Daily Times

Popular Pakistani musician Farhad Humayun died on Tuesday after battling a ‘cancerous brain tumour’, actor and close friend Arjun Mathur shared on Wednesday.

Farhad Humayun was 42. The news of his demise was first posted on the official Facebook page of his band, Overload.

“The magnificent ‘Farhad Humayun & Overload’ left us for the stars this morning. Stoic in the face of challenges, uncompromising in his values, generous to a fault, witty as hell! Fadi was far too ahead of his time, both in spirit and art. He would want us to celebrate his life, so we request his family, friends and fans to honour him and say a prayer for him today. We can almost hear him say these words by David Bowie: “I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring,” read the post. Several stars from India and Pakistan mourned Farhad’s demise and remembered times spent with him.

Farhad Humayun was one of the biggest names in the Pakistani music industry. He recorded several albums with Atif Aslam and also served as a drummer on one of the seasons of Coke Studio. He formed his famous band Overload in 2003. Atif Aslam wrote on Twitter, “Thank you, Fadi, for giving us great music, good times & for playing on my 1st album. Buddy, I was thrilled about our collab – I have finished the lyrics as well but I didn’t know we won’t be able to make it happen . Your legacy – fire, passion and insane courage – will live on forever.”

Farhad Humayun was one of the biggest names in the Pakistani music industry. He recorded several albums with Atif Aslam and also served as a drummer on one of the seasons of ‘Coke Studio’

Actor Arjun Mathur, who revealed he and Farhad were childhood friends, shared that the singer-composer was diagnosed with brain tumour close to three years ago. “3 short years ago and completely out of the blue, Fadi – one of the fittest, best-looking, healthiest people I knew – got diagnosed with a cancerous brain-tumour. After two brain-surgeries over two years and no real sign of getting any better, Fadi finally surrendered and decided to end the treatments and medication.”

In a long, heart-wrenching post on Instagram, Arjun wrote about what it meant to know and be friends with Farhad Humayun. “What does one say about a comet? Or a shooting star? My first memories of Farhad Humayun, or ‘Fadi’, as I knew him, are from when I was just a toddler and my parents’ best-friends -Shahzad Uncle and Nivi Aunty – visited from Pakistan. We would wait for the parents to leave for their parties so we could hit ‘Excite-Bike’ on the 8-bit NES, or watch our favourite movies from the time.. ‘Jaanbaaz’ and ‘Veerana’, no less. As a kid, when our family visited them in Lahore, I remember the largest Aloo-Parathas I had ever seen, at their home.. and the best post-swim chicken sandwiches at Lahore Gymkhana,” read an excerpt.

The actor penned another post on Wednesday, remembering Farhad Humayun and the “calming sweetness” in his voice. The post read, “I will miss you a lot, Fadi. I will miss your unmatched tehzeeb and the calming sweetness in your voice. More than anything, I will long to hear you call me ‘Pyaraay!’ Again. And I pray that the only words you that come to you as you reach the final destination, are characteristically your own – ‘HAAN YAAR! BAHUT AALA!'”