Biddu, a virtuoso Indian music composer, had been associated with the Nazia-Zoheb duo in the past in producing some magical hit compositions. Does Zoheb now look forward to working with him again? “Biddu is a very close family friend and very talented in what he does, but I feel I have moved on to a different style of music from his, so working with him is not on my cards. Yes, we had hits with Biddu, but there were other songs with him also that didn’t do that well. We did the album Camera Camera all on our own, which was a huge international hit. It was number one on the charts in Indonesia, even outselling George Michael there,” he says. Speaking of international markets, where else is he focusing besides Pakistan this time round? “I don’t target any markets, I don’t believe in approaching music like that. That’s the job of the record label; I don’t like to get into the commercial or business side of producing music.”

Being one of the first musicians who pioneered the concept of pop music in early ’80s in Pakistan along with Nazia, how does Zoheb see the current boom in the music industry? “I think it’s great that the industry has taken off, but the growth is mainly due to the evolution in technology. Musicians today have more channels and more broadcast platforms, and they are getting better. The more you do, the better you become through trial and error.

“The credentials of musicians are not for one person to decide, they are for the market to decide. The market will filter out all those who people don’t like listening to. But I still feel, the more the merrier. Let the audience have variety,” he adds.

Zoheb recalls that Nazia and he never actually sat and analyzed anything when they were at the peak of their career. It happened so fast that they didn’t have any time to think about the hype and the controversies that arose in its wake. “I still remember when Aap Jaisa Koi came out, we would receive thousands of letters, messages, etc. We were startled by the response that we garnered. But our parents wanted us to finish our education and they played a key role in maintaining a balance in our lives, keeping our feet firmly on the ground. This is very important because this business is very abstract — it’s all about imagery. If you start believing in it, it can become terrible for you. 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.”

Zoheb is now also looking forward to something that he always wanted to do: make a feature film based on the life of his sister. He is presently looking for a girl who can play Nazia Hassan and a boy who can play the role of Zoheb in his early years, while the role of present-day Zoheb will be played by the singer himself.

Presently, he talks about his life away from music, revealing that he is handling his real estate family business both in UK and Karachi, and running an event management company. He is also an advisor to the governor of Sindh. “I am heading a new department of image building. I have done around 300 promotions, events, expos and festivals, so they thought I would be a suitable person to handle this department especially in a city like Karachi where I feel there is so much that needs to be done.”

On a concluding note, Zoheb says that music doesn’t last forever and not everybody can become Fuzon or Atif Aslam. So it is very important for people to prioritize their education before entering this field. “Very few make it in the industry and for how long they may maintain themselves is another story altogether,” he says.

As for himself, he adds, “I am a staunch believer in fate and destiny, which is why I have named my album and the play, Kismat. The title track also revolves around this belief. Nazia and I were extremely lucky that for two decades we ruled the roost.” Indeed, there can be no denying that.

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