Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; March 22, 2016)
Pakistani singer Shafqat Amanat Ali was representing his country and sang its national anthem during the opening ceremony of the India- Pakistan T20 cricket match in Kolkata on March 19. However, little did he know that his performance would not go down well with fans back home. Says a source, “Pakistani citizens and his fans felt that his rendition lacked patriotism and was way below par as compared compared to Amitabh Bachchan, who sang the Indian national anthem. In fact, they (the fans) feel that it looked like Shafqat had forgotten the lyrics of the Pakistani national anthem.”
Shafqat, on his part, chose to apologise to his fans. In a message on Facebook, the singer said, “I see that many of you, my friends & countrymen, who I hold in the greatest possible regard, believe that I owe you all an apology. I admit that there were a few audio & technical glitches that may have sounded like lyrical errors & I will surely apologise for not being able to win your praises this time, but assure you that I had by no means 'forgotten' our beloved Qaumi Tarana... If I had, neither of the people who walked up to me that day would have said that they 'loved' the performance. I will still apologise though, as I do not believe that ‘apologising’ changes me as an artiste or a person, but I will say that I am deeply hurt by the little faith that my fellow Pakistanis have in me after all these years of living and breathing the spirit of my country into my music. Nonetheless, let us still keep our faith in our #MenInGreen. They are our only team!”
Pakistani singer Shafqat Amanat Ali was representing his country and sang its national anthem during the opening ceremony of the India- Pakistan T20 cricket match in Kolkata on March 19. However, little did he know that his performance would not go down well with fans back home. Says a source, “Pakistani citizens and his fans felt that his rendition lacked patriotism and was way below par as compared compared to Amitabh Bachchan, who sang the Indian national anthem. In fact, they (the fans) feel that it looked like Shafqat had forgotten the lyrics of the Pakistani national anthem.”
Shafqat, on his part, chose to apologise to his fans. In a message on Facebook, the singer said, “I see that many of you, my friends & countrymen, who I hold in the greatest possible regard, believe that I owe you all an apology. I admit that there were a few audio & technical glitches that may have sounded like lyrical errors & I will surely apologise for not being able to win your praises this time, but assure you that I had by no means 'forgotten' our beloved Qaumi Tarana... If I had, neither of the people who walked up to me that day would have said that they 'loved' the performance. I will still apologise though, as I do not believe that ‘apologising’ changes me as an artiste or a person, but I will say that I am deeply hurt by the little faith that my fellow Pakistanis have in me after all these years of living and breathing the spirit of my country into my music. Nonetheless, let us still keep our faith in our #MenInGreen. They are our only team!”