ATIF ASLAM
Atif Aslam (born 12 March 1983) is a Pakistani playback singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He has recorded many songs in both Pakistan and India, and is known for his vocal belting technique.
Aslam predominantly sings in Urdu, but has also sung in Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, and Pashto. In 2008, he received the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, the fourth-highest civilian honor award from the Pakistani government. He is also a recipient of several Lux Style Awards. Aslam made his acting debut in 2011, with the Urdu social drama film Bol. In 2019, he was awarded a star in the Dubai Walk of Fame after his nomination for the best singer in Pakistan. He was also featured in the Forbes Asia’s 100 Digital Stars, published in December 2020. He refers to his fans as “Aadeez”.
Atif Aslam was born on 12 March 1983, to a Punjabi family in Wazirabad, Pakistan. He went to Kimberley Hall School in Lahore until 1991, when he moved to Rawalpindi, and continued his studies at St. Paul’s Cambridge School in Satellite Town. In 1995, Aslam returned to Lahore, where he continued his studies at a Divisional Public School and College (DPSC) branch. He proceeded to attend Fazaia Inter College for his HSSC from 1999 to 2001, and later went to PICS to pursue a bachelor’s degree in computer science. In an interview, Aslam revealed that his ambition around this time was to become a singer.
Aslam was a former member of the group Jal. After separation from Jal, Aslam released his first album titled Jal Pari in 2004 which became an instant hit. Aslam’s second solo album Meri Kahani was nominated in 7th Lux Style Awards in the category “Best Album”. Album’s song “nominated in 2009 in “MTV Music Awards” in the category “Best Rock Song”.
In 2008, he recorded three versions of Pehli Nazar Mein and Bakhuda Tumhi Ho from Race and Kismat Konnection, respectively. Pehli Nazar Mein catapulted him to Bollywood mainstream success and also won him IIFA Award.
In the 2009 film Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, he sang “Tu Jaane Na” and “Tera Hone Laga Hoon” including remix versions of both songs which fetched him several nominations. In 2011, he sang a song from the film F.A.L.T.U, titled “Le Ja Tu Mujhe”. The same year, he sang two songs “Hona Tha Pyar” and “Kaho Aaj Bol Do” with Hadiqa Kiani for the film Pakistani film Bol in which he was cast as the lead role. In this year, he recorded two songs for the film Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya, “Tu Muhabbat Hai” and “Piya O Re Piya”. He recorded two songs “Bol Ke Lub Azaad Hain” and “Mori Araj Suno” for the Hollywood film The Reluctant Fundamentalist.
He also performed in Coke Studio’s Season Five titled “Charka Nolakha”, “Rabba Sacheya” and “Dholna”. Main Rang Sharbaton Ka was nominated at World Music Awards in 2014 for “Best Song”. “Main Rang Sharbaton Ka” fetched several awards and multiple nominations for him.[34] Zameen Jaagti Hai and Tu Khaas Hai were released in Pakistan. In 2014, he recorded 2 songs for the film Entertainment, “Tera Naam Doon” and “Nahi Woh Saamne”. Both songs were composed by Sachin-Jigar with lyrics written by Priya Panchal. He also sang QMobile Noir i10 advertising song “Dil Se Dil” and Etisalat advertising song “Faasle”.
He worked with Sachin-Jigar for the song Jeena Jeena for the film Badlapur, The song Jeena Jeena topped various charts and was one of the biggest hits of 2015, which also got him a nomination for the Filmfare award for best playback singer. That same year he also recorded Dil Kare for Ho Mann Jahaan.
Aslam’s rendition of “Tajdar-e-Haram” crossed 285 million views on YouTube in July 2020, originally released in 2015, it became the first video origin in Pakistan to achieve the landmark record. The Qawwali song, originally sung by Sabri Brothers, was released on 15 August 2015 in CokeStudio Season 8 and has been viewed in 186 countries across the world. Also, it is Aslam’s first individual video on YouTube to make the record.Aslam worked with musician Arko Pravo for the chartbuster song Tere Sang Yaara from Rustom which topped “Bollywood Life” chart, got nominated for “Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer”. Atif worked with Mithoon on four versions of the song “Mar Jaayen” from Loveshhuda in 2016, penned by Sayeed Qaudri.
“Dil Dancer” from the movie Actor in Law released, which earned him LUX Award for best playback singer. He sang “Yaariyaan” song with Ali Zafar, composed by Sahir Ali Bagga which released on 2016 Defence Day. He collaborated with Maher Zain for the song “I’m Alive” and sang “Jal Pari” for the advertisement of Huawei Honor 5X.
At the start of the year, “Hoor” song from Hindi Medium released. After which, Romantic song “Baarish” from Half Girlfriend composed by Tanishk Bagchi and the ballad song “Musafir” from Sweetie Weds NRI were released. Romantic song “Darasal” composed by JAM8 released the same year. Two Ballad songs “Main Agar” from Tubelight and “Jaane De” from Qarib Qarib Singlle, respectively, were out, composed by Pritam and Vishal Mishra respectively. In December 2017, “Dil Diyan Gallan” from Tiger Zinda Hai released, composed by Vishal–Shekhar and lyrics by Irshad Kamil. The song has garnered over 670M views on YouTube as of January 2021. His first Bengali song “Mithe Alo” from Cockpit film was also released.