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SPOT LIGHT: Rebel with a cause
Aamir Saleem is still alive and kicking. And though his melodies are drowning in the blaring music of today, he is still out there, come hale or storm.
It is being said that the man who had created magic with beautiful numbers like, Woh taron bhari raatein and December ka maheena tha, hasn’t been able to do the same justice to his latest album, Khawab. The album has come after a long wait and people were expecting a bit more than what Aamir churned out. Is he losing his touch?
“Thank you for at least saying that my earlier songs were good,” he says with a sad smile. He is hurt by the highly critical reviews he has received for his last collection.
“I worked exceptionally hard on Khawab and it is quite unfair for one or two critics to have completely dismissed it. Do you know how these so-called critics judge an album? They just go through music channel charts to get a certain idea of who’s doing how and then judge us. The print media is very powerful. After the bad reviews, sales receded. I want to know if these people approach or contact record companies to find out the exact sale figures of an album before writing on it. How can they themselves imply that so and so album is not doing well? Do they even approach a music store for sales details for that matter? I don’t think so.”
“But the reviewer must have listened to the album before writing about it?”
‘Look at today’s singers — young, tall and fair. I compete against them, surviving only on my talent. Look at Abida Perveen. How many videos has she done? But would anyone dare call her less talented?’ He smiles making his point
“I suppose everyone is entitled to his or her own honest opinion. But if some reviewer doesn’t like my songs, it doesn’t really mean that others won’t like it too. Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, here its the ears. We all have our own likes and dislikes,” says Saleem without mincing words.
“A record company before bringing out an album or approaching a singer to cut a record carries out extensive research. They are not willing to invest in someone otherwise. If they brought out my album they must have believed that the songs were good, otherwise why would they have bothered?” The reason Aamir Saleem gives for not being very popular is that he does not have many videos out in the market.
“Videos are made based on the personality of singers — their style, looks, giving it an overall glamour touch. Another important factor is good PR, and that’s where I fall way behind from the others.” He goes on. “Look at today’s singers — young, tall and fair. I compete against them, surviving only on my talent. There are others too who are surviving on talent alone. Look at Abida Perveen. How many videos has she done? But would anyone dare call her less talented?” He smiles making his point.
“Today a good video costs around 8 to 9 lakh rupees. Who’s going to risk that kind of money on me? I am not pretty enough for the sponsors and frankly I do not have the money to make such a video myself,” he laments.
Knowing and understanding music are not the only things required to come up with good compositions; one has to feel his creations. Says Saleem:
“If you can’t feel yourself, then how can you teach others? My compositions are from the heart. A piece of music pops in my mind in the middle of the night and the very next morning, I make an entire song out of that piece of inspiration. I write lyrics like I compose music. It’s a passion; a feeling that emerges from within my heart.”
Amir Saleem disagrees absolutely that his standard has dropped. “Earlier things were quite different. Then, there was hardly any competition. I think I should be commended for surviving the storm of new talent and competition.”
For all his failures, misfortunes and grievances, Aamir is aware of one thing, “All I need is one big hit. When that happens people will go and buy my old albums as well. I have seen it happen to many other old artists and I know it will happen to me as well.”
Amir Saleem is currently working on another album. He hasn’t come up with a title for it but he says that it is going to be a Punjabi one. Beware Abrar and Jawwad!
Suddenly the mobile’s bell jolts us. It was Shezad Roy informing him that only a few minutes remained before they went on air on FM 101 for a joint interview. Aamir politely tells him to go ahead, as he won’t be able to make it in time.
Aamir Saleem belongs to that old breed of sensitive and polite people who sometimes shoot themselves in the foot for the sake of their principles. He says had he put on some airs, been slightly arrogant or shown some attitude he would have been much more successful today. But as Aamir puts it himself, “However hard you try to be different, a genuine artist will always remain humble.”
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