ALL it takes is a song to emerge from the clouds of anonymity and rise to the glory of fame; at least that is what has happened with Fakhr-e-Alam.
His first brush with fame occurred when his first song, Bhangra Mix was released. His reputation does not solely rest on his being a singer. In fact over the years he has proved himself as a reliable actor and a compare as well.
One cannot help but wonder how could a person nurture so many talents at a time as he explains, “I used to dream of my own musical band and becoming famous as a singer when I was in the seventh or eighth grade.” He adds after a laugh, “I composed a song when I was a student of Government College, Lahore, and I used to croon it while chanting with my friends. I was often requested to sing my bhangra ‘item’ (they used to call it an item).”
He was indeed fortunate to have friends who encouraged him and insisted that he should have this song recorded. But where to get record it from was what Fakhr and his friends were unaware of at that time. Once the song was recorded and released, he never looked back.
That still leaves quite to be said about his acting career. When queried what made him sign and act in two Pakistani movies, while he was having a smooth ride as a singer, he reveals to the surprise of many, that acting was in fact his first passion. He was regarded among the best actors of his school and college. “I took up music for I thought that it is the easiest way to grab the attention of girls,” admits Fakhr almost bluntly. So far he has released two albums and has acted in two movies that were released quite some time back. However, the singer-actor, is working on his third album, for which he is busy figuring some funny, yet intriguing title. He has also acted in an Indian movie that would hopefully be released sometime in June. But what he cherished most in his free time is watching movies.
According to him it is not just watching the movies in cinema or on TV that he finds amusement in, but also being a part of the movie — acting in it.
He has been to the cinema, thrice only; twice because it was the premiere of his own movie, which he thinks was quite embarrassing. However, it was in Islamabad that he dared to venture into a cinema for the first time; the movie was Sargam and it turned out to be a great experience; in fact he says that he enjoyed it, most unlike his later experiences.
The cinema culture in Pakistan is what he believes needs some serious transformation. “I have been to India and the cinema culture over there is totally opposite to what we are used to. Families, teenagers and even girls go alone to the cinema,” says Fakhr in a concerned voice. He also reminisces his experience of acting in a Pakistani flick, “I did a movie with Humayun Saeed titled No Paisa No Problem and there was a death scene in which Humayun was on the death bed and his mother prays for him. That particular scene touched the director so much that he shot it thrice for his movie with a few alterations.”
However, he hasn’t given up his hopes for the silver screen and would love to act in movie rather than dramas, which he finds monotonous and formula type. The only condition, that he has is that young people, fresh faces like Johnny, F.M. Rahim and Saqib should initiate to make movies.
The movie he saw last was Ocean’s Twelve which he did not find as intriguing as its previous sequel, Ocean’s Eleven. “I was expecting something greater than that of Ocean’s Eleven. Like take the bank robbery for instance, you would expect it to be more complex and more interesting, the same goes for the rest of the story,” he reveals.
“One of the new movies that really inspired me was Ray,” says Fakhr. Jamie Fox’s performance is what he cherishes the most in the movie and Ray Charles’ songs were a bonus. However, Saving Private Ryan is the movie that left a great impression on him. It was the movie that made him realize what war really is and of the consequences it has on the lives of common people. “I was pretty much used to action flicks like Rambo and the like, in which the hero plucks out bullets, that have pierced and are lodged in his body, with ease. But Saving Private Ryan was completely mind blowing compared to all this rubbish and I was horrified for the very first time to think of war,” he acknowledges sincerely.
So who is his favourite actor? “Robert De Niro,” comes the spontaneous response. “He is one actor whose every single movie is something from which you can learn a lot.” Al Pacino is his other favourite actor, whereas Charlize Theron and Julia Davis are the actresses who inspire him the most through their acting.
Books are not his cup of tea at all, specially the ones that are fiction based. If he would be compelled to choose some he would choose the ones that deal with aviation, science and the ones that are related to his field — on camera, audiovisuals, etc. The Beagle Series is what he has read a lot. “I don’t have a flair for books; if you can call Archie comics a book then that is what stands to be my preference,” says Fakhr with a hearty laugh. Beside these, he says that he has read Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd, but it wasn’t his choice, there was no way he could escape it; it was part of his A’Level syllabus.
Music is what he is generously fond of, and there is no specific choice or discrimination in that. He claims to spend about a thousand rupees each week on the purchase of CDs of various artists. “I admire everything that has a rhythm and a beat in it, it could by any artist of any country,” expresses Fakhr about his enthusiasm and passion for music. He is a person who carries himself around with himself and therefore has trouble with finding time for his passion — music.
Abid Parveen is his most adored Pakistani singer, while others are Stings, Eminem and Roy O’Brain. Whereas A.R. Rahman is unquestionably the music director he likes best.
ALL it takes is a song to emerge from the clouds of anonymity and rise to the glory of fame; at least that is what has happened with Fakhr-e-Alam.
