In an interview on YouTube podcast Excuse Me with Ahmad Ali Butt, Abrarul Haq shared why he believes that the Indian music scene is far more triumphant than the Pakistani one. “I feel that we have been going through a famine of creativity for a while now. We’re only getting superhit songs from Bollywood, not from our end, and a big reason for that is that the industry is weak,” he said.
Drawing a comparison between himself and Atif Aslam, Haq added, “Atif went to India, where different people were working on his songs – someone on the lyrics, someone on composition. Only his voice was being used, so he steadily became popular. Why? Because he had the industry to back him. Can our singers in Pakistan say the same for themselves? No.”
Haq also used Rahat Fateh Ali Khan as an example of a Pakistani singer whose talent thrived in India because of the resources available. “The moment they got cut off from that industry, their numbers began declining,” he said. “So my concern is, where are our composers? Where are our poets and music producers? How long is one singer going to put in all the effort?”
The influence of social media
The 56-year-old singer believes that the problem doesn’t lie in reach, as social media has widely accessible platforms. “There is power in the content. But there is a lack of creativity that’s holding it back.” Recalling Noor Jehan’s prime, he said, “Back in her time, she didn’t compose all her tracks.”
Haq added that underground singers should be supported for all the effort that they are putting in on their own and that they deserve the industry’s backing.
Reflecting on how social media would have helped artists in his time, he added, “It could’ve been a big source of income for us. Currently, there are people out there who have stolen the rights to our works, which we are struggling to get back. If social media was available then, it would’ve helped out then.”
On the rap scene
Haq lauded the upsurge of rap in the Pakistani music scene, especially in the younger generation. “Many people have the talent, ranging from performing rap to writing it. So many people have it that I honestly can’t even name them all.”
However, there was a catch to his praises. “I still haven’t seen someone who’s multi-talented, though. You know, like someone who’s also composing, arranging, and producing his own tracks. That, I haven’t seen yet. But those emerging from Coke Studio do seem to have all those talents.”
Polite pitch to a rival
Ever the creative musician, Haq also revealed that he wanted to make a song with Jawad Ahmed, someone who he has been famously at odds with. “I told him, ‘Jawad, our animosity is a hit. We should make a song on it.'”
After Ahmed asked what type of song Haq had in mind, the Punjabi Touch singer described a full music video, which would open with a little girl asking the two singers for autographs. However, this would escalate into a fight, resulting in the girl’s book getting ripped, making the girl cry. “This is where the song would start,” he said.
Eventually, the video would end with the two on a plane together, holding their long-standing grudge, until the plane would be hijacked by terrorists. “We would fight them off and save the day, then ensure that the plane lands safely and end the music video by raising the country’s flag together.”
Unfortunately, Ahmed rejected the prospect of working with Haq. “People often ask me what I think about him. But all I say is that I have no opinions. There’s a lot of difference between me and that brother of mine. And I pray that Allah protects everyone’s dignity.”
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