INSTEP Magzine

instep analysis
Do or die?
Pakistani pop needs to rethink its dependence on the India platform
The long exodus of talent from Pakistan to India is - at least for the present time - over. But does the breakdown in relations between Pakistan and India have its own message for entertainers at home? Instep takes a look.

By Saba Imtiaz

As the dust begins to settle on the Mumbai terror attacks, one of the chips to fall has been the musical bridge between Pakistan and India. With several in the Indian entertainment industry calling for a halt to Pakistani entertainers performing and working in India, the impact of the 26/11 attacks is set to become a wake up call to Pakistan's music industry, as our biggest stars have become reliant on India as their career playground.

Relations between Pakistan and India are at an all time low. Headlines are still bursting with the news of Indian jets violating Pakistani airspace, prompting a flurry of panic and a flood of nationalistic text messages to news channels. To many, the situation may seem unreal, or straight out of the recollections by our parents about the1965 and 1971 wars. The reality is that the shadow of war is very much looming upon Pakistanis that had come to believe that relations between the two countries could finally be normalized.

And the biggest indicators of that dream were Pakistan's music industry exports to India. Over the past few years, one has witnessed a mass exodus between borders like never before. From playback deals resulting in chartbusters for Bollywood, to concert tours and a fan following, our musicians were the darlings of music directors. 'Chalo India' had replaced the proverbial '80s dream of 'Chalo Dubai' as the slogan of the moment

There were the musicians that became superstars in Pakistan, like Atif Aslam and Ali Zafar, and then went across the border. Then there were those like Azal and Call that released their albums in Pakistan and then instantly hopped across to India to garner fame (and do a Bollywood single or two along the way), without achieving mass appeal at home. There was no escaping it. Bollywood's playback singing was firmly grasped by the best of Pakistani musicians - Rahat Fateh Ali, Shafqat Amanat Ali, Atif Aslam - you name the hottest soundtrack of the month, and there was a Pakistani singer on it.

But in the midst of this, the music scene at home suffered. And the gateway to India being opened is not the sole reason for this: it is also the steadily worsening security situation that played a huge factor. After all, Pakistani musicians have been releasing albums steadily but what is missing is the one huge element that makes or breaks a singer/band, or helps their album sell: concerts. There are no large, open concerts in Pakistan as well; and a rarity of the private ones as well. And this decline has happened surprisingly fast, given how just five years ago bands like Noori performed all over the country, in every galli mohalla, simply promoting their brand of music.

Concerts were just not a much-needed source of entertainment for a starved nation, they were also a source of income for musicians. Moreover, they served the purpose of getting your music out there, that would actually drive people to buy albums.

But given that Pakistani corporations were shouldering concerts for so long, once the security and economic situation worsened, one saw their support wane away.
With frequent bomb blasts, no company wanted to bear the risk that came with organizing a concert and bringing hundreds of people together in a public space.

So our musicians looked to India – the land that had given fame and fortune to so many: Nazia and Zoheb Hasan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Junoon and most notably: Strings and Atif Aslam. With the foray into India came the options to sing playback and release music videos accompanying the film score that was guaranteed heavy airplay because of the star quotient. Then came album deals with record labels there and and the vast concert circuit in colleges and arenas across India opened up to Pakistani talent.
At home, the situation is quite different. There are no avenues left to perform or promote music live. The quality of the music has suffered as well – and hidden in our music seems to be a subliminal message: "This is made for the hope that Bollywood picks it up."

But after the Mumbai attacks, the gateway to India appears to have been firmly shut or at least blockaded for the time being. With the finger being squarely pointed at Pakistan for the attacks, it will be very hard for any Pakistani to get a crack at India's burgeoning entertainment industry right now. And while many in India's music industry are saying that there shouldn't be a ban on Pakistani artists performing in India; the reality is that this is an issue that has transcended the bridges of art and culture. According to a recent CNN/IBN poll, 53 percent of respondents believe that India should cut off cultural ties until Pakistan hands over suspects in the Mumbai terror attacks.

But as morbid as the events in Mumbai are, are they a wake up call to our musicians? If they have no option but to reestablish Pakistan as their home base, this would be the ideal time to set our own house in order.

Given the current mood in the country, it is important that the music industry realise that this is not a time to pack one's bags and leave. It is more important, as Pakistan's ace drummer Gumby recently said, to "grow where your roots are." We may be a country addicted to Bollywood, but we are also a country that has produced some of the best music acts in the subcontinent. It is important for music channels and musicians alike, that primary importance is given to promoting Pakistani music. As with any other addiction, our sensibilities must be weaned off the jhankar beats of Bollywood to the genres of music that thrived so well in Pakistan in the past. India returnee musicians weave many tales of the infrastructure that exists next door to support musical acts. Isn't it time that someone takes the lead and builds that same infrastructure in Pakistan?

Moreover, it is important that those who promote music realize that this is precisely the kick-start needed to revive the music industry. If one looks further back, it was in times of turmoil and war that music flourished. One doesn't hope that it comes to the point where musicians take a cue from the late Madam Noorjahan and produce morale-boosting songs ala 'Aye Watan Kay Sajeelay Jawanon' (To the country's brave young men) and 'Ae Puttar Hattan Te Nahi Vikday' (These men are not for sale in markets) to inspire our forces on the border. Musicians must bring back their music to the masses of Pakistan. The ways to do this are live concerts and tours, creating those same spaces that allowed music to transcend from the music stores to the people.

And if the door to India has been closed for now, musicians should use this time to strengthen the fan base at home. Album sales for most upcoming bands have been dismal at best, relying on word-of-mouth, because they have not been able to promote their music. The only time they're seen is in their videos, and unless one is parked in front of the TV all day, there's no way one can find out about every new act or song.

Obviously, one would ask the question: who should take on the mantle? There are many answers in mind. Firstly, the record labels, which must start organizing concerts if they are ever to recover the money spent on signing artists and distributing albums. And since the premier record labels in the country are owned by media organizations, the musicians they sign are utilized for made-for-TV concerts. Record labels should take that a step further and organize ticketed shows, which will serve to introduce those acts to a wider (and often, far more appreciative) audience.

The second are the musicians themselves. We need to build those platforms again for performing live - (Farhad Humayun has already started in Lahore with The System) - and we need to bring the music to the people (much like Coke Studio did this year). And if there is anything that the Obama presidential campaign has taught us, it is that the power of mobilizing youth is still very much a force to be reckoned with. The Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop festivals and the Karafilm Festival are both examples of large-scale events that were born out of a passion to bring art, film and music to the masses.

The spaces that did exist in Pakistan for live music need to be revived. Lahore has Peeru's Café; Karachi had Café Blue and M Live. Even in the absence of those venues in Karachi, musicians like Gumby put on fantastic shows at venues such as PACC, with the annual Munchkins concert and the recent Kolachi Quartet show being examples. The Second Floor routinely hosts small events that bring together aficionados of film and music. These can be multiplied: it just needs the support of more musicians willing to do the same. And to go ahead with events needs the same defiant courage shown by the Peerzadas, who went on with this year's World Performing Arts Festival in the face of bomb blasts. After all, India continued to hold concerts and fashion weeks even as all their major cities were rocked by multiple bomb blasts this year.

India's concert circuit model can be replicated here. We have so many schools and universities whose students are starved for entertainment. If corporations are not lending their support, musicians must take the lead and take on the role of becoming concert promoters! At the same time, they must broaden their horizons within Pakistan and not just restrict themselves to performing in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad but also Quetta, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Multan, Abbotabad and more. If Strings or Atif Aslam can perform in Chennai, Bangalore and Pune, why can they not do the same in Pakistan's smaller cities?