Madventures – 29th Mar 2013 (Episode 6)

Madventures – 29th Mar 2013 (Ep 6)
Complete Episode

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

6th Episode Score Broad

Total Scores

Pakistan=500

Inida=200

Total Games (6th Ep) = 1

Pakistan Won = 0

India Won      =1

Note: "One Game is Equal to 100 Points"

Danger Zone

Pakistan

Zeba Ali

Sana Askari

India

Priyamvada Kant

Leena Jumani

Elimination = 0

6th Episode Winner = India

Living on the Edge (S4) (28th Mar) (Episode 9)

Living on the Edge, S4 - 28th March – Ep 9 (Vimeo Link)

Living on the Edge, S4 - 28th March – Ep 9 (YouTube Link)

Pictures of Atif Aslam and Sara Bharwana Mehndi

Tarang Unveils Music Of ‘Tarang Housefull’ – Hit Filmoun Kaa Super Hit Jorr!

Engro Foods’ brand ‘Tarang’ in collaboration with GEO Films unveiled the music for its upcoming mega-project – Tarang Housefull. The project, which has been gaining popularity and has become the talk of the town for several days now, is slated for release in April 2013. The music launch was a star-studded ceremony with glimpses from the hit tunes of yesteryears redone with a modern feel.

Tarang Housefull is the first of its kind campaign, which will highlight six modernized remakes of super hit films including ‘Anjuman’, ‘Aaina’, ‘Armaan’, ‘Dil Mera Dhadkan Teri’, ‘Devar Bhabhi’ and ‘Abhi Tou Mein Jawan Hoon’ with a modern twist, making them relevant to today’s audiences. Tarang Housefull fuses elements of today with those of the past to create a series of re-imagined telefilms – a trend that is gaining popularity the world over. The music of the films boast of some of the leading voices from both Pakistan and across the border including the likes of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Aamir Zaki, Nabeel Shaukat (winners of the program Sur Keshtra), Shreya Ghoshal, Sunidhi Chauhan and Shaan. The songs have been remixed to give a flavor of the past with a dash of modernity.

Tarang Housefull is a star-studded project that brings together some of the most celebrated and household names from the Pakistani cinema and TV industry which includes Shaan, Saima, Humaima Malik, Fawad Khan, Amna Sheikh, , Bushra Ansari, Atiqa Odho, Saba Hameed, Sanam Saeed, Imran Abbas and Sarah Loren amongst others.

Speaking about the initiative, Afnan Ahsan, CEO Engro Foods said:

“Tarang has committed itself to breathing back life into Lollywood by taking up branded entertainment initiatives, which not only provide quality family entertainment, but have also been integral in reviving the Pakistani entertainment industry. We are a brand that celebrates the colors and spirit of Pakistani films by showcasing local actors and themes that resonate with the masses”.

Starting from April 2013, Tarang Housefull telefilms will be on air every Friday, across terrestrial and satellite TV channels to reach to masses. Previously Tarang has been associated with launching some of the mega projects, such as Hero Bannay ki Tarang Season 1 & 2 and Kaun Banega Meera ka Patti, that have helped revive the local industry and bolstered the dwindling talent pipeline for our cinema industry.

Sajna Aa Saja De -- Ishq Khuda (2013)

Sajna Aa Saja De -- Ishq Khuda (2013) (1st Song Released)

TRACK: SAJNA AA SAJA DE

VOCAL: RAHAT FATEH ALI KHAN 

MUSIC: WAJAHAT ATTRE 

LYRICS: RIAZ UR REHMAN SAGAR

FILM: ISHQ KHUDA

A Film By "Shehzad Rafique" First Video Of The Film "Sajna Aa Saja De" 

Sung By Legend "Rahat Fateh Ali Khan" Music By "Wajahat Attre" 

Qayaas is back with new tracks

ISLAMABAD: 

Islamabad-based band Qayaas, which gained popularity after sharing the Coke Studio stage with Atif Aslam for Charkha Nolakha, is back with a strategy and two new tracks — Cut My Wings and Doobtay.

Elaborating on the band’s strategy, producer and lead guitarist Khurram Waqar said the band plans to release two songs every month — one in English and one in Urdu — and then, by the end of the year, compile it into an album.

Waqar said the new tracks were ‘relatable’ to people, adding that Cut My Wings is for the common man. Previously, Qayaas released songs such as Marijuana, based on drone attacks and Inqilaab, which was about people who want to bring about a change.

The band’s frontman Umair Jaswal, who is also the lyricist, said that while writing the songs, he focuses on what is happening around and the situation that surrounds the “common man”. “When people are done taking the right path and nothing is working out for them, they give in to malevolence and accept defeat, that’s what the song [Cut My Wings] is all about,” he said. Waqar added that “the main riff is very unique” and said that the rock music in the song is very ‘in your face’.

While Cut My Wings is an extremely loud and aggressive track, Doobtay is mellow and heartfelt. “Doobtay is a sad song which starts off with a question and the whole song is a conversation between two people,” said Jaswal. Waqar said the song adapts the Lydian mode of music, with three different scales, well-knitted together. “The track is more eastern-classical with a melancholic feel to it — lots of darkness has been mixed in, not just vocal, but even musical, which brings out emotions naturally,” he said.

Speaking about the success of Charkha Nolakha, Waqar said that the song was a result of two to three compositions, but the experience of mixing two genres of music — rock with folk — was successful.

“Charkha Nolakha was the biggest hit of season five of Coke Studio and now we are working on those lines to produce more tracks by merging genres,” said Waqar. He said that some big names in folk music in Pakistan were interested in collaborating with the rock band to produce more of such tracks that attract listeners of both rock and folk.

Backing Waqar’s statement, Jaswal said, “Mixing genres is an exciting idea, which can be challenging at the same time. It’s about mixing totally different genres, but at the same time it produces music which is appealing to a wider audience,” said Jaswal.

Boasting a fan following of 65,000 fans on Facebook, Waqar said that following the success of Charkha Nolakha, many “uncles and aunties started appreciating their music”. “We thought we were a band for the young generation and the lovers of rock music, but we now have fans from all age groups,” said Waqar.

Waqar revealed that Qayaas is planning to collaborate with national and international artists and also has a few tours lined up. The band had earlier performed at New Delhi’s Hard Rock Café in 2010 for the Rolling Stone Jack Daniels Rock Awards tour.

Apart from Jaswal and Waqar, the band consists of Shahzad Hameed (bassist) and Kamran Farooque (drummer). The lead guitarist is happy with all the band members and says “it’s like brining the best in one group.” Qayaas has also won several awards including Rolling Stone Jack Daniels Rock Award for The Best Rock Band from Pakistan in 2010.

Madventures – 22th Mar 2013 (Episode 5)

Madventures – 22th Mar 2013 (Ep 5)

5th Episode Score Broad

Total Scores

Pakistan=500

Inida=100

Total Games (5th Ep) = 0

Pakistan Won = 0

India Won      =0

Note: "One Game is Equal to 100 Points"

Danger Zone

Pakistan

0

India

0

Elimination = 0

5th Episode Winner = 0

Brace yourselves for this Pakistani spy movie

Shaan says he is impressed with the director’s professionalism. PHOTO: PUBLICITY

KARACHI: 

It’s obvious that something incredible is cooking when a seasoned actor like Zeba Bakhtiar collaborates with Jamshed Mahmood Ansari (Jami) – one of the finest music directors in Pakistan. Add young Azan Sami Khan to lead the production front and Pakistan-based Australian Summer Nicks as the director, and it will get people talking.

According to Khan, their project, a film which was initially titled The Extortionist, remains untitled. The story revolves around international espionage, set in Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Serbia, Egypt and America. It is partly based on real life events that took place in Sangam (Afghanistan), when Nato tankers were bombed a few years back. The film highlights the role of a Norwegian mining company that is after lithium reserves in Afghanistan; it also touches on the life of Cash Siddiqui (Shaan), a decommissioned CIA agent who is all set to rescue his family.

At the set of this untitled project, The Express Tribune meets Nicks — writer of the international award-winning Seedlings, for an insight into the film. He compares his new directorial venture to Seedlings and says: “This is another baby of mine; it’s almost in the ending phase and is turning out to be something really amazing.”

Nicks says it’s important to consider the type of audience the film will have. “In terms of the story and treatment, the film is a cross between Syriana and the Bourne series,” says Nicks. “You have to make films by keeping foreign audiences and foreign films in mind.”

“The film has to be on the same level as that of the Bourne series or any other mainstream Hollywood film to compete in an international market or else the film won’t work at all,” he adds.

The film stars Shaan as the protagonist and Shamoon Abbasi as Romano Jillani. Aaminah Sheikh has the role of Shaan’s wife and apart from the stunning Iman Ali and the veteran Ayub Khoso, a number of American actors are also part of the cast.

On the sets, the handsome Shaan appears in a pair of cargo pants as a CIA agent. As he aimed a gun into the camera, we caught him with a candid question: how does it feel to play a CIA agent and do action sequences at this point of your career?

“If you’re saying that I am getting old, you’re wrong,” says Shaan, as he glances at Nicks and laughs. “I am certainly not getting old.”

“It’s all a matter of getting the hook of the character,” shares Shaan. “If I am able to do that (in a typical Lollywood film or something like this), the director’s satisfaction is all that matters at the end of the day.”

He was impressed by the way Nicks works and the professionalism that was maintained throughout the shoots. “I have worked with so many people around the word but this guy has a totally different approach to direction altogether,” says Shaan. “There is a fine line between behaving on the set and off the set and he makes sure that the actors are comfortable in both the places.”

The new kid on the block Azan, who hails from a multi-talented family, believes that it is the change in attitude towards the cinema industry that is needed for the rebirth of cinema in Pakistan.

“The main goal was to get specialised people to do their jobs,” says Azan “As my mother says ‘it’s a plague that Pakistanis can do anything’. I completely agree [with her] because everyone in Pakistan wants to become a director; no one wants to do anything else. This needs to change and we have tried to accomplish that on our sets.”

For the yet untitled project, CIA headquarters were replicated and Pakistani roads were converted into European roads. From the teaser and talk, the big budget film seems like a high-octane, action-thriller complemented with intellect. Let’s hope it makes it to the cinemas.