March 23, 2003

Behold the new face of the Pakistani media boom. It is in the same breath vapid, yet incredibly animated. It is young, connected and market-savvy. It celebrates both the hollowness and the vacuity that is the legacy of generation X. It’s everywhere, leaping out of television screens on all channels in every city. And the young things that lend this face a human form are all over the place, proliferating exponentially.

One of the foot soldiers of this new media putsch is Mohammad Ali Charlie, better known as Dino. A video jockey for Indus Music, Dino has seen his star rise in the recent past, and he has now become a somewhat recognized face in local media. Whether hosting live shows or other programmes on the fledgling music channel, the 21-year-old can be seen bringing his sunny disposition and quirky personality to most of his endeavours. What prompted this extremely talkative young man into this profession?

“I come from a showbiz family. My grandfather Noor Mohammad Charlie was one of the biggest comedians in the subcontinent. My father (Latif Charlie) is an actor while my mother’s an actress. They have both been in the business for more than 25 years. My comedic side comes from my grandfather. When I was growing up, people from the industry, such as TV and film actors, would come and go from the house. I was fascinated. Now I’m a very shy person, not at all an exhibitionist, and I don’t like crowded places. So it was a little weird for my family when they heard I wanted to get into this profession.”

 

‘I definitely want to move on. I want to write better concepts, do better work. I think I have a long way to go. I want to prove to people that I am capable of doing things others haven’t done before. It might sound a bit cocky, but I would like to move on into direction and production. I would love to act’
 

And there were coincidences too that helped him along. “I’m basically a singer, not a VJ or an actor. A long time back, during my ‘O’ Levels, I went to Combine as they were trying to revive the programme Music channel charts. We used to do skits, video shoots etc. I stayed there for six months and then left to pursue my studies,” Dino reveals.

After finishing his ‘A’ Levels, Dino decided to enroll for a bachelor’s degree in business at a local institution. Three years into his course, he again decided to switch teams and wanted to head to the United States for further studies. All set to embark to the US, his plans were scuttled by the events of September 11, 2001. Now, having left school, he was facing a quandary as to what course of action to pursue.

“I had nothing better to do. I was stuck in the middle as I had no studies going on, so I decided to give the music thing a try. I went to Indus Music with my demo tape in hand. They heard it and liked it a lot. I told them that I would like to do something with IM, and they were holding auditions for VJs at the time. One thing led to another and I got an audition for a programme called Music on wheels. Within 15 minutes of my audition, I got the show,” he declares.

Dino progressed at the channel and eventually got higher profile shows. Yet it seems video jockeying is only an instrument in fulfilling his ultimate desire — pop stardom. Yes, the residual fame and fringe benefits of schmoozing with popsters is tempting, but nothing compares to the supreme spotlight, star treatment and the undeniable allure of megalomania that is true, unadulterated pop stardom..

“I’m trying to get back into the music scene. That is something that I truly love and it is my true passion. I’m influenced by rhythm and blues as I like music with soul. I love eastern music. I’m trying to bring that old melodic flavour back into it. I work on melody-oriented music — hardcore dancy pop. I have a couple of songs ready and if things go my way, I might release a video in the near future..”

Considering his current job description, securing airtime for his song won’t be a problem.

Questioned why he left school to pursue music when it is considered a major taboo in today’s society to do so, he countered that it was the cosmic gameplan that led him away from his scholarly pursuits, and that he was content with fate taking its course.

“I’m not a really studious type. I was never into studies much. I was the class clown. I will go back to complete my studies as you need something to fall back on. This is unpredictable business,” he admits.

Hitting it relatively big at an early age, did he let glamour and all its other peripherals get to his head?

“That’s a question a lot of my friends ask me. People think I party all the time, that girls must be flocking around me. To be honest, when people hear that you’re a VJ, they think you live a life of champagne and caviar. It’s actually work, work and more work. It is a glamorous life and a lot of doors do open for you, but there is a lot of hard work that goes into it. VJs, I believe, don’t get the credit that they deserve. People outside the industry think we’re clowns.”

Considering he comes from a showbiz family, we asked if his connections within the industry help him progress, or was it purely merit that brought him this far?

“It might sound a little cheesy, but yes, to a certain extent. I think I’ve proved to people that I do have talent, though. For some time, a lot of the executives at Indus didn’t know who my family was. They just knew me as a guy called Dino. Connections do help you, but they can only take you so far.”

One was curious to know where the inspiration for his nickname came from. Was it a shortened version of the name Allah Dino? No. Dino was inspirationally taken from the name of Fred and Wilma Flintstone’s chirpy purple dinosaur Dino from the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon show. The purple dinosaur happened to be Mohammad Ali’s favourite cartoon character and he seemed to match the creature’s hyperactivity and antics as a child. “Dino is like a character. I’m not as hyper or crazy as I seem to be on stage or on TV,” he adds.

As far as the responsibilities of a VJ go, let’s face it — most of the time, especially in Pakistan, it is just a pretty face with not too much grey matter in between the ears, especially when it comes to knowledge of music. At least in spirit, Dino wants to change this trend..

“A VJ is sort of like a bridge. We are the people who are supposed to get the information to the other side. We’re the people who introduce new trends, we’re the people who tell you what’s in, what’s out, so it is a responsibility and we take it very seriously,” he admits modestly.

As for what the future holds, naturally, Dino is optimistic, as all young performers should be, as far as his prospects for success are concerned.

“I definitely want to move on. I want to write better concepts, do better work. I think I have a long way to go as well. I want to prove to people that I am capable of doing things others haven’t done before. It might sound a bit cocky, but I would like to move on into direction and production. I would love to act,” he trails off in his chummy vernacular.

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