Across The Border

Atif Aslam Across The Border

Whilst the drama of lyrics & composition ownership continued in Pakistan, Bollywood director Mahesh Bhatt called Atif Aslam to seek his consent to include "Woh Lamhey" in the soundtrack of his new motion picture, Zeher (2005). The song (especially the remix version) became a hit & dominated airplay on almost all major FM stations throughout India for a period of 6-8 months. This pattern of a slow playback song by Atif in the movie, supplemented by a remix version released for radio airplay was to become standard procedure with Atif’s songs on the Indian market.

He recorded a song for the movie Kalyug (2005), entitled Juda Hokey Bhi - a slight variation of the ever famous Aadat song. Like with “Wo Lamhey / Bheegi Yaadein”, a slow version became the theme for the movie and part of the official soundtrack, whilst a remixed version was released to hit the radio stations and desi clubs worldwide.

After recording for Kalyug, an Irani director in Hollywood contacted Atif and within very little time, Atif recorded three songs for that same director’s Hollywood movie, Man Push Cart and was rewarded with a small cameo role in the movie.

Atif re-emerged in the subcontinent with a new track, “Tere Bin” (Without You) for the Bollywood Movie, Bas Ek Pal (2006). The song "Tere Bin", composed by upcoming music director Mithoon, who was also responsible for rearranging "Woh Lamhe" and "Aadat", became a hit in India and Pakistan.



"Doorie"

Album Cover of Doorie.In December 2006, Atif Aslam released his much anticipated album called "Doorie" along with the video of the title song "Doorie" in India and Pakistan. Some of the songs in the album include "Hum kis galli", "Maula", "O re piya". One of the most critically-acclaimed tracks was "Kuch Is Tarah", composed by past collaborator Mithoon.The album was produced in collaboration with Indian lyricists and composers. A month later the video of "Hum kis galli" was released. Like the video of "Doorie", it was shot in India. The album proved to be success. The videos of doorie (remix) and Ehsaas (included in both "jal pari" and "Doorie") were released one after another in the months of march/april.

"Hungaami Halaat"

The Bollywood style of music and videos in "Doorie" has diappointed many of Atif's fans in Pakistan who had been liking Atif for his "Jal Pari" style songs. About this Atif said "Touring internationally made me think that I should take my music global by releasing it worldwide. I collaborated with a lot of people and thought up a plan for a commercial album, which is not my type of music; which is not ATIF. I just wanted to explore that side of the music. When I composed and wrote these songs for Doorie, I kept in mind that this album has to be commercial". He also told that he would soon be releasing an album named Hangami Halaat which would be an original 'atif style' album. Regarding his videos he says "I think that was a requirement because the Indian audience can never accept my 'Mahi Vey' video or my 'Rangoun Mein' video. They have a different concept about a pop or a rock icon. He has to be a heart throb. Girls here can't sit on motor bikes, in India girls ride them. It's a different culture altogether. They (my Indian videos) are for an international audience

Controversies

Controversies began surrounding Atif from the beginning of his solo career. Many of Atif's critics accused him of stealing songs from former band mate Gohar Mumtaz. Both Atif and Gohar laid claim on songs like "Aadat", "Dil Harey", "Woh Lamhey" and "Zindagi". Still no one knows whose creations actually these songs are. Aadat was eventually released on both Atif's Jal Pari and on Jals album ironically named Aadat. Atif has been accused by many of his pakistani fans of spreading himself too thinly and due to the release of his commercial album (Doorie) which resulted in him releasing a the album Hungaami Halaat within a few months of Doories release.

Awards

Best song, Best Composition, Best Lyrics "Aadat"- 2nd Jazz Indus Music Awards (Pakistan)

Best playback singer, Best debut singer - Sahara Sangeet Awards (India)

Best Song, Best Lyricist, Best Composition - ARY Music Awards (Pakistan)

Most Wanted Male - The Musik Awards (Pakistan)

BEST POP STAR OF THE YEAR in FILMAZIA AWARDS (pakistan)

Discography

Albums

Jal Pari (July 2004)
Doorie (December 2006)
Hungami Halat (Leaked February 2007)

Atif Aslam Biography

Atif Aslam

Genre: Pop/Rock
Hometown: Pakistan

Atif Aslam (Urdu: عاطف اسلم) is a Pakistani musician. He was born in Wazirabad, Gujranwala on March 12, 1983 and was educated in Lahore and Rawalpindi.

Early life

Atif’s kindergarten started in Model town Lahore at Kimberley Hall School. His first stage manifestation was in a fancy dress show at his school when he was in grade 1 where he performed as Imran Khan, the former captain of Pakistan's national cricket team. Since then cricket was like a passion to him. He was never tired of playing cricket for hours in his car porch whether it is scorching sun outside or even raining. At that time he was not used to listen any kind of songs. At the age of 9 in 1991 he was shifted to Rawalpindi/Islamabad where he continued his studies in Saint Paul's School. He started playing Basketball and he use to lead his school team for various matches. Atif came back to Lahore in 1995 where he continued his studies in Divisional Public School Model Town. For his immense passion for cricket he was selected in his school team as a fast bowler. Atif cleared his 10th grade in 14 years of age with a distinctive edge that he has always been the youngest boy in the class because of his double promotions while he was in Kimberley Hall. Atif started his FSc in PAF College Lahore. He was in his college team as well where he presented his college in other cities. Beside his studies he was putting his maximum time in practicing for the professional cricket. During his college life he come across with some interest in music. He attended Punjab Institute of Computer Science (PICS) to do his Bachelors in Computer Science (BCS). Aslam's eldest brother owned a collection of more than 8,000 songs of almost all music genres, from which Atif absorbed a wide range of music at home. As a good learner he quickly grasped the control of voice, though at that time he was not interested in singing. Aslam's passion was still to enter the Pakistani cricket team as a fast bowler and he was right on track while practicing at the net at the Shapes Club Lahore where Imran Khan used to come and give tips to him for bowling.

Start of Musical Career

The twist in the story comes when one day he was singing with his friends at the college canteen. His friends insisted him to participate in the singing on Independence Day celebrations at PAF College Lahore and Sargodha in 1998. He performed there and won the competition. After HSc, Atif Joined Punjab Institute of Computer Science Gulberg Campus. This time studies were much more demanding as compared to the previous ones. He was forced to sacrifice his time playing cricket in order to do well in school. However, his hobby of singing continued when he entered in the singing competition of his college, where there were a total of 8 participants. The media team entered Atif’s name in the competition at the eleventh hour and he won the competition singing a hit number of Pakistani band Strings' Duur.

Jal The Band

Aslam kept winning these competitions every semester. He found Goher Mumtaz, a talented guitarist, at this time. Together, they started doing mini concerts for their friends. Atif used to primarily sing songs from Junoon and Strings at these concerts. The size of the audiences kept on increasing. They performed concerts for their college, McDonalds and some other restaurants as well. Atif recorded the legendary song Aadat at Mekal Hassan’s Studio. Mekal injected his professionalism in the song to make it worth listening time after time. Goher formed the band and named the band as Jal, which means water, the essence of life. The song got popularity on the different musical websites on Pakistan. . The song was also played on such Pakistani radio stations. The music video for Aadat was shot one day in a warehouse in Karachi. Soon it came out to be a super hit, topping the Pakistani music charts. On the base of this one song, “Jal” began their tour of Pakistan—such was the strength of “Aadat”. However, Atif and Gohar conflicted upon some band management matters leading to a band breakup. Atif decided to launch his solo career while Gohar continued with Jal, seeking for new band mates.

Solo career

"Jal Pari"

Album Cover of Jal Pari.Atif Aslam, after leaving Jal, released a new solo album, Jal Pari (meaning "Mermaid") which was a big hit. Other than Aadat, 'Dil Harey', 'Woh Lamhey', 'Yakeen' became favourites of Pakistani music fans. Though his songs were liked by many, his first solo music video of 'Mahi ve' did not receive much praise. On the other hand Jal, with their album "Aadat" and hit music video "Woh Lamhay" emerged as one of the top bands of Pakistan. As both the Jal, “Aadat”, and Atif’s album, Jalpari, shared certain tracks (such as “Aadat”, “Wo Lamhey”, “Dil Harey”) an unofficial war over rights began which resulted in both sides claiming to possess hard proof to support their respective claims (that, they alone owned the concerned songs). The hype this feud gave to both Atif and the new Jal was extraordinary and split the music fans with the fans of each side backing their respective favourite.

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Cricket News

Pakistan match-fixing claims:

ECB has no option but to carry on in this new Salem

That doesn’t mean they are there and until there has been a thorough investigation into last Friday’s one-day international at the Oval, and hard evidence of misdeeds produced, those calling for the tour to be cancelled are doing cricket almost as much a disservice as the illegal bookmakers.

Without compelling proof, the England and Wales Cricket Board had little choice but to carry on despite criticism that it was putting profit before cricket’s increasingly battered reputation. If the game’s reputation is at risk, then the International Cricket Council must take the lead and cancel the tour, though it or the Pakistan Cricket Board must compensate the ECB.

If Giles Clarke had pulled the plug before the final two NatWest Series matches, it would have cost English cricket £4 million for having done nothing more than keeping extended their helping hand to Pakistan in the latter’s time of need. Whether that hand remains proffered now that Ijaz Butt, the chairman of PCB, has implicated England players after presumably having his puppet strings pulled from above, may become more apparent at Lord’s on Monday when the fourth ODI between the teams is played.

When you are in an information vacuum, which most of us are when it comes to the murky world of illegal gambling on the subcontinent, the unthinkable suddenly becomes plausible as banalities grow heads.

So with every dismissal and dot ball taking on new meaning in the new Salem, what about the suggestion doing the rounds on Sunday that gamblers in India had taken a huge bet on the series being called off?

As one who played against international cricketers the thing I struggle to get my head around is how easy manipulating a scoreboard is being painted. If, as has been suggested, an illegal bookie offers a bet that 52 runs will be made in a 10-over period, with prospective punters waging whether it will be more or less, then it is obviously a huge advantage to know whether or not that target will be reached. But how can batsmen be certain of controlling that when a bowler like James Anderson is nibbling the new ball around in English conditions?

A deliberate no-ball is the conscious act of one man, but tailoring a score would be subject to many variables.

There simply cannot be a guarantee. Quick wickets could result, forcing consolidation, which is what happened at the Oval on Friday, while on another day unintended edges could result in boundaries. If the fix is more subtle and complex than that, then how do batsmen cope with the various outcomes cluttering their mind while facing a top notch bowler? It is certainly not a given, which means there must be a high failure rate.

Whether the cricket-loving public will continue to remain patient is another matter and these last two matches will be a good litmus test of their robustness, as well as that of the game. It is still something for them and England’s players to get their heads around the fact that Pakistan’s batsmen were allegedly underperforming, yet still managed to win the game.

To act decisively, bodies like the police or ICC need incontrovertible proof, preferably with joined-up paper trails from the bookie to the player, a forlorn hope in the betting underworld of Asia.

Essex police have charged Mervyn Westfield with conspiracy to defraud after he bowled poorly in a televised match between Essex and Durham last year, and most in cricket will be watching closely to see if guilt can be established. And yet there is the feeling, even if he is successfully prosecuted, that the big fish in all of this will always swim free.