Ahmed Faraz’s association with Radio Pakistan, as a music producer, started at a very early stage of his career. He says that he has an ear for music and that is the reason why his poetry is very rhythmic and melodious. There is no doubt about the fact that Faraz’s fame owes a lot to powerful renditions of his ghazals by renowned singers of the subcontinent which earned him huge popularity and fan following overnight. From Mehdi Hasan to Jagjit Singh, the ghazal crooners have sung and composed Faraz’s poetry with special delight. But Faraz is particularly fond of Mehdi Hasan and Lata Mangeshkar. He, however, dislikes the tune of his ghazal Aankh Se Door Na Ho sung by Lata in a Jagjit Singh composition. At the same time he likes to listen to Talat Mehmood and Pankaj Malik. Faraz tells that he learnt to play piano and violin during his radio days.
Faraz is of the opinion that the current pop music scene is a deterioration of music. He remarks that the young singers and musicians want to become popular overnight and don’t work hard. He draws an analogy of pop musicians with artists that paint abstract; both he believes don’t know the real craft. With all his criticism on the young lot of singers, Faraz surprisingly likes an amateur singer Dilshad Mirza whom he heard singing one of his ghazals in a festival.
Not a great listener of western music, Faraz prefers soft and mellow tunes that according to him are not a burden on his auditory senses.
Unlike some known poets, Faraz believes that film poetry can also be good. He cites the examples of Sahir in this regard. He also thinks that filmmakers have used his poetry in a good manner. A big fan of Dilip Kumar, Faraz’s favourite movie starring his adolescent hero is Andaz. He has seen almost all of Dilip’s movie and particularly likes ones in which Dilip Kumar has coupled with Kamni Kaushal. He also rates Raj Kapoor as a classy artist who had carved his own niche in Indian cinema. Faraz reveals that he declined Raj Kapoor’s offer to pen lyrics for his production in exchange of a huge amount of money, as he does not write for material gains. Amitabh Bachchan, he believes, has some fine movies to his credit such as Yash Chopra’s Kabhi Kabhi which according to him made excellent use of Sahir’s poetry. Faraz regrets that Amitabh didn’t do more movies like Kabhi Kabhi and started appearing in action movies only.
Faraz prefers watching movies in theatre than at home. Nevertheless, he has seen movies starring Shahrukh Khan in bits and pieces on television and he rates him as good actor. Among western flicks, Faraz’s favourite is The Message starring Anthony Quinn who happens to be his favourite Hollywood movie star. As far as Pakistani actors are concerned, Faraz comments that “they should be prosecuted for bad acting”. At the same time he gives concession to Nadeem and Muhammad Ali. He abhors the cheapness and mediocrity that in his view has destroyed Pakistani cinema.
Faraz has a long list of favourite books and authors. At a young age he liked to read Thomas Hardy and D.H. Lawrence but soon switched to Dostoevesky and Chekov. Krishan Chandar, Manto and Ghulam Abbas are his favourite prose writers in Urdu. Ghalib, Iqbal, Faiz and Sahir are his adored poets among his seniors while Munir Niazi, Fehmida Riaz, Parveen Shakir are his preferred contemporaries.
English Romantic poets Shelley, Keats and Byron are his all-time favourites whom he would like to read again and again. “Reading these poets gives me pleasure,” remarks Faraz. Dr Zhivago and The Mayor of Casterbridge are his favourite books. But Faraz’s obsession with Urdu writers and Urdu prose is insatiable. He considers Manto’s Kali Shalwar and Mozeel and Ghalib letters as one of the finest writings in world’s literature.
Faraz appears to be cynical about the future of Urdu poetry as he does not find a ‘spark’ in the younger lot. He says that the young writers and poets don’t read avidly and don’t do proper riaz that is essential for a good poet. They are in a hurry to get their books printed that ‘keep lying on your desk and go unnoticed’, comments Faraz. He opines that one should delay marriage and book printing as much as one can.
Ahmed Faraz’s association with Radio Pakistan, as a music producer, started at a very early stage of his career. He says that he has an ear for music and that is the reason why his poetry is very rhythmic and melodious. There is no doubt about the fact that Faraz’s fame owes a lot to powerful renditions of his ghazals by renowned singers of the subcontinent which earned him huge popularity and fan following overnight. From Mehdi Hasan to Jagjit Singh, the ghazal crooners have sung and composed Faraz’s poetry with special delight. But Faraz is particularly fond of Mehdi Hasan and Lata Mangeshkar. He, however, dislikes the tune of his ghazal Aankh Se Door Na Ho sung by Lata in a Jagjit Singh composition. At the same time he likes to listen to Talat Mehmood and Pankaj Malik. Faraz tells that he learnt to play piano and violin during his radio days.
