In view of Independence Day on August 14, all of August the Daily Times will highlight individuals who continue to make Pakistan proud. Our 24th feature is on leading musician, the immensely-talented singer and occasional actor who is ruling the hearts of the people of the entire subcontinent with his voice and persona, Atif Aslam
The mighty Atif Aslam, a singer and now actor has recorded numerous chart-topping songs and is known for his vocal belting technique. He has been declared the most popular Asian artist, followed by Arijit Singh, AR Rahman, Shreya Ghoshal and Mohit Chauhan, also being the youngest recipient of the coveted Tamgha-e-Imtiaz.
After meeting guitarist and talented young composer, Gohar Mumtaz, they performed at their college and at various restaurants eventually coming up with a title for their band called “Jal” – which means water.
Working together, the pair recorded the song “Aadat”, which became a roaring success and an them of those days.
On the basis of the popularity of this song, Jal began their tour of Pakistan.
Aslam, after leaving Jal, released a new solo album ‘Jal Pari’, which was a big hit. The songs “Woh Lamhey”, “Dil Haarey” and few others were hits on both Pakistani radio stations and music channels.
Even though Aslam always admired Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Abida Parveen, his first love was for cricket and he dreamed of representing his nation as a cricketer. He was a fast bowler and his passion for the sport saw him being selected for the national Under 19 cricket team trials. At one stage Atif was training to represent his country in the U-19 World Cup.
Several songs from his debut album such as “Bheegi yaadein”, “Ehsaas”, “Mahi ve”, “Ankhon sey” along with the title track “Jalpari” went on to become major hits and charted across countries in the subcontinent.
Following ‘Jal Pari’, he released two more successful solo albums ‘Doorie’ and ‘Meri Kahani’. Then, within a span of three years he recorded over two dozen chartbusters for top Bollywood films. Aslam’s work on the film ‘Race’, was nominated for the Filmfare Award. He continues to work on top productions and his growing popularity has seen filmmakers create special music videos to promote their films with his songs.
“I’ve been focused. I don’t want to give negative songs. I don’t want to add to the depression, I want to reduce it”
Following sold out concerts throughout his country the demand to watch Aslam perform live grew across the world.
He began to tour internationally with performances in the US and Canada with RDB and Annie Khalid. Aslam then made his solo debut concert in New Jersey in Summer Beats 2008 at Sovereign Bank Arena. After a sold out concert in New Jersey, Aslam returned with his band and special guests to Queens Colden Centre, New York to perform on July 2, 2010. Taking over the production, Aslam produced the event with special sound and light design to support his concert.
Two years later Aslam returned to the US. Collaborating with vocalist Shreya Ghoshal their March 2010 tour originally had 10 shows announced in US and Canada. However, the response inspired the organisers to put shows in six more cities. The next month, Aslam made his debut in South America with a performance at Anthony Nesty Sports Hall, Suriname.
The world touring continued with Aslam performing with Sunidhi Chauhan for the first time at Hershey Centre, Mississauga followed by another show at Oracle Arena, San Francisco, Oakland in July 2011 during their US and Canada tour. In September 2011 he performed in New York.
Aslam continued to tour the world with headline performances at Royal Albert Hall in London. He followed that with dates across major concert venues in the UK in 2010.
In 2012, Aslam became the first man from his country to perform in London’s O2 Arena a concert spectacular to promote love, peace and unity among India and Pakistan. Aslam performed for four hours. This was followed up by shows in Manchester and Glasgow.
Aslam has been named among top performers of Dubai for 2012 alongside Pitbull, Enrique Iglesias, Il Divo, Gotye, Evanescence and Swedish House Mafia. A few weeks earlier, Aslam became the first man from Asia and the second artist after Bryan Adams, to be permitted to perform inside the Dashrath Rangasla National Football Stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal. With 25,000 in the crowd this concert was a great success.
In 2013, Aslam performed for the first time at the LG Arena in Birmingham following, which he became the first artist from Asia to perform twice at London’s O2 Arena. Also in concert at the O2 were Bollywood stars Shaan, Malaika Arora Khan and Bipasha Basu. Aslam has proved that when it comes to music, art and people-to-people contact, there really are no boundaries.
Aslam has three songs featured in the American independent film Man Push Cart, which has won international awards and was praised by critics. He then sang two songs in Mira Nair’s film ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’. His two other songs “Doorie” and “Maula” from his second album ‘Doorie’ were picked up in 2010 for the soundtrack of the Hindi version of the Mexican film La mujer de mi hermano, directed by Ricardo de Montreuil.
Aslam now plans to star in another film, this time a Bollywood film. Fingers crossed.
Atif Aslam is the pride of Pakistan, and we laud him for his immense contribution to the music industry, and services which have now gone international!
  Achievements
Versatile Artiste
Atif Aslam is not just a brilliant singer, who has captivated the hearts of the people of the entire subcontinent, but is also an occasional actor with some serious acting chops! He debuted in the film industry with the block buster hit ‘Bol’ in 2011. He is now planning on starring in another film, this time in Bollywood.
Ahead Of Leading Singers
Aslam has been declared the most popular artist of Asia in 2013, ahead of Arijit Singh, AR Rahman, Shreya Ghoshal and Mohit Chauhan.
Raking In The Awards
Aslam was bestowed with the prestigious Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (Medal of Distinction) in 2008 by the government of Pakistan. He is the youngest recipient of this honour. Aslam also holds three Indus Music Awards, Sahara Sangeet Awards, Lux Style Awards, Lycra MTV Style Award and most recently The Brand Laureate International Brand Personality Award.
Debut Success
Aslam’s first album ‘Jal Pari’ several songs such as “Bheegi yaadein”, “Ehsaas”, “Mahi ve”, “Ankhon sey” along with the title track “Jalpari” went on to become major hits and charted across countries in the subcontinent.
Should To Shoulder With Bigwigs
Aslam has performed and collaborated with some of the world’s leading musicians including RDB, Annie Khalid, Kailash Kher, Richa Sharma, Amanat Ali, Shreya Ghoshal and Shaan. In 2012, Aslam was named among top performers of Dubai alongside Pitbull, Enrique Iglesias, Il Divo, Gotye, Evanescence and Swedish House Mafia. A few weeks earlier, Aslam became the first man from Asia and the second artist after Bryan Adams, to be permitted to perform inside the Dashrath Rangasla National Football Stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The Prestigious 02
Aslam became the first artist from Asia to perform twice at London’s O2 Arena. Also in concert at the O2 were Bollywood stars Shaan, Malaika Arora Khan and Bipasha Basu. The show was produced by Naz Choudhury and Flex FX.