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Ali Azmat's turn with 20
Questions
MegaEast was able to meet up with Ali Azmat while he was in Lahore. Clad in
sweatpants, a T-shirt and trainers, he was obviously 'chilling out.' Slightly
more dimunitive in person as compared to onscreen, we envied his dolly curly
locks. Ali was at ease once he figured out that we were not the run-of-the-mill
journalists there to grill him. We were able to exchange views on a number of
topics
1) Inspiration behind Junoon?
The group wanted to come out with different music then produced at that time.
All three of them got into spiritualism eventually one by one and did some
research. They found Bulleh Shah's kalaam quite suitable for their music as its
quite singable and closest to our culture. Its relevant to the area as even in
his time there was social unrest and insecurity which prevails even now. So it
sends an appropriate message across.
2) What has made Junoon 'stick' in an industry where bands split all the time?
"Our understanding of each other musically, spiritually and the concepts behind
our music. For a band to survive, the personalities have to click and it does in
our case, we dont rub each other the wrong way."
3) The acting bug in you……
"Normally when I do plays im bored with myself and I think that some extra money
wont hurt me."
4) Recent scandal with Nirma…
"There was nothing to start with, she just insisted to work with me on a play. I
think it was just a cheap publicity tactic on her part. (On hanging out
together) We were supposed to hang out together because the script demanded us
to and it was for just 10 days in Islamabad on the shoot."
(We asked him if Vinnie had anything to worry about: "No Vinnie has nothing to
worry about!)
5) Are you getting married soon?
"Well marriage is definitely in the cards. I actually want to get married, I
want to have babies. Despite of all my friends and father telling me otherwise
and listening to 'kee faidaa', I still think I should get married, not for a
wifey but for kiddies."
6) Does Ali ever picture himself as a doting father changing diapers at home?
"Yeh, I have been extremely good with kids. I have been taking care of my
cousins ever since I was 15 years old. Also I want to have kids now, Im 30 and
my 'daari' is getting whiter."
7) What is the first thing you notice in a female?
*beep* (Couldnt print it!)
8) How did it feel to achieve such prestigious awards from organizations like
UNESCO, BBC and sharing a stage with big singing icons like Sting?
"Ever since I started singing my inspiration was to achieve these awards one
day. It was a dream come true to share the stage with people you have been in
awe of for the past 13 years." He tells us about his meeting with Sting: "I got
into a heavy conversation with him, the first time time we met, about yoga,
spiritualism and nature for about an hour. I could feel a connection with him
and all the 'what-ifs' disappear that come into your mind before meeting such
people."
9) Most embarassing moment onstage...
"It was 7 years ago when I was performing at Alhamra and engrossed in my
singing, I fell in a ditch. Somehow i managed to bounce back out and the
audience thought that it was part of the concert gimmick."
10) How has the experience of performing in India been?
"We never realised that we had such a huge fan following in all over India. Once
at a concert in Madras, it rained cats and dogs for about 5 hours before the
show and we thought nobody would show up. But when we went to the venue, 45,000
people were standing in knee-deep water just to listen to us."
11) How has the present government treated you specially after the ban put on
you by the previous government?
"Army has been nice to us. They have done a lot for us, they even took us to
Siachin to perform. I think now they have realised that its another platform
from where they can get their message across to the people especially the
youth."
12) What about this solo album that you plan to come out with in the near
future?
"I had my birthday in Tokyo and there I thought about all the songs I had
written for Junoon and they didnt come in double figures. That depressed me as
it made me feel as if my writing capabilities werent exploited fully. Then I
thought that I would go for a writing/production style of my own which I couldnt
do in Junoon because of the production differences from Junoon point of view."
"The album would be more rhythm oriented and not sufi or ballady. It would be
more funk rock and not very ethnic like Junoon music is."
13) Allowed a murder, who would you kill?
"Nobody. Im not a violent person, Im quite a peace person."
14) Committment...
"Band."
15)Your fashion statement...
"My long hair."
16)What about your realtionship with Vinnie?
"Its nothing. Its been gone for a year now, I dont know why media people still
assume that we are together."
17)Your oft-repeated phrase...
"Fantasy is much better than reality."
18) When stressed out...
"I hardly get stressed out, I just get bored and when I do I just leave, run or
walk from that place or situation."
19)What do you feel when you are performing?
"I feel nothing. For me to perform well, I have to disconnect from myself, the
crowd and just connect solely with the music. There is nothing in my head at
that point in time. That's why I prefer to just close my eyes and sing. Its
taken a lot of self-constraint over the years to do this now."
20)Things about Ali you would definitely not want us to know?
"There are too many things like that!"
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