Please tell us about your foray into the field of classical singing. How did it all begin for you?

I was born in a family where you don’t have any other choice. Either you end up as a singer, or in any band of musicians. But I don’t see anything else but singing in my family so it was a part of our basic training and I started when I was very young, at the age of three and that’s how my classical training began.

How supportive and encouraging was your family when you decided it was the profession you wanted to take up?

My family was very supportive because they wanted me to become a singer. They wanted every child to become a singer. Had I been born in another family, say a family of doctors or engineers, then this question would stand correct for me. But since I was born in a family where everybody was a singer so they didn’t want any kid doing anything else but singing or at least being a musician of any other kind.

Growing up, who were some classical singers you greatly admired?

I don’t want to sound selfish or arrogant but I think all the great singers were in the family including my great grandfather and then my grandfather, then my father and then both my uncles and my brothers so I had a lot of people in the family to look up to and follow. In fact, you feel very pressured because you’re following someone who has already reached the mark and have raised the bar and that level so you have to reach that bar and either raise it or maintain it. So growing up in a family like that you feel very pressured and it’s very tough.

You belong to the Patiala Gharana lineage. Can you explain to all what that means?

Well, there is a school of music that everyone follows, so that is originally the style of singing so our family, the Patiala Gharana is known for its taan, which is a very popular form sung by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan sahib and of course my great grandfather and everyone else in the family. Alaap is also a very important form of singing. My father and my brothers all did it very well and were appreciated for it. So it’s a kind of style of singing that defines you as a gharana or as a school of music or the way you sing or your style.

From classical singing to rock band Fuzon. How did that come into being?

Well, this wasn’t something that I had done for the first time. I think, I had just followed in the footsteps of my ancestors and my elders. My great grandfather decided to sing khyal gaiki, which is a form of classical singing, when everybody was admiring dhrupad, which is also another form of singing. But since khyal gaiki was getting popular as dhrupad was originally a Hindu form of singing, and Hindus use this form to perform at their temples, it transcended into khyal form so a lot of Muslims opposed this in those times. But my family and some other singers followed and chose to sing this form of singing which was a great step and an experiment and they spread it all over the world. So when I was college, I got exposed to a lot of European and American music and I started liking it, as there were tonnes of charts that I used to follow from Europe and America, so we used to hear them. And from there I started kind of fusing all the classical music because I could see and hear a certain kind of raag from all these songs and then I realised that every song was based on this or the other raag, or at least a mixture of a few raags and that’s how I started thinking that I should use it sometimes or whenever I get a chance and when I came to Karachi, I remember I was working hard and I bumped into my bandmates and I thought this was the right time so I did what I did.

It’s your work that sells and not your name

Together with Fuzon, you gave a number of colossal hits. Why did this immensely popular band split?

Well, I think the reason is insecurities of other band members. You can’t change the fact that the music with the band is usually recognised by the lead singer who is the face of that band. Secondly, I wasn’t someone who would cater to any kind of insecurity for a very long time. I can only do that till a certain point but after that it became very troublesome for me and I couldn’t take it anymore and then I thought that I should walk out. I gave the name to them and gave the songs also because I wanted to prove that it’s your work that sells and not your name.

You are the proud recipient of the Pride of Performance honour. What according to you has been your biggest achievement so far?

I’m really proud of the fact that I’ve been given and awarded with the Pride of Performance. I think we are the first family in Pakistan who have received five Pride of Performances, including my father, my uncles, my elder brother and then me. So I think this is the maximum number of Pride of Performances in one family in Pakistan. Sky is the limit and I’m still looking to achieve what I want to reach.

You are a renowned name in Bollywood as well. Tell us a little about your venture in Bollywood. How is the Indian music industry different from ours?

Yes, thanks to the Almighty. Bollywood happened after I got popular in Pakistan. “Ankho ke sagar” got massively popular in India and of course when the first time they heard it, they wanted to get in touch so they called me for “Mitwa” and then after “Mitwa” happened there was no looking back. The Bollywood music industry is not really different from our music industry. The only difference is that we don’t have a very strong industry. Their industry is massively popular all over the globe and the map and their fans and admirers are endless world over. One does feel like being a part of that industry owing to their massive fan following. Other than that, if you talk about talent, then there really is no difference. We have tonnes of talent on both sides of the border.

What are you currently working on?

I am working on a few singles because albums don’t sell now the way they used to so that’s why I’m focusing on creating some singles. August 14 is around the corner so I’m focusing on that and releasing a video very soon. On March 6, a big event is coming up. So there are a lot of things happening which all my fans will see.

What is your vision for Pakistan and what does it mean to be Pakistani for you?

Pakistan is home and I still haven’t given up on Pakistan. I know that we have been facing trouble sometimes and we have passed some very bad patches but they were just bad patches, which we have passed. We are still going strong, touchwood and this is home. This is where we have been born. We love our country. I have enough money to move out of Pakistan and live someplace else like Dubai or any other country and keep coming back. But I haven’t left. I’m still living here and this where I’ll spend the rest of the my life, Insha Allah.

What motivates you to excel no matter what?

I think the legacy that I’m carrying forward. I think that’s the biggest responsibility and the biggest motivation to keep excelling in your work because that’s what earns you bread and butter and of course respect. That’s why I’m popular all over the world. Wherever I go, people know me, touchwood. That is because of what I’m doing. That’s another responsibility that you need to keep excelling and keep on improving from your past and keep making new stuff and putting excellence in your work.

Tell us about a memorable experience during your career.

There have been a lot like seeing my first video getting popular and people talking about it and recognising me on the roads, shouting for me and coming for autographs. Of course, another memorable moment was taking a look at my son’s face when he was born. These kind of things keep happening when you run into people and they love you. People who are the biggest stars for you, they come and they tell you that they are huge fans of your work, that definitely makes your day. So these kind of things keep happening to me and they make memorable moments and experiences.

We at Daily Times consider you one of our national heroes. Who are some of yours?

Thank you very much, they way you guys think I’m a national hero, I appreciate it very much. My heroes are every person who is doing their work honestly for Pakistan, despite being the fact that he is in a very bad shape and living in Pakistan. But still is honest and loves Pakistan. Other than that, from sports, people have brought us medals, from the film industry, everyone who is making Pakistan proud is my hero. TV stars and all the legends from the past are my heroes. There’s a long, endless list because people will keeping adding to it.

                  Achievements

MULTI-TALENTED MUSICIAN
Singer Shafqat Amanat Ali belongs to the esteemed Patiala Gharana lineage. He is not only a trained classical singer but has also proved his penchant towards rock music on creating the band Fuzon, which successfully fused classical music with rock. He has sung for various Bollywood films as well, giving hit after a hit.

AN INTERNATIONAL STAR
He is the proud winner of the Global Indian Film Award for GIFA Best Male Playback Singer on singing “Mitwa” in ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna’. Over the past, he has been nominated for two Filmfare Awards, one IIFA award, GIMA award, Big Star Entertainment Award and Zee Cine Awards.

RECOGNITION AT HOME
Shafqat Amanat Ali was awarded the President’s Pride of Performance civil award in 2008. That same year, he also bagged the Musik Award for Most Wanted Male.

Published in Daily Times, August 7^th 2017.