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AMIR TO JAM IN TOWN

Saudi-based Pakistani chartered accountant Amir Jamal who came to be known as a singer with his Kaho Na Kaho song for the Indian film Murder has signed a contract with Signature Events to perform at the Crowne Plaza ballroom on September 17.

Jamal, who signed the agreement during a recent visit to the city said he was excited about his forthcoming performance. "I will try to give my best to the audience in Dubai," he said in a detailed interview with City Times.

Signature Events' Sunil Grover, told City Times that Jamal would be performing with two other singers - Vasundhara Das and Kunal Ganjawalla , who had recently gained popularity among film and music lovers. Well-known singer Kumar Sanu is also expected to perform with the trio. Das' hit songs include Chale Jaise Hawain Sananana -Mai Hoon Na (film); Bheegi Dastan - Meri Jaan (album); Bole Re - Meri Jaan (album); and Sohni Sohni. On the other hand, Ganjawalla, one of the most sought-after singers in Bollywood, has hits like 'O Humdum Suniyo Re' (Saathiya); 'Bheege Hoth Tere' (Murder); 'Janaabeali' (Bardaasht); 'What's Up' (Lakeer), to his credit.

Jamal, 38, has been recognised as a singer since his college days in Karachi. He was first noticed by PTV producer Fehmida Nasreen, who agreed to and produced his first song 'Safar Mausamoun Ka' in the early 1990's. Later, Jamal performed 'Janaan Teray Pyar Mein', which has not been released till date. In 1997, Fehmida asked Jamal to prepare an album, before introducing him to music director Nasir Hussain.

After completing Kaho Na Kaho in 2001, Jamal took the album with him and left Karachi for Saudi Arabia. Later in Dubai, he was later introduced to Movie Box (UK) by president of the music company CIDI. Movie Box accepted the album and signed a three-year contract with Jamal. Indian film director and producer Mahesh Bhat listened to the album and invited Amir to Mumbai. A stanza was added to the song Kaho Na Kaho for the film, Murder, which later became a hit film on the box office. The song itself being among the top three on the television charts.

With the help of an office colleague, Jamal perfected the Arabic pronounciations he would be using in the song. The Arabic verses turned out so well, that listeners in the UK thought he was an Arab singer, who had included Urdu verses in the song. On his album, Amir has given credit to all those who assisted him. Especially, for his guru, Shahnaz, the wife of an Indian friend who had learnt music for over ten years and had advised him to explore his voice.

"It is difficult to combine Arabic with Urdu because for Arabic you need strong vocal cords and a high tone. It is also difficult to keep instantly switching from one language to another. I am doing music and songs for Zeba Bakhtiar's music-based drama serial of 12 to 13 episodes being shot in Pakistan and Malaysia. Pakistani producer, director and actor Javaid Shaikh, who made the internationally super hit film, Yeh Dil Aap Ka Hua, Pakistan's first digital movie, has agreed to take two to three of my songs in his forthcoming film," said Jamal.

A father of two sons, aged six and eight, Jamal loves to travel. He loves to paint and is now trying to explain the meaning of the Quranic verses with the use of colours through calligraphy. His earlier phase in painting was doing detailed three-dimensional paintings. A room in his villa has been reserved each for music and painting.

Jamal's entire income from music and painting goes to charity, running three schools in Jeddah and helping the poor and needy.

• City Times