Sound Invasion - - Pakistan invades India!!

It's the Lux Zee Cine awards night in Mumbai.
Indian Filmstar Kajol is swaying to the mystic
chants of an enigmatic number. Karisma Kapoor and
sister Kareena are visibly entranced. And the crowd is
absolutely rapturous, dancing on their seats and shouting
"encore, encore". The number that has so captivated Bollywood
big shots and still leaves the crowds craving for more is
Sayonee from Junoon -- comprising guitarist and songwriter
Salman Ahmad, lead vocalist Ali Azmat and bass guitarist
Brian O'Connell. This is Pakistan's very own Boyzone, the
pop-group from across the border that has captured the hearts of Indians. These
boys have nothing to do with mush, slush, treacle and candyfloss. The all-male
band leads the Pakistani pop brigade with a very different kind of music: a Nusrat
Fateh Ali Khan-inspired eclectic blend of Sufi poetry, sub-continental folk, classical
rhythms and western rock. And, it has now taken its big neighbour India by storm.

According to Parag Kamani, consultant, EMI, which is distributing the album in
India through Milestone Music, within three weeks of its release Junoon's latest
album Azadi sold 1.7 lakh copies in India. The album has emerged as the
bestseller among all categories of music at Mumbai's leading music retail outlet,
Rhythm House, racing past the home-grown favourite Dil To Pagal Hai. Following
Macarena and Didi, the single Sayonee has acquired a near cult status.

But Junoon is not the only Pakistani group which is India-bound
-- there's a veritable invasion of pop artistes from across the
border. MTV has been regularly airing pop band Saroor's Teri
gali aana hai. Karachi-based Komal Rizvi's Baojee has been on
Channel V's playlist for the past one-and-a-half months. The
latest entrant is Lahore-based Hadiqa Kayani, whose debut
album Raaz is being released in India through BMG Crescendo.
Among the other groups and stars trying to find a place under
the Indian sun are Akash, Sajjad Ali, Awaaz, Strings and Caravan. In fact, Channel
V has about 15 new music videos from Pakistan waiting to be aired. Rumour has it
that the channel is also planning to rope in Rizvi as its first Pakistani veejay.

"A lot of Pakistani artistes have been coming to Mumbai to look for representation
in India," says Suresh Thomas, managing director, BMG Crescendo. The reason is
simple: India offers a bigger market than Pakistan. Besides, India has traditionally
taken to music from Pakistan: from the ubiquitous ghazals of all-time favourites
Ghulam Ali, Mehdi Hassan and Farida Khanum in the '70s to the squeaky-clean
teenagers Nazia and Zoheb Hassan in the pre-music channel days in the '80s to
the most astounding success of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Though not strictly a pop
artiste, Khan was single-handedly responsible for throwing open the doors for
Pakipop. This new breed of Pakistani pop stars are making a focused attempt to
go mainstream in Asia, especially in the sub-continent. "Pakistani pop artistes
have had a hard-core following back home but they are culturally crossing over in a
major way now," says Mandar Thakur, Channel V's music and artist relations
manager.

Junoon, however, is way ahead of its compatriots in making inroads into the Indian
music market. The group heads the charts. "It has been totally unexpected, the
industry had never anticipated this," says Kamani. Sayonee alone is being touted
as a breakthrough act, predicted to do for Pakistani pop music what Alisha
Chinai's Made In India did for Indipop: turn it into a phenomenon.

Sayonee is on the top of the MTV charts and figures on the channel's high-rotation
playlist with an average airing of four times a day. Last heard, it was among
Channel V's top three, racing towards the No.1 slot. It has been getting
unprecedented play for a Pakistani pop song on the channel: almost six times a
day. That too at a time when there are plenty of other chartbusters jostling for
airtime: the mega-hit remix Dil kya kare, Kamaal Khan's O oh jaane jana, Bally
Sagoo's Gud naal ishq mitha and Shweta Shetty's Deewane, not to forget pop diva
Madonna's latest act, Frozen, and Khan's Piya re.

Pop music has been around in Pakistan for about 15 years. "It is the fastest
growing entertainment phenomenon," says Junoon's Ahmad. But it has remained
largely in the background because of political and religious curbs. Lack of proper
enforcement of copyright laws, the absence of international recording companies,
ineffective marketing and distribution systems and a thriving piracy market have
also affected its growth. Music channels are now stepping in to provide a
pan-Asian platform, exposure and the much-needed hype. Having established the
Indian pop scene, it's now destination Pakistan for the channels. Consequently the
marketing and promotion of Pakipop is acquiring the cutting edge. "The market for
them was always there. Now they are communicating with that market and the
media is providing the fuel for that," says Thakur. This is being backed by videos
which are becoming slicker by the day. "Production values are getting better, more
money is being poured in," says Thomas.

Earlier, singing was a serious pursuit grounded in classical tenets. "Now we have
also begun to derive fun out of music," says Rizvi. However, compared to its Indian
counterpart there's still a lot of restraint in Pakipop. No mini skirts to show off the
legs, no tank tops to give a daring glimpse of the belly-button. Pakipop is all about
trying to do a balancing act between tradition and modernity, which is best
summed up in the lyrics of Rizvi's Baojee: Je tusi padh laiyan chaar jamataan
culture apna na bhool jao jee (Don't forget your culture once you've studied a bit).
"Indian pop is more beat-based, whereas Pakipop is a lot more conscious of
retaining its roots," says Ahmad.

The basic reason why the Pakistanis have been able to do well here is because
Indians are able to relate to their music. "The market knows no nationality," says
Vinay Sapru, chief programming officer, Polygram India Ltd. For Mishal Verma,
mtv's director, programming, talent and artist relations, Sayonee works because it
makes for easy listening. "The selling point of a record is that it should have a beat
which allows one to dance or a melody which allows one to sing and a catch word
thrown in," says Verma. And Sayonee has all three. The song is an ideal blend of
the East with the West, the true example of good fusion music. As Ahmad says,
"Ultimately we are moving towards a universal sound." And that's because
"listeners are asking for more mature, fuller sound, not bubble gum pop", according
to Thakur.

However, it's precisely this discerning taste of the audience which is going to make
the road to success a bit difficult for the Pakistani pop brigade. In the fickle world of
music, the stakes are getting higher each day. Anything and everything don't sell
anymore. Though Pakipop is the rage now, the question is whether it's the
beginning of a trend or just a passing fad. "There's room for Pakistani pop if it is of
the same standard as Junoon's," says Verma. And if the music is good, it will
certainly know no borders.