Fakhr-e-Alam: A tune of two cities

Pakistani singer, actor and VJ Fakhr-e-alam’s upcoming project called 3B (Beat beyond Borders), truly lives up to its name. The singer who was in Mumbai, shooting and recording for the album two weeks back, aims to make his music dissolve the differences between people from both sides of the borders.

“3B is the beat of the drums, the beat of our hearts... going beyond borders. Our hearts, our souls, our music needs no visas, recognises no borders, respects all religions, understands all ethnicities and brings everyone together on a musical platform of fun and masti,” he says.

And to make the music appealing to both nations, Alam decided to record duets with Indian artists like Alka Yagnik, Shibani Kashyap, Javed Ali, etc, for all the tracks in 3B. Says Alam, “I had been toying with this idea for almost two years, but there was certain friction. Once things normalised, we went for it.  I penned down the lyrics for most songs... while others have been co-written by me.”

Alam rose to fame with 1993 with his single Bhangra Pao - which became an unusual hit in Pakistan. Since then Alam is branded as one of the pioneers of pop/bhangra music culture in Pakistan. His previous albums include Rap Up (1994), No More School Remixes (1995), Laut Aao (1996), Malang (1997), Falam Connection (2001), Falam Ab Tak - last release in 2004 which contained the single Akh we larani hai.

 A huge fan of Indian music, Alam admires a lot of indian artists. “I’m a big fan of KishoreJi and Raffi Saheb; the legendary Lataji  and her outstanding sister Ashaji. Like everyone else I’m too a Rehman fan. Besides, I also follow Shankar Mahadevan, Kailash Kher, Garry Lawyer and Uday Benegal.”

Pointing out the common cultural designs between the two countries, Alam says, “Pakistanis are big fans of Bollywood movies and songs. Many of the songs like Koi Kahe (Dil Chahta Hai) have become party anthems there.”