In a very short span of time, this popstar became Pakistan favorite, only at the age of 19 he has had a number of hit singles, a US tour and above all has been part of Coke Studio. In a candid tete-a-tete with the hunky Asim Azhar, we speak about the delay of his single, Sajna, his initial passion for dancing, movie offers and much more!
PakiUM: So Asim what are your upcoming projects
Asim Azhar: Well my new single Sajna is coming out. It was supposed to release this 11th December but due to some good reasons it has been delayed, it got picked by a channel and they’re launching in about two weeks. I have another single for Valentine’s Day, then I’m working hard on an album early next year. I’ve also been writing, producing and composing osts for drama serials, so that’s also going on side by side.
PakiUM: How did you start your career and which project do you think gave you your breakthrough?
AA: I started by singing covers towards the end of 2012 and nobody took it seriously at that time but I used to record proper videos and posted them on YouTube. And it was my last remix cover as I used to blend Urdu and Punjabi with the original. I did a cover of H Sherin’s song early 2013 and that kind of went viral, people started appreciating and somebody showed that to H Sherin. After that I got a call from Waqar Zaka and he invited me on tv, so it was my first public appearance.
My aim was always to always to do original but people didn’t know who I was, so I wanted to gather an amount of people before I actually begin. So it did 18 covers then I released Sunlay which was my first song and soon after signed my US tour becoming the youngest Pakistani to have a tour in the US.
PakiUM: What inspires you when you sing or write music?
AA: I think a lot of people don’t know that I write my songs myself and when I write, usually there is an imaginary background behind it, I make a situation and imagine if I were there and how would I feel. My upcoming single, Sajna is about trust issues and doubt in relationships, whereas my other songs are based on dealing situations in a fun way, and showing the lighter side of it.
While producing and composing drama osts, I get a one liner, I go through the story and do it accordingly.
Q.4 You’ve got an immense fan following amongst girls, how do you handle it?
A: My fans are incredibly devoted and young, so they are jazbaati. And I’m really honoured that they actually spend a lot of time on me.
I never aimed for a particular side of fans, probably I have something in common that they all like and handle with care (Laughs). Small things can make them feel good and can upset them at the same time, so I’m trying my best to interact with my fans with live videos on the Facebook page, every day Snapchats. I hated it and don’t like it concept of showing how cool life is but I’m doing it for my fans, so I really value them.
Sab se ziyada it gets awkward when seven girls are standing outside my house and they actually bring their mothers along (Laughs).
PakiUM: Is acting on the cards for you?
AA: Well I’ve got several offers but I’m waiting for the right time. I’ve rejected quite, but I am talking to people and its definitely not a no. I like to grab opportunities, so I’d like to play a hero who gets the girl (Laughs), but honestly I would like a challenging character, where I could have a margin to act, maybe a comic role; I like comedy movies and TV shows. I think Na Maloom Afraad was a kind of film that I would have loved to do. I’ve gotten two offers from neighboring country as well, but I guess I am a different person. I go with my gut feeling and I was offered a musical film which was supposed to be produced by A.R Rehman but I don’t know what happened, I didn’t feel it was the right option at that time and I believe big things are yet to come but I want to do it properly.
PakiUM: You were recently part of the the prestigious Coke Studio, how was your experience?
AA: One word, it was overwhelming. Coke Studio only deals with superstars and it had a huge lineup this time as well. Until it got aired, I didn’t feel it was real. I was 18 at that time and became the youngest artist to be featured on it. It is truly Pakistan’s most professional set up I’ve ever seen. I was in America for my tour when I got a call from their production head and they wanted me to try out for it, I left everything! Literally I cancelled two concerts and took the next flight to Pakistan, I knew not many opportunities like these come. It wasn’t even finalized at that point! It also became the top song of that episode, and it is still unbelievable, it was nothing short of a life changing experience!
PakiUM: Tell us a bit about your childhood memories, was singing always your passion?
AA: I’ll be honest, I was very active child and dancing was my actual passion not singing. I belong from a musical family and it’s because of that, you don’t value what you see all the time. I used to dance and do that Hritik Roshan step on Aik Pal Ka Jeena. I used to be a die hard Sharukh Khan fan and I had his shirts, so I was always the showstopper of the family, I used to dance on all the weddings like nobody’s watching (Laughs). It wasn’t until I got my first MP3 player, I heard the songs that I had downloaded and realized that I can give singing a try as well, so after the age of 13 my passion had changed. But to be very honest, all my childhood memories are of dancing (Laughs).
Interview by Ahmed Sarym
