Pakistani musicians rule Mirchi Music Awards

And they’ve done it again! A host of Pakistani musicians have once more enchanted the Indian audience to such an extent that they won several nominations at the Mirchi Music Awards and some of them won the awards too.

Mirchi Music Awards, which originate from Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM, is all about recognizing great Indian music. In fact, these awards in India are known as “the Grammys of India.” These awards are also said to be “purely Bollywood awards” which is not a surprise given the lack of a music industry independent of Bollywood in India. They are supported by the Singers Association of India and the Music Composers Association of India.

Unsurprisingly, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan won Best Male Vocalist Of The Year honour for ‘Tere Mast Mast Do Nain’. Rahat was also nominated for ‘Sajda’, under the same category. Shiraz Uppal was named the Best Upcoming Music Director for ‘Rabba’ (Aashayein).

Amanat Ali’s song ‘Thumri’ from his debut album Kohram won Best Indipop Song, beating out Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Shankar Mahadevan tune ‘Aman Ki Asha’ and Shafqat Amanat Ali’s song ‘Kyun Dooriyan’.

Not stopping at winning just one award, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Shankar Mahadevan’s song for My Name Is Khan, ‘Sajda’ won the title of Best Sufi Song. Rahat’s song ‘Aas Pass Khuda’ from Anjaana Anjaani was also nominated under the same category.

‘Sajda’ by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Shankar Mahadevan and Richa Sharma from My Name is Khan won an award for the Best Raag Inspired Song Of The Year while ‘Tum Jo Aaye’ by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Tulsi Kumar from Once Upon A Time In Mumbai was nominated for the same award.

Intrerestingly enough, Najam Sheraz won the Best Upcoming Male Vocalist Of The Year award for ‘Tere Bina’ from Shaapit.

While Rahat Fateh Ali and Shafqat Amant Ali are no strangers to fame, fortune and awards in India, it’s nice to see old hands such as Najam Sheraz and Shiraz Uppal being recognized for their talent as well. That Amanat Ali’s tune won over the work of veterans is also pleasantly surprising. More power to Pakistanis making it big outside of the country, we say!

Rahat Fateh Ali khan also won Best Playback Singer Award at Filmfare Awards 2011 for Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji (Ishqiya) Song!

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Strings Performed at Imran Khan’s Wedding Party

Pakistani Band Strings performed at Imran Khan & Avantika Malik’s post wedding party in Thailand.

On 10th Jan, Bollywood’s chocolate boy Imran Khan finally bid adieu to bachelorhood when he tied the knot with his long-time girlfriend, 24-year old Avantika Malik in Mumbai, India.

The newlyweds flown to Thailand on Tuesday for their honeymoon where the 28-year actor also celebrated his birthday. Avantika Malik, the bride planned to surprise her hubby in a very special way. She planned to give Imran a musical gift for his Birthday for which she requested Imran’s favorite rock band Strings from Karachi to perform live for him on his birthday. Strings showed their excitement on playing at their fan’s post wedding party.

Rahat, Shafqat and Adnan nominated for Filmfare

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan has been busy collecting trophies for the various songs he sung for Bollywood last year. Just recently he picked up an Apsara award for ‘Tere Mast Mast Do Nain’, and a Star Screen award for Ishqiya’s ‘Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji’. However his winning streak is perhaps still on a roll. Rahat has just been given a nod by the Filmfare guys for ‘Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji’as well as ‘Sajda’ from My Name Is Khan.

Happily though, Rahat is not the only Pakistani to have been recognized by Filmfare this year. Shafqat has picked a nomination for Best Playback Singer (Male) as well for ‘Bin Tere’ (I Hate Luv Storys) and Adnan Sami Khan has gotten a nod for the same category, for his MNIK song ‘Noor-e-Khuda’ along with Shankar Mahadevan.

Shafqat Amanat Ali just recently lent his voice to the soundtrack of Akshay Kumar starrer Patiala House, and his last record Kyun Dorriyan is almost a year old now. Perhaps we will be hearing more from Shafqat soon, in terms of his own work? That would be something to look forward to. Meanwhile Adnan Sami Khan has been embroiled in personal troubles vis-à-vis his property in India being seized and his ex-wife charging into his house. The nomination has probably come at a good time, as a much needed boost.

What would actually be really interesting would be to hear the three stars collaborate on one song, as all have very distinctively strong voices and would make for a powerful experiment.

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BIG Winter Collection 2010-11

Review of Pakistani Dramas 2010

The year 2010 saw some of the saddest dramas in Pakistan history… most of the best dramas that were aired this year were sad or had tragic endings. It may be that writers find it to be empowering to know that the viewer has shed some tears and that it has impacted their state of mind. The 4 dramas that deserve recognition in 2010 are undoubtedly MeriZaatZarra-e Benishan, Dastaan, Vasl and Daam.

All 4 were top notch Oscar winning performances in different categories. All had room for improvement but overall these 4 dramas in my opinion took Pakistani TV to a new level, they changed 2010 and yes, they have made it harder for everyone else to stay in the competition.

MZZB had a fairly conventional story, nothing too exciting, extremely depressing, yet engaging. It is probably one of the most talked of drama of 2010. The reason why MZZB is what it is, is because of Faisal Qureshi and SumaiyaMumtaz- period. Sarwat and Imran’s roles were underperformed and it’s a pity that they weren’t guided to do better… warna MZZB would have been drama of the year. Umaira Ahmed… couldn’t you have made it any more sadder? Maybe we could have cried some more… really- the drama was stretched beyond need, the vision was left unclear and at one point it became frustrating to watch the drama. Baber Javaid – you have yet to win my heart. There were flaws all over the map and as a director, he failed MZZB.

Vasl – different story, people for some reason liked this drama a lot. Was I sleeping through most of it, because I still can’t understand why everyone liked it! Yet again, sad sadsad… I mean how much does a woman have to go through to get a little bit of joy in her life! At least the ending was decent! Direction by Mehreen was above average, I have no complaints. Samira ji… please, some happy endings and a little more joy would be appreciated for next time.

Daam- Brilliantly written by Umaira Ahmed, yet ending was not satisfactory for a lot of the viewers, although I liked itJFinally we see some direction that I would take pride in calling work of art by a Pakistani! A story with a message, a glimpse of our society at different levels. This drama was a masterpiece. It may not get as much recognition by its viewers simply because of the fact that the ending was not as glamorous or as romantic as they may have wanted, but for me… this drama hit all cords! Loved it.

Dastaan – Bas aik kami rehgayee… Humaiyoon Saeedko end mein aakay Bano say shadi kar leni chahiye thi, just like he rescues Zara in Daam I am a Dastaan fan, not because it is about my love (Pakistan) or because it highlights the plight of women, or the disgusting facts surrounding Pakistan’s past and present, but because of Bano. She won my heart. SanamBaloch – actress of the year for Bano. Dastaan is #1 for me because each and every single actor (with the exception of Mehreen) outperformed in their roles, the drama was flawless, the director took it to a level of perfection never seen before in Pakistani history, the entire team took a novel and made it a masterpiece – a true Pakistani heritage!

There is no doubt for me that the best drama is Dastaan; the best director is Haissam H; the best writer is Razia Butt/Samira F for Dastaan; the best actor male is Faisal Qureshi for MZZB and best actress female is Sanam for Dastaan. Best OST… it took me a week to figure this one out… MZZB is no doubt awesome because of its lyrics, but its just way too depressing… on the other hand, Aasmanoo say utaranoor hai koi is magical, Sohail’s voice takes you to heaven, relaxes you, enchants the listener… for me Sohail takes the Grammys… sorry Rahat, better luck next time
There are so many dramas and serials that are produced each year. There was Dolly ki aye gibaraat, Manchalay,Shehraydilkaydarwazay, Ishqgumshudaetcetc etc… what makes a drama a super hit is the impact that it leaves on the viewer… this has been my personal opinion… now tell me what you think. Let’s hope to see much more brilliant work in 2011

The Story covered by DramaPakistani

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