Sharique Roomi, A young man with sparkling eyes possessing enthusiasm and lust for his passion (Music), is amongst those who have touched the pinnacle with their very first endeavor.

He gave a new trend to Ghazals with his "Awargi" (originally sung by Munni Begum) when he was studying in Matric class. It was such a big hit that every person of the nation was found singing this Ghazal in his tune.

Later, he experienced some hip-hop, jazzy and romantic numbers and was again rewarded with appreciations and acknowledgements around the world. He is very much optimistic about the future of Music with the opening of new channels where new talent is being given the extensive chance of exposure.

He believes in performance along with heart touching songs. For the same reason, we can see his colorful eye-catching videos with melodious tunes on different channels. Recently we went to his "Home Sweet Home" for this interview session and enjoyed every moment of his amiable company.

What’s the meaning of your name?
Sharique means "The son of East"

Tell us about your family background
We are a bureaucrat family. My father is a General Manager at KESC, My grand father was Magistrate; he was one of the very first civil servant of Pakistan. We are from Badaun. I have only one sister, she is studying in second year. She is very close to me; I use to share everything with her and same as she.

From where did you get your inspirations?
From my father, He was very active in his college days. He had been involved in college dramas and radio programs. He was a brilliant debater and a good singer too. Best of all he is a great father.

He has an honor of achieving the most trophies in debates in the history of Govt. Commerce College. My grand father used to play harmonium in Aligarh University.

He just told me two years back. He is famous as "Hitler" in the dynasty (laughingly).
One day when I was playing guitar in my room he came in and said, "This is a difficult instrument to play".

Then he told me that he used to play harmonium and also sing Ghazals in his younger times. This is how I came to know that there is also someone in music scene from my family besides me. But he only did it as an amateur.

When did you realize that you could sing?
Actually, I came into showbiz when I was almost three year old. My parents supported me a lot in this regard. I didn’t start singing first; I used to tell jokes on stage.

My first performance was with Moin Akhter. I did lots of children dramas that time. During my school days I used to arrange all the school competitions and functions, I was an active student of the school.

There is a National Arts Centre, I used to go there and always won first prize. When I was in Matric, my mother suggested me to make the video of the Ghazal "Awargi". My mother financed the song to appreciate my interest. So I did it and it was welcomed warmly amongst all.

What was the reaction of the people when you made your first appearance in media?
Oh! It was a boom. It was the time when I had just gotten the admission in Govt. Commerce College. I am among those lucky singers whom very first song got hit.

"Awargi" was the most selling Album in 1997. A recording label asked me to give the rights of "Awargi", they wanted to run and promote it, so i thought what would I do to keep it at home, so I gave it to them.

They released it and it was such a magnum opus that they came to me and said that we have earned a lot from this release and now we want to make an album of yours.

But that was not on royalty, then we made the album and after that I went abroad for studies.
"Awargi" was a hit due to an unusual performance where you could see a young boy jumping and singing around.

All my colleagues especially Sajjad Ali appreciated me. When I went to USA for a tour, the crowd was watching my performance for the first time but they had heard my song. Wow! What an overwhelming response that was!

These things are now become a package. If you don’t make good videos and don’t perform well in it, you can’t satisfy the viewers because the song is not just for listening now, it must be a treat to watch as well.

What difficulties did you face achieving your lust of music?
I didn’t face any problem as such. But as my family background is very educated and religious, I faced little conflicts from that side. My grandmother forbade me many a time but they have realized my talent and every thing is settled down now.

Munni Begum originally sang Awargi. Did you get permission from her? If not what was her reaction?
No, I didn’t get the permission though. She is a very amiable person; she appreciated me & even offered me to sing more of her Ghazals. I came to know an interesting situation during her USA tour. She was singing the same song in a function. A girl came to her and said that you have wrongly sung this song. This is Shariq Roomi’s song. (Laughingly!)

What points do you keep in mind while making your videos?
I don’t interfere with my director while shooting but before starting I take every thing in my knowledge. Azfar Ali is my director and we are working together on videos these days. He knows what I want.

We are working on a song "Sub Darwazay". Its a sad song and very close to my heart and also close to Azfar as well. Azfar say that I am a good planner. I am going to do my third album. It will take a year or so, four videos of my latest album are also in the pipeline.

Does any singer inspire you?
There is no such inspiration but likeliness. I like Sajjad Ali a lot. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Shankar Mahadevan, Sonu Nigam, A.R.Rehman, George Michael, U2, Sting, Christina Aguilera etc are on my favorites list. I mostly listen to old Indian collections of R.D Burman, I have a huge collection of R.D. Burman, which I claim no body can have.

Do you do practice for the music?
I do practice i have a little jaming setup in my room i play guitars and keyboards; it also helps me in my compositions.

What was the happiest moment of your life?
There are lots of happy moments, few years back when i was shopping in city center (Dubai), an Indian family came and told me that they like me and my music too much, it was the first time when someone recognized me abroad.

Do you face any difficulty with your fans? Especially when they recognize you on road?
If some one says that I face problem, is a liar. One comes into this glittering world of glamour for fame so how can they avoid it. Personally I don’t face any problems as such.

It was a good time for us when indian channels got banned, because only then we had a chance of proving our selves to our audience, and i think our industry really proved it. That’s why channels like IM, ARY, Geo, etc. are competing good enough with established channels like Star, Sony, etc.

What is the ratio of luck and hard work in your case?
Mostly it depends on the luck, because in many cases lots of people try hard enough but they don’t get a chance to prove their talent; you have to work hard after getting your break.

What was the saddest moment of your life?
The time when I lost my girl friend in Feb 13, 1999. (ie just a day before the Valentines)

What do you like in meals?
I eat what ever I get. Although I don’t eat meat but if something is cooked well, I eat.

How much time do you give to your family?
Not much, when they have time I don’t have and when I have they don’t have. In 1999, I took all of them to all Pakistan tour and we enjoyed there a lot.

Favorite dressings?
Anything casual, I love wearing jeans, T-shirts, I don’t like wearing colorful trousers, tight shirts and stuff like that.

If you are made the President of Pakistan. What initial steps will you take?
If I am made the President of the country, half of the population will be vanished (Laughingly). There are lots of irresponsible people in our country who don’t follow the rules. When I see this sort of people I get angry and wish to punish them on the spot. In this way I am very much fuming.

It is said that there is a woman behind one’s success. Who is in your case?
Offcourse my mother! She has always been a big support for me and has provided me all the finances for my first video "Awargi". She was very enthusiastic about it. She keeps all the newspapers, interviews or anything regarding me with her.

Are you into spending lots of money?
Yea too much,

Any interesting event.
Once I was having dinner with my friends in a hotel then a guy came to me and said, " Sharique Bhai, please do me a favor". I said sure ask me. He said, "I am with my girl friend and want to impress her.

When I will come with my girl friend to that table, please wave the hand to me". I said ok. So when I saw him passing by with his girlfriend, I called his name and waved. Guess what he said in a reply, he said, " I am busy right now and will see you later". (hahahah).

Thanx Sharique, it was really a nice meeting with you. We enjoyed a lot talking to you.