Junoon, Ali Haider, Hadique and now, Komal --- an avalanche of music artistes from Pakistan seems to have hit India. Komal of Baujee fame (the foot-tapping number which is already making waves on music channels) --- has spent a few transitory years in Pakistan but is not really a Pakistani. In fact, her father is from Lucknow and her mother belongs to Agra. ``I got my first real exposure to the music and entertainment world in Pakistan. It was also where my first music album Parbat was released,''explains Komal.

Komal,is truly a citizen of the world --- she was born in Dubai and brought up and educated in England and Nigeria. And her style of singing and music,which is a mixture of rap and bhangra, reflects her multi-cultural upbringing. Her latest album titled Komal, a compilation of nine Hindi and Punjabi songs, was released at the beginning of this month and is a rehashed version of Parbat. There is an absurd paradox between `Komal' the album and `Komal' the artiste. While the latter comes across as a talented personality, the album does not bear her out.

The 21-year-old artiste is talented, ambitious and has what it takes to go places. Her voice is versatile and well-modulated with a fresh, lilting sound to it. She also has an attitude. She writes most of her lyrics and even composes the tunes for her numbers. "I like artistes like Alanis Morisette, Celine Dion, Natalie Imbruglia, Bryan Adam, Prodigy and the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. These people put so much of themselves into their music. I was in London when I first heard I am the fire starter by Prodigy, in a discotheque. It just stood out from the clutter of run of the mill stuff like Where do you go? by No Mercy and the likes. Don't expect me to appreciate Spice Girls, they are like zombies and perform the way they are told to. They are popular only because of good packaging,'' she says. 
But sadly, her strong views are not reflected in her album Komal, which is very ordinary. There is nothing original about her album. It is just the kind of album which will be around for a few weeks and then disappear from the music scene. A feeling of `deja vu' swamps you when you listen to Komal, the album. You have probably heard this brand of music and style many a times before. Except for the first two numbers --- Baujee and Ladki Hai Kamal Ki, there is nothing in the album which would make you want to go back and play it again and again. But Komal, the artiste, definitely has a promising future --- all she needs is the right push in the right direction. She is already creating waves as the hostess for BPL Oye on Channel V and has won many awards for acting in Pakistani serials. ``But acting and VJing are just hobbies. Music is my career,'' she states firmly.

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Junaid Jamshed