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“After Nazia passed away, music was the last thing on my mind. I
had shut down my office, my studio … my life,” says Zoheb Hassan,
seated in the dimly-lit ambiance of his studio in the B&H House
building.
Now, after hibernating of about 12 years, the youth icon of the ’80s
is back in the music limelight with his latest album, Kismat, and a
television serial by the same title, starring him in a pivotal role,
currently on air.
What was the impetus behind this decision? “It was all by chance. I
had done a collection of songs that Nazia and I had worked on
together. My wife, Gina, told me that the songs are very visual and
need a background story. Being a writer herself, Gina told me that
she can write a story for these songs. I gave her the green signal
and we pitched it to a private channel. They thought that both the
music and the concept were fantastic and were ready to start
production the very next month.”
And what made him act in the serial as well? “Initially, I was not
prepared to act. But the producer, director along with the entire
team convinced me that no one else would be able to put my songs
across better than myself,” says Zoheb, adding that it was a good
experience and very different from sitting in his studio and penning
music.
So is this his first and last acting project? “Yes, I think so. But
I have been getting offers since the promos and episodes of Kismat
have gone on air.”
Zoheb says that as a composer and musician, his trademark style will
always be there in his music. As for the difference in his newest
album, there is a greater application of technology. But
essentially, melody is the most important thing for Zoheb, which he
feels has died out in the present market. Mostly, musicians have
been following the concept of riff, juxtaposing rap and Punjabi
rock. He feels there isn’t as much musical composition as there was
when the sister-brother duo had started off.
“We would sit down with a conventional instrument like a guitar or a
piano and write the melody … a concept western composers have
reverted to. Big bands like Coldplay, U2, etc, all do so because
technology is fine to a point but if, let’s say, I start writing on
a computer, my music would sound very different. On the other hand,
if I sit and write a proper melody like a musician, everything in my
music will be according to my bass and my foundation will become my
melody. People are heavily relying on the loop concept these days;
that is why most of the quick-fix music has no sustenance or recall
value. If you do your own thing which is true to what you are, then
your art will stand out and nobody else will be able to copy you.”
‘I still remember when Aap Jaisa Koi came out. Nazia and I were
startled by the response but our parents played a key role in
maintaining a balance in our lives and keeping our feet firmly on
the ground. We could have made a lot more money, done a lot more
work, travelled a lot more. But honestly, I don’t regret it because
the path we took proved to be better: when we stopped making music,
it didn’t make much difference in our lives,’ says Zoheb Hassan
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