Huma Khawaja, whom we once knew as the leading vocalist of symphony, the first ever girl band in Pakistan, has just made a great comeback with her slow new solo venture.

While she has made her presence felt with her hit single ‘Dil Ki Laggi’ as well as her upbeat Punjabi track ‘Pyar Sajan Daa’, her debut album has only just hit the market. Maheen Mustafa caught up with her recently and chatted about her symphony days as well as her ongoing solo venture.

Tell us about Symphony how was it formed and how did people react to your music?
When I was in college back in 1992, my friends, especially Samra Roza Mir thought that I could sing really well. She persuaded be to do so and told me that she would write the lyrics for it. At that time,

Atif Ali had a blaze in advertising and he was also doing top of the pops. He gave me his word that he would help me out in sequencing and stuff that was required in the album and Adila agreed to do the harmonies.

That was when Symphony came into k?eing. We released our debut album and shot some videos. Our singles were an instant hit. We were the first ones to introduce Aijazz Aslam as a model, now he's a big name these days.

We had four videos to our credit, one shot by Marina Khan and the others by Shahid Zar. We got great feedback and one of our singles was the video of the week (in Music Channel Charts) for six straight weeks!
 
Did Symphony, being a girl band, face any difficulties as you came at a time when our society was quite conservative?
You can't even imagine the hardships that we endured. Rude and sarcastic comments were thrown at us by the Press. They called us 'the Pakistani Madonnas', which really disturbed our families...

my brother got paranoid. Samra was married and Adila was engaged at that time, and they really had to face family pressures. We could not perform in concerts, we couldn't go in public places without feeling insecure.

Some people got very infuriated by our videos. They could not accept us wearing jeans and shirts in the videos. So, we were stuck in a dilemma we didn't know if we should stay or leave.

On top of that,the political situation in Pakistan at the time also did not help. It was then that we decided to simply pack up and leave. I moved to Dubai, Adila went to the UK. We got really scared with the way we were treated by the press and the government, and our fans had to suffer in the process. .

Where have you been since symphony broke up and what made you come back into the music scene after such a long time?
Well, I was in Dubai, working for an airline. I’ve been working there for many years now. I did realize that Pakistan ha's changed quite significantly since I left. Several new local channels have come up, they have helped our society to widen a bit.

Now there are many female artists in this field like Hadiqa Kiyani and Fariha Pervez and many new girls are coming up, so these facts convinced me to come back and sing.

It was then that I approached Imran Ali to help me out in my solo album. I got a lot of support here. Marina Khan was great help and Aamir Zaki assisted me quite a bit.

It was because of him that 'Dil ki Laggi' came into being. Nine years ago, I was hidden in a nutshell. With all the support that I got from people in Pakistan, my cousin Nadeem J. in particular, I was taken out of this shell.

If you ever got the chance, would you form a band again?
I would love to relive Symphony, but the problem is that Samra and Adila were never singers. Being a lyricist, Samra thought that her showing up as a band member in concerts would be quite silly.

Both of them are happily married and quite busy. However, if other girls who think they have got talent approach me, then I would love to form a band. I really want to do something for the girls in Pakistan.

Where do you think you stand now when compared to other female artists in this field, say Hadiqa Kiyani and Fareeha Pervez?
I don't think that you can ever compare, as all of us have our own unique styles. Hadiqa has a very sweet and mellifluous voice, she sings in a very melodious way.

I, however, am more towards the hip hop side, more like the Jennifer Lopez type, fast and upbeat. It's just that all of us are worlds apart and you simply cannot compare. Besides, I have just re entered this field. It

Would be very premature to make a judgment about it right now.

What type of audience does your music cater to?
The funny thing is that most of my fan mail is from kids ranging from ages 10 to 18! They simply love my music. My does target the younger crowd, after all its this new generation who represent the future of out country.

There has been a bit of confusion about your hit single ‘Dil Ki Laggi’ Some say that it was originally Nazia Hassan’s song and you have a cover of it, while others maintain that this is your own song. Can you clear this up?
I’m quite surprised that there is confusion about this. I have said this time and again that Nazia had originally sung this song. Biddu did its composition and zoheb wrote it.

At the time that it was released, it wasn’t a hit among the masses which is quite shocking as it was a beautiful song. Anyway, I thought that Nazia was never given a proper tribute nor the credit that she rightfully deserved.

She was a brilliant singer and helped us establish the pop industry. I sang this song in tribute to Nazia Hassan, but it was my own version of the song. Aamir Zaki did its music, using six rhythm guitar, which is very rare today. He

played it in his own way and I sang it my way. I’m glad that people liked it.

Now that you are back, are you planning to stay in this field for good?
It depends on the feedback I get. If the people of Pakistan, keep loving me like the way they have so far, then I’d love to stick around. You never know, they might just pull me back from Dubai!

Tell us about your upcoming projects.
Well, I’m currently working on the video of my title tack ‘Laaj’, which is arranged by Imran Ali. My fans really pushed me to make a video of it. I won’t tell you so much about the video as it’s a surprise but it’s a real shocker.

We have choreographed it ourselves and the eagle star group is performing the dance in it. These are the same guys who performed in Mishi Khan’s ‘Mahiya’. It has been done like the way I am – hyper and carefree it has a lot of dancing, I hope you guys like it.

I heard you say somewhere single wants to mingle. Do you have plans to get married any time soon? If yes, then would you continue singing once you’re married?
Maybe in 2004, you never know! Options are still open. I would marry a person who understand me and my passion for music. My ideal couple is that of Marina Khan and Jaleel Akhter. I hope my Hubby is like him!

Do you see any changes in Pakistan since your Symphony days?
I am stunned to see the contrast of what Pakistan was at the time when symphony was tremendous increase in the number of girls entering this field, and people are accepting this change readily it. Its very heartening to see this. I would love to settle back here, once I get a chance to do so.

In the end, Do you have a message that you would want to give all those girls that want to come into this field?
I would love to see new talent emerging, especially girls. Our industry is desperately in need of more female artist. I want to give all those young talented girls a message things have certainly changed for the better as far as pop music is concerned.

Now, it’s much easier to enter this field as all these new channels have cropped up. If they think that they have the potential to sing well, then they should simple.

Make a rough demo and send it in. I do admit that there is no proper infrastructure, they would not know who to approach or contact. Its all very complicated but certainly worth the effort.