Salman Ahmad: Making his way into films

Sufi singer Salman Ahmad talks about his upcoming tour in India and his Bollywood debut.

Sufi rockstar Salman Ahmad, who is all set to rock India in an upcoming tour later this month, has a little surprise for his fans in Pakistan and abroad. Previously, Ahmad was going to New Delhi to perform live for his fans but now the musician has announced that he will be making his Bollywood debut in Vicky Kumar’s musical love story Rhythm, according to timesofindia.com.

Hindustan Times reports that Ahmad’s fan following started strengthening from 1997, when his song “Sayonee” created a rage in India and garnered uninterrupted airtime on television. Now, Junoon, spearheaded by Ahmad, will hit the stage in Mumbai on April 28. Having undergone numerous line-up changes since the band’s inception in 1990, Junoon currently consists of founder Ahmad on guitar and vocals, John Alec on bass, Sunny Jain on drums and Kedarnath Havaldar on percussion. Sadly, the current line-up does not include singer Ali Azmat and bassist Brian O’ Connell, two band members who helped the band earn recognition as the pioneer of rock in the subcontinent.

The two-hour long show aims to attract a crowd of 10,000. The Pakistani Sufi rock band is also scheduled to perform in Pune, Delhi and Bangalore.

Event organiser Darpan Trisal says, “We might add on some more cities on the road. Band member, Salman Ahmad has also consented to perform a jugalbandi at the forthcoming Wow awards, the awards which recognise outstanding customer service.” Junoon’s last concert in India was on February 6, 2010 in Delhi in support of the Lighting a Billion Lives campaign, reports Hindustan Times.

According to Pakistantoday.com, Ahmad, who is based in the US these days, says, “India is the land of junoonis and we want to infuse it with some high-octane junooni (passion) soul.”

He adds, “Many of my Indian friends including actor Naseeruddin Shah, politician Shashi Tharoor, Nobel Peace prize winner Dr Rajendera Pachauri and actor Nandita Das have told me that our music has played a vital role in promoting harmony between India and Pakistan. I hope to further promote peace, joy and unity on the land of Hazrat Amir Khusrau and Khwaja Gharib Nawaz.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 13^th, 2012.