay Thay
• Fail Fool Ho Kar Hum  /  Maarein Shaarein Khate Thay
• Jaib Bhi Khali Hoti Thi  /   Phir Kahan Se Himmat Laate Thay
• Woh Raatein Ab Kahan Gayeen  /   Jab Pal Bhar Mein Sou Jaate Thay

About his and Rohit Dhawan’s friendship, Shahvaar Ali Khan said, “As friends, Rohit Dhawan and I are like the real Desi Boyz”. He further elaborated their friendship by explaining the story of original movie Desi Boyz. For this he said, “The film is a story of friendship through thick n thin of two Desi friends abroad. Since our unconditional camaraderie, as part of a closely knit Desi gang at Trinity College, where even borders became meaningless, I think our entire Desi clan has shouldered each other across troubled waters on more than one occasion.”

This whole statement of Shahvaar clearly proves that he wasn’t looking for a chance which others mostly do, but to make his relation of friendship stronger he gave his song for this movie. He appreciated the work of other artists in the movie and highly predicted that this movie is going to be a big hit.

Shahvaar ali khan takes his song writing inspiration from Javed Akhter, Sahir, Prasoon Joshi and Shaleindra and for song composition, S.D Burman, O.P Nayar, Khurshid Anwar, Shankar Jaikishen, and Manna Dey are his great idols.

His part in the movie Desi Boyz is really encouraging and his upcoming Pakistani music video, “No Saazish, No Jang” is expected to be released soon. This song of Shahvaar can be considered as a revolutionary song and from teasers it seems that the song too is going to be a big hit.

Read more at: Shahvar Ali Khan song “Filmein Shilmein” taken as background score of Desi Boyz

“Hero Bannay Ki Tarang” [HBKT] is back with a bang and this season its focus is to find the perfect star couple that would revive the local film industry’s former glory and pump fresh blood into it. The show is part of the initiative undertaken by Engro Foods Limited tea whitening brand Tarang and provides an excellent platform for the youth to display their cinematic skills. With shows like HBKT we have platform that recognizes and show cases new talent and allows to them achieve their dreams.

There is no dearth of talented Pakistanis screenwriters, actors, producers, directors etc. What is missing is the fact that these gifted men and women are not recognized and if they are recognized there is no organized and systematic procedure to showcase their talents. The end result is monotony in the cinema halls and a struggling industry that is hanging by life support.

“Hero Bannay Ki Tarang; Sahi Jor Ki Talash” aired its first episode on September 22, 2011 and introduced the audiences to the potential participants of the show as the judges evaluated and shortlisted them. The young men and women were evaluated on their profiles pictures and voted for by the judges. The contestants with the maximum votes got shortlisted for the next round.

The panel of judges included the charismatic Reema, the funny man Rambo (Mr. Afzal Khan) and the veteran director Syed Noor. Rambo was hilarious with his comments and diffused the tension the other judges felt while short listing the candidates. Reema was very gracious with her comments and found something positive to highlight for every candidate that had the slightest of potential. The depth and clarity displayed by the judges in their evaluation was very sound and accurate from the audiences’ perspective.

The stakes are high as the winning couple of the show would be awarded with a scholarship to an international acting school whereas the runner up couple would be given a scholarship at the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA). This season promises to be as entertaining and enthralling as the previous season. And I for one look forward to see how the hunt for the perfect Lollywood couple unfolds in the coming week.

Read more at: Hero Bannay Ki Tarang Episode 1 and 2 Review

The cinema has been one of the oldest and most effective forms of media. The memories of the good old days are always better than the present and remembering them touches one with a euphoric feeling of a bitter sweet reminiscence. It is these sentiments that are shared by those who remember the glorious past of the Pakistani film industry. The old Lollywood glamour of melodious tunes, charismatic stars and brilliant dialogues have since time immemorial played a huge part in providing entertainment for all its movie goers.

The Pakistani film industry was not only home to shinning stars but gave birth to legends. Famous personalities like Waheed Murad who was better known as the chocolate hero of Lollywood, touched lives with his subtle and romantic style of acting which earned him tremendous popularity amongst the youth. Then there were others like the beautiful Zeba and the graceful Noor Jehan who redefined the glamour of the silver screen.  And let’s not forget the gifted and multitalented Nadeem and Mohammad Ali who are remembered lovingly by their fans even today.

The golden era of Lollywood which was a period from 1960 to 1970 brought many blockbuster hits to the screen such as Armaan, Teri Yaad, Zinda Lash and Neela Parbat. This was also the time when color films were introduced and black and white cinema saw met its demise.

What must rise must fall and a similar fate was met by the Pakistani film industry which was struggling with many issues from 1980s onwards. A very small numbers of studios were producing over hundred films annually and faced with competition from cable television network the industry was heading for a collapse. The number of films started rapidly declining spelling the doom for the industry which was a source of livelihood for many. Competition came also from across the border where the production quality was very progressed leading to migration of viewers from local movies to foreign ones.

Around the same time the Pakistani TV channels were thriving. People now disillusioned with the film industry were turning to drama serials for their entertainment. Actors like Afzal Khan who is popularly known as ‘John Rambo” of the serial “Guest House” were providing the much need comic relief to his audiences. Plays by Haseena Moin would depict the reality of the Pakistani society beautifully and pull the heartstrings of its viewers.

There is no doubt about the depth and variability of talent in Pakistan. The Pakistani television is a proof of that and it is the need of the hour that inspiration is taken from it and an organized approach is carried out to revive the struggling film industry.

Many veterans like Syed Noor and Sameena Pirzada responded to this call and brought to us films like Jeeva and Inteha which played a huge part in restoring hope the hearts of those who are associated with the industry. Everyone knows that Lollywood needs a drastic makeover and a much needed comeback. This can only be done by pumping new blood and introducing new faces on the screen.

Lollywood is in need of an identifiable couple that has dazzling chemistry and star power that Shan and Reema shared on screen starting from Bulandi and continuing to various other films. . Take for example the most recently successful endeavour by Engro Foods Ltd. and its brand “Tarang”. Having started a series by the name of “Hero Bannay Ki Tarang”, the company has taken up the challenge to find new talent in Pakistan which will best serve the Pakistani film industry. The first round of Hero Bannay Ki Tarang identified three actors who are now making their way into the entertainment industry.

The place where the auditions are bein taken and performances are given to the 3 members jury comprises of Syed Noor, Reema and Afzal Khan (Aka Rambo)

This time Tarang has gone a step further in the search for the best “Jodi” that can cast a spell on its audiences and bring back the glitz and glamour of the days gone by needs to be found and rekindled. A successful pair that has the talent and grace to make it big can single handedly drive a movie to its success and this would play a huge part on resurgence of Lollywood.

The need for revival of the Pakistani film industry is something that was noticed by local FMCGs too who took it upon themselves to promote it by sponsoring acting based reality shows that are hunting for young and fresh faces to be introduced on the silver screen. Firms like these have recognized the role Lollywood plays in providing employment opportunities to many and entertainment it provides to the masses. Lollywood fans believe that the local industry has much more to offer and that the glorifying days of the past would be regained.

Pakistan is a beautifully endowed country in terms of nature as well in terms of people. We have a rich heritage of culture and traditions that can serve as inspirations to the best of artists. Which other place in the world can boast of snowy peaks and sweltering deserts combined with sandy beaches and rich forests. Lollywood can capitalize immensely on the scenic beauty and variation in talent this country has to offer and recapture the magic once again. If we start believing in the potential that is out there and combine that with our sincere efforts it is my belief that we would be part of relentless force that would be comparable to none and our films would enter the hall of fame that would be similar to those Hollywood and Bollywood boast off.

Read more at: Reviving Pakistani Film Industry with the Right Jodi!

Swaras is one of the best upcoming bands of Pakistan which is also known for their fusion of eastern vocals with western music. The band gave best examples of fusion music in their past tracks and now they are all set to release their next song “Khayal”. As we reported earlier, this time Swaras will be collaborating with legendary Glen Drover of MegaDeth band fame for their new track.

“The upcoming track Khayal is based on a “Raag Bhairvi” with hard rock and metal instruments used in background composition”, revealed the lead vocalist Asad Qizibash on Swaras’ Official Facebook Page. Well! You must have heard different fusion types but this one is gonna be somewhat different. So, get ready for this new music introduced in Pakistan and just wait a bit for the song mixing to complet.

According to the band, the song was really hard to make and finally they are done with that and will be releasing it soon.

So keep your fingers crossed !

Read more at: Swaras recorded the track Khayal with Glen Drover (Megadeth fame)