Legendary singer Alamgir, popularly known as the
‘Elvis of the East’, was paid a musical tribute by many artists at an event
held at the Karachi Expo Center on Saturday. The event titled ‘Dekha Na Tha’
was an ode to the artist’s dogged devotion to his art and his vocal prowess
which kept on improving during his 40-year-long career. Alamgir’s career
started in 1972 through the state-run channel PTV and 40 years later, he was
awarded the Lipton PTV Lifetime Achievement Award.
Age is only a number
Clad in
white, the singer cemented his superstar status by making a grand entrance in a
green Volkswagen, followed by a spellbinding performance of his song “Yeh Shaam
aur Tera Naam”. His entrance made the hosts of the evening, Anoushey Ashraf and
Faizan Haque, recall the good old days of PTV and the audience was transported
to the time of sepia-toned television shows that were hosted by veterans Anwar
Maqsood and Moin Akhtar and musical programmes that were predominantly the
domain of Alamgir and the Benjamin Sisters.
Alamgir
danced and sang with the vivacity of 16-year-old boy. He sang some of his most
popular songs such as “Yeh Shaam Aur Tera Naam”, “Mujhay Dil Say Na Bhulana”,
which he sang twice and “Shuro Tum Hi Say Howa Pyar Ka Silsila”. Seeing
Alamagir perform energetically and engaging the audience with gestures just like
he used to decades ago was a deja vu experience for the audience.
Cheers to Alamgir
The singer
was also acknowledged by superstars like Nadeem Baig, who remembered that
Alamgir always gave 110 per cent to all his projects. Actor Shabnam and and her
husband Robin Ghosh described him as “a talented and extremely dedicated singer
of his time” while A Nayer vouched for Alamgir’s “hard working nature”.
On the
other hand, singer Saleem Javed also reminisced that his first-ever audition
for PTV was one of Alamgir’s songs. Music composer Niaz Ahmad considers him “an
evergreen singer, who can perform for the next 20 years” and Benjamin Sisters
recalled that, “he was a couple of years senior to us but he never treated us
like juniors”. Last, but not the least, the producer Zaheer Khan who discovered
the potential in Alamgir said that he was, “an outstanding musician, who
introduced Pakistan to pop music.”
A buffet of talent
The musical
night saw some brilliant performances by child stars Ahsan and Rose to “Hum
Chale Tu Hamare Sang Hein Nazare Chale” as well as seasoned artists like Saleem
Javed, Own the band, actor-cum-singer Teepu Sharif and Ahmed Jahanzeb, who sang
some of Alamgir’s classics.
Benjamin
Sisters sang “Woh Jo Sapno Jaisa Hai” and Shabana Benjamin and Alamgir
performed a duet on the song, “Mujhe Dil Se Na Bhulana”. Rahim Shah’s energetic
performance on “Gori Panghat Pe Thehro Ghar Nahin Jao” and Faakhir Mehmood’s
rendition of “Albela Rahi” made the audience nostalgic.
All’s well that ends well
Towards the
end of the evening, Alamgir was awarded the Lipton PTV Lifetime Achievement
Award, which was presented to him by Ustad Rais Khan. The singer concluded the
night with his most famous song “Dekha Na Tha”. One could see that Alamgir
himself was having a blast as he became extremely animated while singing the
song and even fell on the stage while singing the verses “Kho Gayey Sapno Main
Hum”. What seemed like an accident at first turned out to be just an act.
People helped Alamgir out of the auditorium like he was hurt or unconscious,
later the media was told that he is doing well and it was part of his
performance.
Published
in The Express Tribune, May 8th, 2012.
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