Amir Jamal
Burning In The Belly: Amir Jamal
You’re a CPA. You’ve landed a great job as a manager with Ernst & Young. Married, with two children, but walking around with a feeling inside that something is missing. It is a, “burning in the belly,” so to speak, because you know that life has more to offer, that you have more to share with the many people who walk on different paths of the constantly shrinking world that we live and die in. What to do? How do you translate that fire? Ask Amir Jamal…He did it!
Amir Jamal, a Pakistani-born accountant working in Saudi Arabia, did it! He, at this point, has burned his voice into millions of minds across the globe. And if you haven’t already, you need only listen to Kaho Na Kaho a few times, if not just once (and preferably with a lover) to have it forever imprinted in your heart.
Now, here is what is really interesting: If you meet Amir Jamal, you can see and feel his mathematics. If you speak with him, you can immediately feel his sequential thought and in fact, you can better understand it when he speaks. Listen to the song, though, and you feel and remember the love & passion of a new partner. Clearly, this is a man who understands the relationship between math & music, and has merged the two. This formula has brought him to a new place in his life. Amir’s fame is growing and he is working on the fuel and strength of his expanding recognition. In October of 2004, Jamal was given the Critics Award for Best Male Playback Singer at the Sangeet Awards, and has been recognized in the US by winning 2 Bollywood Awards, in consecutive years.
When he arrived for the interview, Amir was exhausted and tired from a day that had already included a television interview and business meetings involving efforts to develop a new company called See World, Inc. He, and his business partner, Asif Jamal came to the interview looking a bit weary, but ready to share their thoughts and dreams. Amir first met Asif, in his work on the Bollywood Awards, when Asif brought the singer to the awards. They’ve quickly developed a friendship and instantly started their work on a joint vision of bringing quality entertainment to a global audience. They have tirelessly worked to set up shop in Karachi and Mumbai and are now working on developing their New York base.
Many musicians from India or Pakistan are interesting, and seem more humble. Seriously, in America, if you make a hit single and won accolades and awards for it, you definitely become a celebrity and have your face plastered all over the newsstands and have to tiptoe around a life of groupies and partying. Clearly, you lose your anonymity and privacy. This is not the case for South Asian musicians. In fact, the viewer or listener will more probably associate the song to a movie or to the actor or actress who lip-syncs the song in a movie. Yet, while asking him about that, he did not seem to understand why I felt the question to be so important (and actually, I am now compelled toward his viewpoint). As someone who grew up here, I pretty much thought that these guys might be little more pissed off. But Amir, in his precise and mathematical way, explained that this was something that all artists are prepared for and accept, without thought. He is more proud of knowing that it is his voice and soul behind the acting. We can only hope that this is a lasting quality of Amir Jamal, and one that he is able to maintain as his fame grows. Plans for a concert tour along with the release of his 2nd album, are being finalized for September or October and will include a release party with live broadcast on one of the major South Asian cable channels.
No matter what the outcome of the awards, a new album, a tour or various release parties, I am sure that Jamal will never forget what it was that got him to where he is. As much as he is working on new endeavors and various projects, it was only when I asked who his favorite guitarist was that Amir Jamal’s face lit up. I suppose that is all you really need to ask him to kindle the fire in his belly.
Find out more about Amir Jamal from www.aamirjamal.com
Listen to Amir Jamal on www.raaga.com
You’re a CPA. You’ve landed a great job as a manager with Ernst & Young. Married, with two children, but walking around with a feeling inside that something is missing. It is a, “burning in the belly,” so to speak, because you know that life has more to offer, that you have more to share with the many people who walk on different paths of the constantly shrinking world that we live and die in. What to do? How do you translate that fire? Ask Amir Jamal…He did it!
Amir Jamal, a Pakistani-born accountant working in Saudi Arabia, did it! He, at this point, has burned his voice into millions of minds across the globe. And if you haven’t already, you need only listen to Kaho Na Kaho a few times, if not just once (and preferably with a lover) to have it forever imprinted in your heart.
Now, here is what is really interesting: If you meet Amir Jamal, you can see and feel his mathematics. If you speak with him, you can immediately feel his sequential thought and in fact, you can better understand it when he speaks. Listen to the song, though, and you feel and remember the love & passion of a new partner. Clearly, this is a man who understands the relationship between math & music, and has merged the two. This formula has brought him to a new place in his life. Amir’s fame is growing and he is working on the fuel and strength of his expanding recognition. In October of 2004, Jamal was given the Critics Award for Best Male Playback Singer at the Sangeet Awards, and has been recognized in the US by winning 2 Bollywood Awards, in consecutive years.
When he arrived for the interview, Amir was exhausted and tired from a day that had already included a television interview and business meetings involving efforts to develop a new company called See World, Inc. He, and his business partner, Asif Jamal came to the interview looking a bit weary, but ready to share their thoughts and dreams. Amir first met Asif, in his work on the Bollywood Awards, when Asif brought the singer to the awards. They’ve quickly developed a friendship and instantly started their work on a joint vision of bringing quality entertainment to a global audience. They have tirelessly worked to set up shop in Karachi and Mumbai and are now working on developing their New York base.
Many musicians from India or Pakistan are interesting, and seem more humble. Seriously, in America, if you make a hit single and won accolades and awards for it, you definitely become a celebrity and have your face plastered all over the newsstands and have to tiptoe around a life of groupies and partying. Clearly, you lose your anonymity and privacy. This is not the case for South Asian musicians. In fact, the viewer or listener will more probably associate the song to a movie or to the actor or actress who lip-syncs the song in a movie. Yet, while asking him about that, he did not seem to understand why I felt the question to be so important (and actually, I am now compelled toward his viewpoint). As someone who grew up here, I pretty much thought that these guys might be little more pissed off. But Amir, in his precise and mathematical way, explained that this was something that all artists are prepared for and accept, without thought. He is more proud of knowing that it is his voice and soul behind the acting. We can only hope that this is a lasting quality of Amir Jamal, and one that he is able to maintain as his fame grows. Plans for a concert tour along with the release of his 2nd album, are being finalized for September or October and will include a release party with live broadcast on one of the major South Asian cable channels.
No matter what the outcome of the awards, a new album, a tour or various release parties, I am sure that Jamal will never forget what it was that got him to where he is. As much as he is working on new endeavors and various projects, it was only when I asked who his favorite guitarist was that Amir Jamal’s face lit up. I suppose that is all you really need to ask him to kindle the fire in his belly.
Find out more about Amir Jamal from www.aamirjamal.com
Listen to Amir Jamal on www.raaga.com
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