Pakistani musician Zoheb Hassan talks about his musical journey in India with his sister, the legendary singer Nazia whose 51st birth anniversary falls on April 3
Priya Sugathan (BOMBAY TIMES; April 1, 2016)
India is never going to forget the time a Pakistani teenager stumbled into the world of Hindi film music, ushered in the disco trend and set the template for Indi-pop with her personal albums. However, the name of the iconic Nazia Hassan comes hyphenated with her younger brother, Zoheb, who distanced himself from music following her death in 2000. Now, they are back in the news as subjects of an Indian film. In an email interview, Zoheb Hassan talks about his return to music, movies and memories of India...
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Nazia Hassan would have been 51 on April 3. What do you think she would have been doing if she was around? And what would have been her reaction on a film being made on her life?
In the last few years of her short life, Nazia started doing a lot of social work. Her interest in music was taking a second place to helping children in need. I think she would have continued with that. Her aim was to build free clinics for children in all the countries where she had fans. This was a way for her to give back. As far as the film is concerned, she would have in her soft voice asked me two questions - 'Why would they want to make a film about me? I am not that important' and 'I hope the film is about us Zoheb, as we have always been a team?'
When and how did your journey as the other half of the Hassans begin?
Much before Nazia sang her first professional song, Aap jaisa koi for the film Qurbani around the age of 15, we started our musical journey in a children's music TV programme in Pakistan called Kaliyoon Ki Mala. At that time, I was not interested in music at all and wanted to become a professional tennis player. Every Sunday, I would hide in the house to avoid going to the show. I really got into music when we moved to UK. I was six at that time. Seeing Western pop stars like The Jacksons, Osmonds, etc got me interested as they were considered quite cool. I got my first guitar on my seventh birthday, which ignited my interest even more. Nazia and I then started singing as a brother-sister duo and I composed the songs. My first professional breakthrough came when I composed and sang Tere quadmon ko and Mujhe chahe for the album Disco Deewane. I then playbacked for Kumar Gaurav in the film Star. We continued to sing as a duo for rest of the albums, i.e Young Tarang, Hotline, Camera.
We last heard you and Nazia in Ilzaam. Considering the strong fan following in India, why did you reduce your singing here?
We were both very young and my father, a businessman, was not keen on us leaving our schools in London to pursue a music career in India. In fact, he was quite against the idea of us singing at all. It was my mother who used to argue our case to sing with my father and grandmother, saying that she believes that her 'children have a unique talent and it would be a shame not to let them make music'.
What are your memories of your time here?
I have fantastic memories of India. It has always welcomed Nazia and me with open arms. Even though we were of British Pakistani origin, that never made a dent in the love and warmth we got from there. My father is originally from Delhi and some of his family still lives there.
Whose music has influenced you and Nazia the most?
We listened to almost everything we could get hold of, but I think the bands that influenced us the most were The Carpenters and Abba. Both Nazia and I were also big fans of Kishoreji (Kumar). The biggest thrill for us was when Nazia recorded a duet (No entry in Main Balwaan) with him in Mehboob Studios.
What did you think of Nazia's Disco deewane track being used in Karan Johar's film, Student Of The Year?
It was great. What was even better was the fact that KJo revived this track and introduced it to a completely new generation.
Since you've been a part of the Indian music scene, how has it changed in recent times?
The industry has grown by leaps and bounds. Bollywood has become huge commercially. I remember when Nazia got her first Filmfare award, the ceremony was a simple one held in a small auditorium in Mumbai. Today, the televised award shows are seen around the world by tens of millions. The only thing that upsets me is the state of the non-film genre of music. The market for that has completely shrunk.
The Indo-Pak political animosity never touched artistes and cricketers earlier. What thoughts cross your mind when you read of artistes being targetted by political parties?
It's unfortunate that artistes are frequently caught up in the political crossfire, which is not a good thing as art and culture promote peace, understanding and harmony between people. Hopefully, things will change for the better, and the moderates and the enlightened from both sides won't let negativity prevail.
Not just singers, but even Pakistani actors are becoming an intrinsic part of Bollywood now.
It's a great trend, which should happen on both sides as artistes have no political agenda and are interested in only furthering their art.
After having kept away from music for so long, you recently released a single, Always on my mind. What made you finally come out of your sabbatical?
Always on my mind is the first track of my album Signature, which has taken two years to make. It is something that a lot of friends were trying to convince me to do for many years, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue with music. A live studio performance on a show spurred me when I saw that the public still seemed to want to hear my music after all these years. I therefore took this more as a personal challenge as a musician than for public and commercial success. I am quite happy with the final product, which is co-produced by DJ Swami, and written by me. The music company will be rolling out three music videos before they release the complete album. Incidentally, some of the tracks will also be featured in the film.
You said you'd like to playback for Hindi films recently. The last time you sang was for Govinda in Ilzaam. Who would you like to playback for now?
Well, I would, of course, like to sing for my friend Salman Khan and possibly with a little sifarish, Shah Rukh Khan (smiling).
Nazia Hassan would have been 51 on April 3. What do you think she would have been doing if she was around? And what would have been her reaction on a film being made on her life?In the last few years of her short life, Nazia started doing a lot of social work. Her interest in music was taking a second place to helping children in need. I think she would have continued with that. Her aim was to build free clinics for children in all the countries where she had fans. This was a way for her to give back. As far as the film is concerned, she would have in her soft voice asked me two questions - 'Why would they want to make a film about me? I am not that important' and 'I hope the film is about us Zoheb, as we have always been a team?'
When and how did your journey as the other half of the Hassans begin?
Much before Nazia sang her first professional song, Aap jaisa koi for the film Qurbani around the age of 15, we started our musical journey in a children's music TV programme in Pakistan called Kaliyoon Ki Mala. At that time, I was not interested in music at all and wanted to become a professional tennis player. Every Sunday, I would hide in the house to avoid going to the show. I really got into music when we moved to UK. I was six at that time. Seeing Western pop stars like The Jacksons, Osmonds, etc got me interested as they were considered quite cool. I got my first guitar on my seventh birthday, which ignited my interest even more. Nazia and I then started singing as a brother-sister duo and I composed the songs. My first professional breakthrough came when I composed and sang Tere quadmon ko and Mujhe chahe for the album Disco Deewane. I then playbacked for Kumar Gaurav in the film Star. We continued to sing as a duo for rest of the albums, i.e Young Tarang, Hotline, Camera.
We last heard you and Nazia in Ilzaam. Considering the strong fan following in India, why did you reduce your singing here?
We were both very young and my father, a businessman, was not keen on us leaving our schools in London to pursue a music career in India. In fact, he was quite against the idea of us singing at all. It was my mother who used to argue our case to sing with my father and grandmother, saying that she believes that her 'children have a unique talent and it would be a shame not to let them make music'.
What are your memories of your time here?
I have fantastic memories of India. It has always welcomed Nazia and me with open arms. Even though we were of British Pakistani origin, that never made a dent in the love and warmth we got from there. My father is originally from Delhi and some of his family still lives there.
Whose music has influenced you and Nazia the most?
We listened to almost everything we could get hold of, but I think the bands that influenced us the most were The Carpenters and Abba. Both Nazia and I were also big fans of Kishoreji (Kumar). The biggest thrill for us was when Nazia recorded a duet (No entry in Main Balwaan) with him in Mehboob Studios.
What did you think of Nazia's Disco deewane track being used in Karan Johar's film, Student Of The Year?
It was great. What was even better was the fact that KJo revived this track and introduced it to a completely new generation.
Since you've been a part of the Indian music scene, how has it changed in recent times?
The industry has grown by leaps and bounds. Bollywood has become huge commercially. I remember when Nazia got her first Filmfare award, the ceremony was a simple one held in a small auditorium in Mumbai. Today, the televised award shows are seen around the world by tens of millions. The only thing that upsets me is the state of the non-film genre of music. The market for that has completely shrunk.
The Indo-Pak political animosity never touched artistes and cricketers earlier. What thoughts cross your mind when you read of artistes being targetted by political parties?
It's unfortunate that artistes are frequently caught up in the political crossfire, which is not a good thing as art and culture promote peace, understanding and harmony between people. Hopefully, things will change for the better, and the moderates and the enlightened from both sides won't let negativity prevail.
Not just singers, but even Pakistani actors are becoming an intrinsic part of Bollywood now.
It's a great trend, which should happen on both sides as artistes have no political agenda and are interested in only furthering their art.
After having kept away from music for so long, you recently released a single, Always on my mind. What made you finally come out of your sabbatical?
Always on my mind is the first track of my album Signature, which has taken two years to make. It is something that a lot of friends were trying to convince me to do for many years, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue with music. A live studio performance on a show spurred me when I saw that the public still seemed to want to hear my music after all these years. I therefore took this more as a personal challenge as a musician than for public and commercial success. I am quite happy with the final product, which is co-produced by DJ Swami, and written by me. The music company will be rolling out three music videos before they release the complete album. Incidentally, some of the tracks will also be featured in the film.
You said you'd like to playback for Hindi films recently. The last time you sang was for Govinda in Ilzaam. Who would you like to playback for now?
Well, I would, of course, like to sing for my friend Salman Khan and possibly with a little sifarish, Shah Rukh Khan (smiling).