We caught up with Pakistani pop singerMustafa Zahid, whose hit singles from the film “Awaarapan” made him quite popular in India, when he visited the country recently.
He is now awaiting the music release of Mahesh Bhatt’s next ” Blood Money”, for which he has sung three songs. He tells us, “I have enjoyed doing the soulful and melodious tracks in this movie. I’m fond of rock fusion, and hence have blended rock and sufi music in the songs. The songs are composed according to the storyline and they will be very catchy.”
It’s almost after a gap of two years that Mustafa visited India. Does he plan to stay here for long? “No, I shall be back to Lahore in some time, but I hope to come back again in March for a show. The dates have not been decided yet, but it will take place in Haryana,” he tells us.
Talking about his experience in Bollywood, Zahid says, “It has been a rewarding experience. I couldn’t have expected more than this. It’s been a beautiful journey in Bollywood and it gives me a high when people walk up to me and sing my songs. I have never faced any problems or issues while working in Indian films. In fact, I have learnt a lot here.”
In 2004, Mustafa started his rock band Roxen. Their first song was “Yaadein”, and two years later, he released his first album “Rozen-E-Deewar”. He tells us, “Inshallah, we plan to release on our next album soon.”
Did he always want to be a musician? “I have a musical background, but I had never imagined that I would get into music. I was a good orator in my school and college days, and no one ever imagined that I would get into singing. It just happened all of a sudden. I remember that I was hosting my college fest, and there was a musical competition where I hummed few lines, after which all my college staff and friends just encouraged me and pushed me into singing. Frankly, it was then that I decided to take up singing seriously. With no formal training in music, I started playing the guitar and singing and composing my own songs. It’s very commonly seen in Paksitan, in every home kids know how to sing and play the guitar. So even for me, it wasn’t that difficult when I started playing, and I picked it up fast,” he says.
Mustafa tells us that Pakistani music doesn’t just mean Sufi anymore. He says, “The Pakistanmusic industry is growing, and we have seen a lot of changes over the years. Earlier, Pakistani music would just mean Sufi music, but now you have various other elements in it. Undoubtedly, Sufi music is well appreciated across the globe, but many still get confused about it and don’t actually know its real meaning. Today, there are a lot of new upcoming Pakistani bands who play that kind of music, but that’s not the original Sufi . It is a lot of fusion and remixes. Original Sufi is more soulful and spiritual, and is performed at dargahs and shrines. But now the trend has changed, and Pakistani music now has various new elements to make it more popular.”
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