Monday, July 26, 2010

Country’s talent not getting adequate exposure

By Muhammad Aayan

LAHORE: Pakistan has no dearth of talent and despite only having bare-minimum resources, our youngsters often prove that they can compete against anyone on any platform. From musicians to actors, our country has a long range of talented artists that have not been projected properly.

A mesmerising performance by Asad Anees, a 21-year-old pianist, was held at the Royal Palm Country Club. The son of pianist Ejaz Anees, Asad played the symphonies of Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Schumann and Brahms.

The maestros’ performances amazed and bewildered a large gathering with his confident playing.

Asad started playing the piano at the age of six and is the only Pakistani to have performed at the Carnegie Hall in New York.

Another youngster Aman Hassan, who has completed his bachelor’s degree in Guitar Performance from America is back to the city to make his own music. “It’s my dream to make my fellow countrymen proud by making music that is appreciated by everyone,” he told Daily Times. “I am also studying art engineering, whereas I will be performing with different musicians in the city. Lyrically, my music would depict the social, political and personal issues of an individual,” he added.

Another new band, Sympt, is making waves with their music. The new band has wrapped up their recording from Riot Studios and are currently busy shooting their first video.

However, young musicians and singers are complaining that a few music channels acquire the rights to their songs and don’t pay them their royalties.

“We are upcoming singers and bands and these music channels only provide us air-time on television. Besides that, they don’t finance our videos or arrange concerts. For instance, if any film producer likes our song, he will purchase it from the music channel because they have acquired the rights. And this needs to be changed because we youngsters record music using money from our own pockets,” an upcoming band said, requesting anonymity.

Faraz Anwar, one of the oldest guitarists in Pakistan has left the country, as he could not make it big here. Struggling for years in the music world, he couldn’t find the right sponsors and had to eventually leave for England. Also, Overload had been busy shooting the video of their song ‘Dhol Bajay’, but with Meesha Shafi expecting, they have postponed the project and are looking for a temporary replacement.

Also, the shooting of the upcoming sports movie “Pakistan, The Comeback” is being planned and auditions for side roles are being conducted. The movie, which is being shot speedily in different cities, is expected to be completed in August. It has already generated curiosity among film circles. The movie is about the life of different sportsmen and their will to win championship titles for Pakistan.

Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk

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