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.

Renowned fashion designer Moazzam Abbasi, a die-hard fan of Parveen Babi pays a tribute to Bollywood’s all time favourite diva.

They blackballed and clapper clawed her. Hissing and hooting. Disparaging and damnatory.. A thousand deaths, that made her die. Helplessly, the more she tried to vivificate, the tighter they shut the grave on her, making her dance on shooting needles, to bury her alive. Mocking her controversial existence, her pravity, her depravity… Frowning faces that spat fire on her morality, smirking at her cloven foot. They kicked her harder when she was almost down, hurting her sensibilities and crushing her being. Her mind was a seesaw, while she yearned for love, they threw her into a winter of discontentment, instead of holding and protecting her. They dug deeper and pulled out a mental horror that she had hidden – PARVEEN BABI they have let you die.

Does Bollywood’s version of Picture Perfect work with the combination of Abhishek Bachchan in his second film and Keerti Reddy’s debut in Hindi?

A major hit worldwide, the songs Tera Jadoo (by Sonu Nigam and Chitra) and Qayamat Ho showcase entertaining visuals and exciting vocals.

Having all the mannerisms of pops, Abhishek gives hints of the big B’s style to a new generation of cinemagoers conceived as ‘Deewar’ was played to packed houses.

The plot line is basically a rip off from another blockbuster from Hollywood - Picture Perfect (the Jennifer Aniston vehicle). Unfortunately Keerti is no Miss Aniston (or should that be Mrs Pitt?).

To the music scene now, it is great to have Junoon back. And boy is the band in topnotch form in its latest chart buster Dewaar.

While some admirers would moan the very conspicuous departure from the sufi touch that of late had come to define the band’s sound, but progression is the name of the game if you want to survive in the highly competitive and cutthroat world of pop music.

That is really the buzzword of Dewaar as the band is really tearing down new walls on this offering and has assertively established that it is still the premiere rock band of the land. The 13 tracks on Dewaar are undoubtedly a step in the right (new) direction.