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Junoon rolls on
In recent weeks, a huge controversy has raged around Junoon. Though notoriety is nothing new for the band, this time matters took a serious turn as speculation concerning the group’s break-up threatened to transform into cold, hard truth with the exit of bassist Brian O’Connell. Despite Salman Ahmad’s silence at the time, it was crystal clear that there was trouble in Xanadu.
If Brian’s confused statements and Salman’s silence was anything to go by, Junoon Enterprises seemed to be in a state of retreat. However, there was one vital cog left in this music-making machine that had yet to speak: Ali Azmat. The mercurial, temperamental lead singer of the band seemed, at least from the outside, to be far away from all the commotion. He was basking in the glory of a hit single (Garaj Baras), was working full steam ahead on his debut solo effort and there was even talk of offers from Bollywood.
But was there truth behind the rumours that Azmat and Salman Ahmad were no longer on talking terms? It was certainly an awkward moment when, at the launch of the Ghoom Taana video, Salman mistakenly said that he “wished Ali and Brian were here, but got stuck in traffic,” because at that time Azmat was quite visibly sitting in one of the front rows. In an exclusive interview with Images, the bald one broached the sticky subject.
“I don’t understand why people keep asking me if Junoon has broken up or not. We still play concerts, we’re all over the place. We’ve been together for 14 years. Any music entity needs to discover themselves outside the box. We’ve been boxed in by the critics or the record companies or the writers. ‘Oh, this is what Junoon is,’ they say. We’re humans and we go through our problems as a band, as human beings, as people, as friends. But we work them out. Why does this question arise?” he asks.
As for the whole Brian O’Connell affair, “Brian is no longer in the band. He can’t play. Simple as that. It is permanent, but not from our side. We never kicked him out. He has some severe problems. He’s had depression for the last five years, maybe more. As a matter of fact, for the last three years he’s been inactive. He hasn’t played a single bass note on any album (in that period).”
Ali Azmat further went on to explain the difficulties that had been affecting the band.
“First of all, there are no villains or heroes here. Salman Ahmad has three kids, lives in America and has to put his kids through school. He has to live his life. It’s not an evil empire of some sort. We’re not a corporation. We’re just trying to survive here.”
What about creative differences between him and Salman Ahmad? Was the incident at the Ghoom Taana launch an ironic coincidence that symbolized the cold war that was allegedly raging in the Junoon camp?
“I think Salman was on his high horse at that time. There were ambassadors and this and that. I don’t really think about these things. I surpassed this kind of stuff when I was 17. The outside world is more concerned about these things. I was there to support Salman, not to show the media. I’m the kind of person who hides from the media. Maybe journalists feel that ‘Oh Salman Ahmad didn’t invite Ali Azmat. He invited everybody to make a speech, but not Ali’. I didn’t speak because I didn’t want to speak. I just wanted to support his cause. He tries very, very hard.”
For the moment, Ali Azmat has put the rumours of Junoon’s demise to rest. But with his solo album ready for deployment, one has a feeling that if and when he flies out of the Junoon nest, he won’t have much of a problem finding work.
GHOOM TANA: On August 7, Salman Ahmad formally launched the much touted track Ghoom Taana. Riding on the wave of Indo-Pak friendship that has overwhelmed the subcontinent in a wave of back-patting and counter back-patting, the Junoon supremo looked visibly overjoyed as diplomats, corporate types and the showbiz elite diligently marched into a Karachi five-star hotel to witness Mr Ahmad’s rock’n’roll circus.
The video, filmed in Lahore and Patiala, Salman’s ancestral hometown, is without a doubt a superb slice of 35mm heaven (if I’m not mistaken), courtesy the always bankable Saqib Malik. But Saqib wasn’t alone in crafting this gem as, in the spirit of Indo-Pak cooperation, he got a little help from Indian cinematographer Sanjay Kapoor. The visuals are stunning, but one feels it is a little too Salman-centric: Saqib should have left symbols tell more of the story. But hey ... Salman was the birthday boy so why should we rain on his parade?
As for the tune itself, without a shadow of a doubt, Indian classical singer Shubha Mudgal carries it through. It is my honest opinion that Salman should have stuck to the six-string on this one and left the singing to Ali Azmat. A voice-over by Naseeruddin Shah and a performance by Indian actress Nandita Das (who was supposed to show up to the press conference. The band even issued a press release heralding her arrival! but the lady couldn’t make it due to visa snags) rounded off the list of notables. Later in the week, Salman travelled to New Delhi to launch Ghoom Taana in India.
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