Ali Azmat’s latest offering Social Circus has firmly reaffirmed Ali Azmat as the king of Rock n’ roll in Pakistan. Breaking away from the traditional aura of Junoon, Ali has gone all guns blazing in this latest offering of varied moods and personal life experiences. In fact it seems that Ali has tried hard to stay away from traditional Junoon territory and in doing has fallen flat on its face with glaring moments of mediocrity. However, the major portion of Social Circus stands out as original and inspiring musical extravaganza.

The lead vocalist of Junoon - a radical rock band of the last decade, Ali Azmat, has launched his first solo album titled ‘Social Circus’. The album is released by Sadaf Stereo.

Addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Thursday, Ali Azmat who is famous for his vocal powers and stage performance, said he had been planning to launch this album since the release of Junoon’s last album, Deewar - a flop album as compared to the band’s earlier ones.

Describing his album’s theme, he said it was a personal expression — a kind in which philosophical moods and thematically expressed events of his life are included.

Ali Azmat was all set to act in Mahesh Bhatt’s Rog last year, but the Indian government denied him a visa. When asked why, Azmat calmly shrugs and says with a devious smile, ‘‘I don’t know why—there’s no because.’’ Maybe that’s why he doesn’t care much about acting these days. Currently in the city to promote his first solo album, Social Circus, the shiny-headed, irreverent and utterly candid former lead singer of Junoon says he actually quit acting seven years ago. ‘‘I’m not going to wait around for five hours for the female lead to show up.’’

Yousaf Salahuddin’s Haveli oozes cultural magnificence on this cold wintry evening. An unassuming façade, which could easily be missed from the road, opens into a wonderland of history and tradition. Cradled in the glory of the brilliantly lit-up Fort, it basks in the wonders of two worlds: the traditional, which encourages the use of old oil lamps in a power breakdown as opposed to a generator and the modern, which inspires him to build a comfortable living area in his bedroom and bathroom both. His rooftop springs color for Basant and his basement has become the breeding ground for many well-known musicians today. His courtyard is open to public, whether to host a mohallah wedding or shoot a Zille Huma music video. And he’s incomparable as a host, the courtyard becoming an impressive welcome mat to dignitaries from all over the world-Mick Jagger, Madhu Jaffery, Aamir Khan and Boney M included. Yousaf has led many celebrities to stardom, especially musicians and though he as won a bit of inevitable infamy on the way, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Mian Salli embodies the Power of One.

Indian film-maker Pooja Bhatt’s latest venture “Rog” has proved a hit in the ongoing film festival in Pakistan. Besides, other Bollywood films like Maqbool and Dhoop are also attracting much crowds.

Starring Irfan Khan, “Rog” is Pooja’s second film in succession that has been premiered in Pakistan, the first one being “Paap”. Written by her father and director Mahesh Bhatt, “Rog” is a tale of a cop falling in love with a woman whose murder he is investigating.

Pop music is rapidly taking over the Pakistani music scene, despite the moral brigade and diktats of the clergy. “Pop, along with soft rock, is growing in popularity. It has developed in a very short span of time and shows more promise than even Indian pop music,” claims Saadia, 19, a student of business studies. Most of the songs are in Urdu set to western music. There is a lot of talent coming here. Music experts say there are about 15 established music bands and a dozen pop music stars in Pakistan today.

A far cry, all agree, from the early 1980s, when during President Zia-ul-Haq’s regime, listening to or creating pop music was aggressively discouraged. However, after the Music ‘89 show, aired on the government-owned Pakistan Television (PTV), who was also the official sponsors, things appeared to change. At the show, 30-somethings danced to the music of the then pop idols - Nazia and Zoheb Hassan, Ali Azmat and bands like the Vital Signs.

It appears as if the floodgates have been opened for foreign entertainment and news channels. The last couple of years have seen an invasion by cable channels, which can be seen wherever you go, from restaurants and homes to shops. This is all part of the phenomenon called ‘globalisation’. Pakistani viewers, noticeably, are losing interest in local channels because of the glitz and glamor of the foreign media. It is easy to see that the majority of images beaming out of television sets are of foreign films and shows. Viewers countrywide prefer Indian music, films and Hollywood flicks and this has resulted in the local channels being relegated to the background.

From being heralded as Asia’s biggest rock act that redefined Sufi rock, Junoon has come a long way. The band that was applauded by U2’s Bono for their efforts at propagating world peace, is finally taking a break, what with all its members concentrating on their solo careers.

“The band has not split, but yes, we are concentrating on our solo careers,” is how Ali Azmat, the radical vocalist of Junoon, sums up the situation. “Brian left the band last year and is back in the US of A now. We were continuously on the road and he was missing his family like crazy. He was always talking about his kids and how he missed being with them. He went into depression and we would often find him crying inconsolably. There was no other option but to let him go,” he adds.

Two years after its “Passion for Peace” tour stop here rocked Miller Auditorium, Pakistani-American rock group Junoon is back in town with the same goal in mind: To use its music to unite people across ideological and religious divides.

The trio, consisting of founding members Ali Azmat on vocals, guitarist Salman Ahmad and bassist Brian O’Connel, plays the State Theater on Monday as part of its current U.S. tour.

Azmat and Ahmad are Pakistani Muslims, while O’Connel is an American Catholic. They formed Junoon, which means “passion” in Urdu, in 1990, but there were challenges from the beginning.

Indus Music (IM) will hold the first pop music awards ceremony in Pakistan at the Alhamra Arts Centre on July 24.

The channel has also signed an agreement with MTV whereby IM will broadcast old English songs in a show called ‘MTV Classics’, presented and produced in Pakistan.daily Times reported.

The IM music awards focus exclusively on the popular music scene in Pakistan. The awards target two specific areas of Pakistani music: the history of pop music in Pakistan and the new groups and singers that have performed on IM and new albums that have been released.