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Music sans frontiers
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Pakistan's Junoon and India's Moksha are all set to rock the city soon. PRINCE FREDERICK reports
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MUSIC, THEIR OBSESSION: Junoon at a performance
CHENNAI IS looking forward to an electrifying Indo-Pak finale on July 31. Marking a grand end to Pepe Jeans JRO 2004 at Unwind Center, Pakistan's Junoon, among Asia's topmost rock groups, and Moksha, among the leading bands in India, will hit the city in a tidal wave of rock `n' roll.
And the feeling is mutual. Junoon's jitterbugs are also looking forward to their date with Chennai. An interview with the band's founder Salman Ahmad convinces you of that. It also lets you know first-hand that this is a band that has its priorities lined up in proper order. Junoon's is a voice that is not confined to the stage. Often, you hear it reverberating in the corridors of power as well. And for this reason, back in Pakistan it is known as a band that boldly flirts with danger. Despite hardships the Junoon satire has not lost its bite. It never will, if you take Salman's words seriously. "As a band, we have always upheld our beliefs."
Another cause close to their heart is regional harmony (or India-Pakistan friendship). "When we first toured India in 1998, we could not but feel an affinity towards the country and its people. With so much in common, Indians and Pakistanis enjoy an emotional knowledge of each other." Sharing his impressions of India, he says one cannot miss India's diversity. "South Indians and North Indians are different, but in a way they complement each other." He says his admiration for Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and A.R. Rahman knows no bounds. "I try to keep in touch with Rahman by e-mail."
Today, rockers from either side of the border are seen as ambassadors of Indo-Pak friendship. Does Salman see it more as an onus than a honour?
"If somebody sees me more as a patriotic Pakistani who loves India as well than as a musician, it is fine with me," he says matter-of-factly. "But when we go on stage we are just a rock band. Social messages and causes just come with the package that Junoon is."
Talking about social messages, Junoon will be striking a blow for AIDS awareness on July 31. Prepare yourself for the battle cry: "Fight AIDS with facts, not fear".
Are Junoon's latest albums dwarfed by the phenomenal success of `Azadi', which scaled a one-million-copies sale figure in 1998-99, and the song Sayone, which was replete with Sufiana lyrics?
He greets the question with a one-liner. "There was life before Sayone and there is life after Sayone." After a pause, he says, "Our latest album `Deewar' mirrors the various influences that the band has undergone. It showcases our repertoire."
Indeed there has been life after Sayone and more activity as well. For Junoon is busy working for many a Bollywood film. Salman rattles off a few names, one of which is Pooja Bhat's "Paap".
In Urdu, `Junoon' means `obsession'. Is the gossip mill obsessed with them? "It is a pity we are taken so seriously. However, as a balancing equation, we do not take ourselves as seriously. Sitting together and reading what has been written about is always fun. It makes us laugh."
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