Amanat is just in his early twenties but his rise to stardom has been spectacular.
Bollywood director and choreographer Farah Khan, singer Jagjit Singh and Bollywood music composers Ismail Darbar and Vishal-Shekhar have come out praising Amanat Ali. You can Youtube him to watch his performances and hear what those icons said about him. You'll even find a clip of his tete a tete with Shahrukh Khan. It's a meteoric rise for a boy no one had really heard of on either side of the border. This is why, even before Kohram released, Amanat Ali got picked up by Telenor. It is the same Telecom giant that signed on Ali Zafar and Sonya Jehan, both of whom were already established. Amanat joined those haloed ranks without an original song to his credit. Exposure in India works wonders.

With those Telenor advertisements, billboards with his face plastered right next to pop princess Annie, Amanat Ali's face became familiar. And so we waited for his album.

Amanat Ali's Kohram is not what one hoped for from the young singer. The expectations from Amanat are sky high because of his vocals. That voice is incredibly powerful. He can be playful and he can be gloomy; he carries emotions very well. He can pitch the high notes with an innate style that is so effortless that he never sounds contrived. We've heard him sing Indian tunes on shows and even sing in Bollywood. This is the boy who sang 'Khabar Nahin' for the bestselling Dostana soundtrack.

But on his debut album, Amanat does not deliver. Amanat needed a musical album that would make his star shine further. With Kohram, that just doesn't happen.

Like many other locally produced albums, Kohram is filled with songs that take cues from classical, techno, pop, rock and everything else in between. Unfortunately, that is never a good thing. With one foot in every genre, the album is neither here nor there. Sure, it has some moments but that isn't enough for it to qualify as a solid debut.

The lead single, 'Kohram' is a telling sign. Meaty drums in full force, electric riffs and Amanat Ali singing, "Teri Ankhon Ka Kohram/Teray Hoton Ka Ye Jam/Ab Jo Bhi Ho Anjaam/" - it just doesn't work. The song falls short.

Remember Ali Zafar's 'Channo'? That was a debut to remember. 'Channo' wasn't trying too hard but it worked because the melody was sharp, the song was suitably flippant and so it still remains a pop delight. 'Channo' was a fun song and sure, it had a filmi sound to it but the Arabic ethos employed made it stand out.

'Kohram' tries desperately to hit hard and is likely targeted towards the dance-friendly masses. Its video, with Amanat Ali dancing and singing like a cross between a Bollywood superstar and a Pakistani pop prince proves this point. But the video draws on heavy influences from India. At live shows, this might be Amanat Ali's killer track but on its own, this song is forgettable.

And that is inherently the problem with this album. The songs are forgettable. After a few days of listening, if the songs don't grow on you, the album falls into oblivion. For music aficionados, that will be the case.

The overlapping of genres is not a science and neither is it very uncommon. But it all boils down to the right execution and the creation of a sound that is lasting. But in Kohram, the overlapping genres give it a cheesy feel.

Pick 'Berung' for example. It has an inviting opening. Emptiness, starkness and a sense of distortion swell through effectively. But that mood dies instantly when the music expands towards Spanish guitars; as opposed to giving the song an edge, the melodic guitars take it away. And then the song turns into a partial rock song. It's too confusing to digest.

In a completely different direction, on 'Rab Janay' Amanat Ali goes into techno with full blast. It's definitely catchy because the melody is pretty strong and the soundboard is not too ambitious. There is no musical chaos but the lack of ambition and one singular beat make the song monotonous.
The same can be said for 'Wari Wari Jawan' which sounds like a rundown effort of imitating acts like Josh, Raghav and Jay Sean. It's frenzied and corny.
And then 'Roya Teri Yaad Mein' really sounds like a song out of a Bollywood film and not a good one. It actually comes across as one of those tragic love songs, with a mélange of instruments, which come full swing in an Emraan Hashmi film. The song meanders on endlessly.

Meanwhile, a chipmunk seems to sing English verses on 'Anymore' and dholaks, beats and electronic wizardry soon take over the song. It is, without a doubt, a shaadi-friendly song. But this is no 'Mauja Hi Mauja' or 'Maar Charapa'. It doesn't have that timelessness to it.

There are some good moments, though. 'Raha Jaye Na' is easily one of the nicest tunes on this otherwise mixed record. With a mournful air, bluesy flute and a mélange of musical arrangements well spread out and Amanat Ali's melancholy vocals at their finest, it works rather nicely as a ballad. This song has a very moody feel and that works to its advantage.

However, the point is that while Amaanat Ali's singing cannot be faulted, he is a brilliant singer, Kohram does not manage to carve out an identity for him. It seems to be a showcase for his versatility. But the question remains, as a singer, where is Amanat Ali going to position himself? Kohram does not answer that question; it just makes the question mark bigger.

The Bollywood factor
The good news is that Amanat Ali can carry notes like a pro. His voice remains his biggest asset and his youthfulness will make him an icon for the young and the restless. Barring Atif Aslam and Ali Zafar, the field is wide open and Amanat Ali can easily capture it, provided he steps out of the Bollywood zone. Kohram's biggest problem is that it has Bollywood written all over it. It doesn't experiment. Indeed, risks on the first album can be dangerous but no experiments can make it even worse.

One calls this album incoherent because it attempts too much and as a consequence, it comes across as a desperate record, which is trying to please every kind of listener. Amanat Ali is a youngster who can become the next Ali Zafar but he has to choose if he wants to be Ali Zafar or Abrar ul Haq. He can't be both. The first album is so much more than an album. It is about identity. And at this point, it is clear that Amanat Ali is identifying more with Bollywood than anything else.

Move towards the lyrics and that's another problem. There are clichés spread throughout.

On 'Wari Wari Jawan', the wordplay goes, "Teray Pyar Mein/Main Wari Wari Jawan/Hai Raat Mastani/Thori Se Deewani/Ab Dil Pey Koi Zor Chalta Nahin". Even more disappointing is the fact that such wordplay is consistent throughout the record.

It may be because there are too many lyricists on this record. Asim Raza, Mubashar Hassan, Amanat Ali, Saaji Ali, Shahbaz Khan and Faisal Sheikh - that's six writers so the mood is swinging from one side to another without any real direction. There is no poetry here, just cliches thrown together.

Kohram's lyrics are staple Bollywood. And to imitate Bollywood is a wrong move. They can do film music and when they do it right, it results in records like the Dostana OST, Slumdog Millionaire and Dil Chahta Hai. That is their strength.

Pakistani musicians also have their strength. It's the antithesis to Bollywood. If one looks at successful border crossing of Pakistani artists, Junoon, Atif Aslam, Shiraz Uppal and Strings, all charmed their way into Indian films because they were different. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's first single was 'Mann Ki Lagan' and it was a purely Pakistani production. It was minimalist in sound, beautifully written and sharply produced. Add all that to Rahat's hypnotic voice and it was bound to be a success. But can the same be said for every Bollywood tune Rahat has ever done? No and that's because he was simply lending vocals to other compositions.

Our artists made it in India because their sound was distinct and away from the run of the mill songs that Indian films can churn out at rapid speed. It was the freshness of Pakistani music that captured the Indian imagination.

On Kohram, Amanat Ali just doesn't grasp this fact. But then he began his career from the Indian side in a way. In India, music composers hold creative control while singers come out and sing and that is the end of it. The ideology behind the songs, the themes and the mood, all of it lies with the music composer.
As Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan once said, "You have to make it big in Pakistan to be able to work in India on your own terms."

Amanat Ali can cater to India and Pakistan both. But he has to realize that the sound and sensibility is different. Indian music is film-oriented. They have films with moods and the songs are inserted into those moods. On an album, there has to be a cohesive theme. It can be bouncy fun like Ali Zafar's Huqa Pani or introspective melancholia like Ali Azmat's Social Circus. But it can't be Bollywood and Huqa Pani tied together. That is what Kohram sounds like. And in the end, that is the one major downer for this record.

And finally, there is the character. Vocals, lyrics, and music give every album a character.

We fell in love with Ali Azmat all over again (after Junoon's abysmal Deewar) with Social Circus because he came out with an album that had a clear cut sound and had a distinct character. Abrar ul Haq has a bouncy, playful, loud character to his records while Zeb and Haniya have jazz and blues. Strings have a sonorous character and they upped their game with Koi Aanay Wala Hai. Kohram has little character because it has tries too hard... to be a bit of everything.

In the end, Kohram makes two things clear. Amanat Ali has an incredible voice and that fact will keep him going for now. But for consistency in the long run, he needs to operate differently. An album can be all about love but it has to have an edge, a soul and a sense of originality. If Amanat understands this, he will be unstoppable.

Here's wishing a very talented singer all the best… at carving a niche that is all his own. He is talented enough for people to listen to what he has to say. With that voice, he doesn't need to play to the varied gallery. His voice is powerful enough to make people sit up and notice. Amanat Ali should carve out an identity that should blow everyone's socks off... on both sides of the border.

*Burn the CD NOW!
**One time listen
***Worth your while
****Musically sound *****Get it right NOW!