Call scores another deal in Bollywood. The News International - Instep Today.

Call scores another deal in Bollywood

Aqsa Hussain

It was 'Nishaan' that established Call in the underground circuit many years ago but post 'Laaree Chootee', Call has developed a larger albeit mixed following. The song came with its share of controversies. The fact that Junaid was not featured on the vocals or even the video sparked rumours of a break up. But as Junaid puts it, "It was a decision we made as a band because my vocals just wouldn't suit the song."

The film was a flop but the song was an absolute hit, not just in India but right here at home as well. And now amidst getting ready with their second album, Call has scored yet another deal in an upcoming Indian flick. Instep Today caught up with the backbone of Call, Xulfi to find out more...

Instep Today: Tell us about the new song?

Xulfi: The song is called 'Yeh Pal'. On the very day of the release of 'Laaree Chootee' in India, I got a call from Muzikzon Entertainment, a production house based in Mumbai. They said that they loved the song and wanted Call to do a song for their movie too. So they sent us the movie brief. I found it very fresh, very youthful and wrote the lyrics accordingly. They loved the direction the song was going towards so they gave the band complete freedom in creation of the song in the way we wanted to without any restrictions.

Instep Today: Did you guys record the song in India?

Xulfi: The song was written, composed, recorded and arranged right here in Pakistan at my studio Xth Harmonic (Lahore). So, it is, like 'Laaree Chootee', Call's own production in its entirety.

I composed the song, wrote the lyrics and I've sung the song. Plus, there is a remix of that song that would be released too. And this time, the remix hasn't been done by an Indian DJ, but by me and Sami Khan, the vocalist/songwriter of the band Lagan. We're flying out to India for the music launch that is slated for March 9.

Instep Today: Tell us about the movie in which 'Yeh Pal' is being featured.

Xulfi: It's called Aasman. It has Nauheed Cyrusi (Anwar fame), Hrishita Bhatt and an upcoming actor Subhahish Mukherjee in starring roles. The film is about a bunch of youngsters, who in their college days, decide to pursue an artistic aim and that's what they work for till the very end of the movie. The hurdles that come in their way, how they overcome them, and how they move on from there, becoming stronger in their motive and in their personality are themes that run through the film.

Instep Today: It has been a while since 'Laaree Chootee' happened. Why such a huge gap?

Xulfi: There aren't offers every month, no matter who the artists is. Most of the songs are acquired by producers/directors before they start shooting for the movie. My point is that it takes a lot of time for one song when it is being featured in a film. And that is what happened in our case. There are a few other offers from Bollywood, somewhat half done. We will announce them when everything is finalised.

Instep Today: Even though 'Laaree Chootee' was a massive hit, it also brought some criticism. It was more towards the commercial side considering the fact that you guys are a pure rock act. Comments?

Xulfi: Rock, I repeat, is not the only thing Call does. There would always be critics for everything that an artist does. That's how the music scene works. Plus, criticism is important as far as creating hype is concerned. It's all is a part of the game. Even if this time a few people criticize us, I won't mind it because I know the band has worked real hard on this song and we've tried to make sure that there are no weak moments. If 'Yeh Pal' is accepted as widely by the general audience as 'Laaree Chootee' then we'd all be pretty satisfied and happy.

An artist is not just someone who makes art so that he could keep it at home. Art like music is created so that people can relate to it and appreciate it. That's how we all earn our livelihood. Without public satisfaction, it really isn't the same. One might assume that his song is good but only when the general audience appreciates it, then it really matters.

Instep Today: Call's debut record, Jilawatan, released in 2005. And we're now in 2008. When will your second album release?

Xulfi: We have been working on our new album since the first album released, roughly two years. We really wanted that the second album should not just be a work of one month of song writing. We wanted it to encompass a bigger period and a versatile set of emotions. I feel, and I believe that we have somewhat accomplished that. But that still will only be proven when the album will be released. I hope the fans and the listeners feel the same intensity while listening to the songs that we felt while writing and creating them. We are planning for a release during this half of the year.