Aaj Logo

Updated 11 May, 2012 08:35am

Know The Legend Like Never Before - Exclusive On Alamgir

He at first thought that his name was rather too long for a performer and  so at the time of his debut he only used his first name ‘Alamgir’.

He started off as a singer in a café near Tariq Road and all he was paid at that time was dinner. At that time there was no notion of pop music in Pakistan as there was only film music around. So the film fraternity which included legends like Mehdi Hasan and Noor-Jehan and many other great names  gave him quite a tough time while he was trying to establich POP music in Pakistan, but after endless amount of struggle he made it to being the ' Elvis ' of the 'East'.

His fist break came around, when Sohail Rana gave him a chance to sing a Spanish Cuban song titled “Guantanamera” which literally meant “feminine” and he sang its Urdu version “Albela Rahi”.

That was his kick off for pop culture in Pakistan and the whole trend was a colossal hit.

He was one of the very few people who sang for huge movie stars for instance the superhit movie  “Aina” in which Nadeem and Shabnam did lead roles and the music was given by Shabnam's husband , the most popular , Robin Ghosh.

He has been active since the 1970s. According to Alamgir, his most favourite song ever is “Shaam Se Pehle Ana”  which he had composed himself. He also did a lot of shows for PTV and released one of the finest videos that got aired on PTV titled, “Albela Rahi”.

He also introduced the famous guitarist Amir Zaki  in one of his videos which got aired on PTV and also collaborated with a lot of legends from his era including  Sohail Rana, Benjamin Sisters, Mehnaz and Bushra Ansari amongst many others.

One little tidbit is that Alamgir was primarily a guitarist and has sung in 17 different languages with Bengali being his mother tongue.

He is married to a very loving and supportive woman with one son and is currently based in Atlanta, Georgia.

At present he is trying to make a comeback to the Pakistani music scene, however his presence in his country these days  is more of an effort to touch base with his fans and supporters through out the region.  He does plan on releasing his most awaited album and doing some very big shows , both cooperate and commercial. Alamgir is returning to Pakistan in September for an extended stay and wants to remaster all his old songs to add that extra feel to the music which surely would be a treat to his listeners.

He is at great terms with Gumby and is greatly inspired by him as a musician of his age and at the same time he is also doing a few commercial shows with the band ‘Fuzon’ and with Immu particularly.

Sadly this music maestro is also suffering from a renal failure. As both of his kidneys are not working and  he undergoes 3 dialysis in the span of 52 hours but  for his passion of  music , he still makes sure that he has a show lined up every weekend in States for his fans.

Upon being inquired about his musical aspirations he simply said, he considers himself a ‘Darwesh’ or a “Malaang” and still at this point in his life hasn’t lost his muse and continues to explore and  create beautiful soulful music.

One great thing about the legend is that with time his voice has not deteriorated but rather has grown more exquisite and being an equivalent to a Rockstar here; he still is the most simplest and down to earth man I have ever come across.

Read Comments