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“I want to reform through policy
and my music.”- Shehzad Roy




“I hope I don’t give you the flu,” smiles Shehzad Roy as we meet for an interview. He is quick to offer refreshments, trying to make sure that I’m comfortable before we begin.

He maybe one of Pakistan’s most formidable musicians today but Shehzad Roy has no airs about himself. Casual, calm and refreshingly real are not terms one uses to describe most of our musicians. But they describe Shehzad Roy perfectly.

Shehzad Roy has been actively making music for over a decade and he’s delivered some fairly memorable tunes. But his breakthrough record came in ‘05 with the mammoth hit ‘Saali’. The catchy tune reinvented Shehzad as a musical force to be reckoned with. Suddenly, there was another alternative to the then-reigning musical superstar Ali Zafar. But Shehzad stunned critics and fans alike by his next release:  the tongue-in-cheek, ‘Laga Reh’ in ‘08.

Now Shehzad’s back with another winner, and this time he’s not alone. He’s collaborated with Balochi singer Wasu on the new song. The comeback video is ‘Apney Ulloo’, a song that’s far more hard-hitting than Shehzad’s previous efforts, ‘Laga Reh’ and ‘Qismat Apney Haath Mein’. Packing another political punch, the video is a tale of the struggles of a poor man. Roy emulates a peon, a lawyer, a government secretary and a media man, as Balochi singer, Wasu, raps away about Pakistan’s checkered political history.

“The video concept is about a poor man’s file and how everyone exploits him,” says Shehzad softly. “Every time a sexy file comes out, everyone will take notice, media will take interest, lawyers will take on the case. But here, everyone exploits this guy.”

Explaining the video at length, Shehzad says, “I play different roles. I am a peon but I won’t let this poor man’s file go in.  When he reaches the secretary, he says, ‘Do Number Kamoon Mein Bhi Hum Number Two, Kar Allah Ho’ because he takes out a tasbeeh but also asks for money. After secretary, I play a lawyer within the video. And then finally I play a media man. The meaning of this song is that we are serving someone else’s purpose.”

Not surprisingly, audiences everywhere have lapped up the video. The song is a certified hit. Once again, Shehzad has struck gold. And the one person who’s stood out in this video is Balochi singer Wasu.

“He’s a very interesting man. He belongs to Jafferabad, which is a town in Balochistan,” reveals Shehzad. “My mother-in-law introduced me to him when she showed me his video on YouTube. I saw it about a year ago and that’s when I made the decision to feature him in a song.”

During the making of this song and the video, Shehzad struck a unique relationship with Wasu in trying to understand his thought-process. After all, Wasu wrote the poetry in ‘Apney Ulloo’ (the parts he raps). In one verse, he raps, “Liaquat Ali Khan aya/usko aamro ne marwaya/Iskandar Mirza aya/usne nahin chalaya/ General Ayub Khan aya marital law lagaya/Mirza ko bahadur banaya/1965 ka jang laraya Shastri ko maar bhagaya/Aisa sabak seekha

moo tod jawab dilaya/[Nehr] bhi banwaya isne bhi nahin chalaya/Sir baad mein aya Yahya Khan adha Pakistan ganwaya/Fauj ko qaid karwaya/Bangladesh chinaya/Isne bhi nahin chalaya (Liaquat Ali Khan came into power/The conspirators had him assasinated/Iskandar Mirza came but couldn’t run the country/General Ayub Khan came, imposed martial law and deposed Mirza/Fought the 1965 war, he defeated Shastri and sent him running/He taught him a lesson and gave him a befitting reply/He made a canal [in a district of Balouchistan]/He couldn’t run the country either/After that Yahya Khan came and lost half of Pakistan/He led to many soldiers being imprisoned and Bangladesh was lost to us/He also couldn’t run the country).”

For Shehzad, it was an incredible experience.

“What Wasu sings in ‘Apney Ulloo’ is his point of view. He’s a poor guy and this is how he’s seen Pakistan develop. I didn’t know then if Wasu was educated or not and he’s not. This song is his viewpoint. We often talk about how people in the rural areas have no understanding but they do. One poor man has 5000 rupees and he has to run his household. And he’s got eight children. I can’t do it, you can’t do it but they do it, everyday. They are neither ignorant. They just have a lot of their own problems. They know everything.”

This unique collaboration vis-à-vis ‘Apney Ulloo’ did start as a one-off but it’s taken a different direction. A reality show featuring Shehzad and Wasu is in the pipeline and should hit airwaves nationwide soon.

Describing this upcoming show, Shehzad says, “It’s a journey. I’ve documented how I found Wasu. My mother-in-law introduced me to him via his stuff on YouTube. It’s our interaction, how he thinks, how I think, and our song together. I thought we’ll make a documentary but once I heard him talk, it just turned into a reality show. A Baloch from Balochistan and a musician from Karachi and it’s their conversation.”

For Shehzad, making music that reflects on the society has been a conscious choice. And it hasn’t been easy.  A prolific video like ‘Apney Ulloo’ takes investment but sponsorship for such music doesn’t come easily or in this case, at all.

“‘Apney Ulloo’ is running on television and creating political space, debate but I am not getting monetary returns for it. Where will this song earn from? Nowhere because there’s no album in the market so there will be no album sales. The only reason you’re investing is to change the conversation. It’s what we do, as musicians,” maintains Shehzad. “I’m not just talking about myself. Ali Azmat is doing some fantastic music. It’s our contribution. You can look at history. Whenever society is suppressed, art and music makes noise because if they don’t, who will?”

The optimist in Shehzad though hasn’t given up on the music scene just yet.

“There are things in this song that some people wouldn’t like at all. We’re naming politicians in this song. Some sponsors found this song interesting. But I can understand their limitations. We didn’t want to take anything out and compromise so we went without sponsorship. I invested in the video. But I do think that in some time, it will become more acceptable to do such things. It will get easier.”

While investment and infrastructure is lacking in the music business, there is no dearth of talent. Shehzad agrees, “I love the new music coming out of Pakistan. Bands like Call and so many others are making some great music. But it disappears. Bands break up and it’s not because they are not popular. But it’s just not easy. And you have to remember that the music industry will not pick itself up in isolation. It’s all connected. Bomb blasts, terrorism, gas shortage, electricity issues, everything affects the economy. Until the economy isn’t stable, music industry won’t get better. But I do think that some of the new bands are phenomenal. When we started out, we were never this good,” says Shehzad.

And if there’s one musician who Shehzad’s a fan of, it’s Ali Azmat. “It’s amazing to note that even after all these years, we only have one rock star and that’s Ali Azmat. And I personally feel that the songs of the film, Rockstar, should’ve been sung by Ali,” laughs Shehzad.

Coming back to Shehzad’s own music, it’s been an interesting journey for him, oscillating between pop ditties and powerful, socio-political songs. Will we see him attempt more love songs? “I would like to make romantic songs too but I’d like to make a song that people can relate to. I often see, guys and girls meet. Sometimes I see the girl is in a burqa and she looks tensed, stressed. In our society, if you want to fall in love or if you are in love, there’s a lot of tension involved. If you do fall in love, you don’t know if you can meet for dinner or just go out or not. Someone will wear a burqa, someone will take a dupatta, someone will wear a helmet. So if I write a love song, I want to write about the issues that come attached in our society,” says Shehzad.

It’s now characteristic for him to approach music with such a sensibility. And that’s exactly why he’s at the top of his musical game now more than ever. His brand of music is relatable. And that’s what makes it special.
And it’s not just his music that’s seen a change in the last couple of years. Shehzad’s personal life also changed when he tied the knot in 2009.

“My wife is more intelligent than I am,” smiles Shehzad.

I ask him how life has changed post-marriage?

“I get a lot of help from her. We discuss everything. She’s made me more aware of the importance of our environment. She plays an integral part in everything I do, not necessarily on a day-to-day basis but her input is important.”

The musician-turned-philanthropist

Music is but one facet of Shehzad Roy’s life. For him, reforming and overhauling education system is an equally important issue. “I want to reform through policy and my music,” Shehzad confesses.
“My Zindagi Trust journey started in 2003. We started this policy - I Am Paid to Learn - and we had 3000 kids but I stopped after 3000. I knew that if the numbers multiplied to 50,000, it wouldn’t change anything. I realized that if I want to make a dent on the education system, it has to be through reforming government schools.”
And he did just that by taking on the challenge of reforming SMB Fatima Jinnah Government Girls School. Shehzad maintains that today this school is second to none.

Another issue that’s close to Shehzad’s heart is voting. He tells me how he believes it is the only step towards real change.

“One thing I want to see is everybody voting in this country. No real change can come about otherwise. That’s one thing I’d really like to see in the future,” reflects Shehzad.

Speak of politics and Shehzad is quick to add that he’s not cut out for politics. I ask him about Imran Khan and he smiles thoughtfully and says, “There’s a lot of love and respect for him. I have a very long and close relationship with Imran Khan.”

And that remains true. Imran Khan’s real coming out party has been 2011 but Shehzad’s been a supporter for years, having featured Imran Khan in one of his patriotic videos as well years ago. Long before Imran Khan was considered a political heavyweight, Shehzad threw his support behind him and has continued to do so till today.

“I support him (Imran Khan) but I haven’t joined his party, PTI. I’m not doing active politics. I was at the Lahore jalsa because Khan Sahib asked me to be there. It’s funny because it wasn’t my first jalsa with him. I’ve been to many, many of them. No one’s asked me before because the turnout wasn’t so huge before,” says Shehzad.

Do you support him, I ask Shehzad.

“I believe in the man. He wants to change things in Pakistan but he never got the chance. Now he’s gotten the chance. Some say he’s compromising. I don’t think that’s true. He’s doing things he needs to do in order to achieve his objective. People have found a reason to believe that change is coming. When he comes in power, we will see what happens. But we know he’s really genuine and he wants to bring change,” says Shehzad.

For Shehzad, life is constantly changing and he is willing to change with it. “Life shouldn’t be monotonous. It is all about change,” he says.

Not one to slow down, Shehzad is quietly working on a film with Ahsan Rahim and Faisal Qureshi.
“We’re lazy kings. Whenever we meet, we work on it, and then we get busy with other things. But we are developing it,” reveals Shehzad.

As for his music, that’s ongoing too.

“It’s a lethal combination, making political music and reforming things on the ground,” concludes Shehzad.