Instep:
There has been speculation back home that you should have maintained
your singer status by not letting Emraan overshadow you in the video.
Do you think this speculation is justified?
MZ: I think there is just one community who has been saying that
and that's the community who can never be happy with anything. They
can't see that the whole band is there jamming which has never happened
before other than Strings but do remember Strings were a big name
by 'Zinda' and have good terms with Sanjay Dutt. For a new band
like Roxen making a rock video was something exceptional. People
should now start appreciating our efforts rather than complaining
for once.
Instep: Having
international exposure and recognition now, how are you going to
use this experience to better the music and film scene in Pakistan?
MZ: Honestly, about our music scene I'm hopeless in terms of channels
politics so I wouldn't even comment on that. About promoting Pakistani
talent, I've made Mohit (the director) listen to a lot of Pakistani
stuff and I hope a lot of my fellow Pakistanis will soon be venturing
into something as good as Awarapan.
Instep: What
do you mean by channel politics?
Musti: When you call yourself a music channel then play music; not
music by your sweethearts and for God sake think beyond this level
that we wont play or invite this and that artist because he is signed
with some other label.
Instep: Before
Awarapan mania broke out you had released your album. Does you think
that your band got equal importance or boost as any other mega star
artist? Or the real boost came from the movie?
Musti: Album release? I think we launched ourselves alone especially
now. The way our label ruined our album release with zero promotion
is something I don't even want to talk about. We've proved that
good music doesn't need any bloody label/sponsor and neither channels
hypocrisy nor politics will affect it. Our fans love us and they've
prayed for us and they've taken us to this level.
Instep: You
are a well-known band who has the most gigs with a huge fan following
in Pakistan. Why do you think you were snubbed?
Musti: Because we never cared to call channels to promote us and
increase our airtime neither do we use to hangout with them. Why?
Because we all preferred working hard and we can proudly say we
have done more then 60 gigs in Pakistan since our album release
even without promotion. This shows how much love our fans have for
us
Instep: So what
advice would you give to underground bands that can easily fall
in the same dilemma as u did?
Musti: Never think that a channel or label or a sponsor can do magic
for you. It's only your handwork and music, which takes you to a
new level. Believe in yourself and God Almighty and you will see
the difference it will make to your career
Instep: Now
that Awarapan has released in Pakistan, what would you like to convey
to your audience? What hopes do you have for it?
Musti: I saw the movie last week and I think it's one of the finest
movies to come out from Bollywood. I would love to see every Pakistani
go out and watch Awarapan in Pakistan. The movie has actually portrayed
the right picture of Muslims who believe in one God and believes
that if you free someone then God comes to you and helps you in
your bad time. This movie is the best answer we could give to foreign
media who have portrayed the wrong image of Muslims. Hats off to
Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt and Mohit Suri. I would like to thank overseas
executive producer Sohail Khan who has done a commendable job in
releasing the movie in Pakistan.
We are ready to create history in Pakistan and once Emraan and I
and rest of star cast is done with the India tour, we intend to
fly to Pakistan for one huge Awarapan night. The music of movie
is already a rage all around the world and we are hoping the movie
to go sky high.
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