Pakistani singer Farhan Saeed talks to Riya Sharma about leaving Jal and why artistes find Bollywood a bigger platform
Farhan Saeed recently paid a tribute to the legend Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan by singing Halka Halka Suroor. He told us that it has a story attached to it. He elaborated, “As this is one of my favourite songs, I went to the studio to see how my voice would suit the original composition. I sang it for two and half minutes and played it on my car’s music player. When my family and friends heard it, they liked it. And later on, it was leaked on YouTube and I heard the same demo version in a club in Delhi. So, when I went back to Pakistan, I recorded the iconic qawwali by mixing it with a fusion of guitar strings.”
It is not everyday that Pakistani sensation Farhan Saeed, popularly known as the vocalist of the band Jal, chooses to perform a gig at a city cafe. He mixed indie-pop with qawwals, jammed eight songs with a sufi touch and had the crowd dancing to the tunes of Royiaan and Khwashion.
“It is always special to perform in Delhi, as the response is always overwhelming. This time, I tried something new by giving sufi touch to my music and it worked quite well,” said the Pakistani singer.
The trend of Pakistani singers making their way in Bollywood is quite popular. So when we ask him if he plans to join the likes of Atif Aslam and Ali Zafar, he told us that one of his songs titled Tu thodi dair had already been chosen by Mohit Suri for his forthcoming movie. “The name of the movie has not been finalised yet, but the song is surely going to feature in it,” he added.
After being in the industry for over a decade and performing in both countries, he finds India to be a bigger platform for artistes. “In Pakistan, we have always been associated with the Hindi film industry,” he told us, “With our first album and the controversy attached to Wo lamhe (when Atif left the band, he released the song which originally belonged to the band) we have always been a part of it. The difference that I feel is that Bollywood offers a bigger space and platform to artistes from Pakistan. It feels overwhelming when you hear your voice in a Bollywood movies because it has audience all over the world. So, automatically you are heard and recognised everywhere.”
A lot of Pakistani singers have been appreciated for their music in the film industry here and that is the reason for an increase in number of artistes from the other side of the border, he feels. “I feel lucky as the audience in India accept our music and give a chance to new talent. We have been blessed that whatever we have produced, people have liked it,” he added.
The singer raised many eyebrows when he left Jal after 11 years. He explained, “I was only 18 when I joined Jal. At that age, you are very flexible and energetic and I felt that I could juggle many things at a time. But, with time, I realised that I needed to prioritise my life. Some music related creativity issues also started to crop up. Eventually, there came a time when I figured out that it was better to end things in a good way rather than making them dirty.”
He laughed it off by saying, “You do not enter the sacred bond of matrimony when you join a band. As priorities change, you push yourself to achieve something better in your life,” he said.
So, is the former lead vocalist of Jal still in touch with his band membersIJ He replied, “My schedule keeps me busy and I wish them the best in all their endeavors. All of us are busy and I don’t think it is possible for any of us to keep in touch.”