It was at the 2006’s TMAs that Kami (Kamran Bari) and M. Ali of Suroor the band won the Best Pop Song act for Pyar To Hona He Hai in the presence of big guns such as Strings (Zinda) and Shehzad Roy (Saali). The band launched its debut album the following year.

Suroor has also had a taste of Bollywood with their award-winning track being featured in the Ajay Devgan starrer, Sunday. With so much happening for them, Suroor suddenly dropped from radar. “The band is intact,” says Kami. “The reason for the long gap was that I had moved to Dubai to pursue a professional career. I met Wiam there who happens to be a well-known Arabic singer and we decided to collaborate on Sajna Ve.”

Kami says about Wiam, “We started with an experiment by doing a fusion song featuring Ali Haider and Najam Sheraz. We wanted to come up with something innovative and we decided to go international with it.”

The title track from the album is a pure romantic R&B song treated with the essence of Arabic and Punjabi folk music with the video directed by Jalal/Amir shot in Dubai. Mut Chup Raho, perhaps the strongest track on the album, is produced by guitar virtuoso Amir Zaki and is best remembered for his immaculate guitar-playing skills and Ali’s classical alaaps.

Alwida’s video, playing on all the local music channels, has been produced by ex-Aaroh member, Nabeel Nihaal Chishti. It is a melodious heart-wrenching number and beautifully executed.

Aaj Phir Azma Le is based on Allama Iqbal’s poetry with a rock-ish musical arrangement. Aao Soch, another award-winning video, focuses on child abuse and reflects the band’s maturity and awareness towards social responsibility. Also present is an unplugged version of Lamhay Pyar Kay, a captivating and dreamy arrangement of vocals and guitar play. The album ends with a remix of the title track.

So, how is Sajna Ve different from Pyar To Hona He Hai? “The title track is the first tri-lingual song from a Pakistani band as we have done it in Urdu, Arabic and Punjabi. The rest of the tracks have the signature Suroor feel to them,” says Kami. The songs have already been signed on by a renowned Bollywood banner and the band plans to fly down to India after the album release. — Shahzeb Shaikh