Atif Aslam in no hurry to join Bollywood

Performing at a wedding in Udaipur, playing a gig in Gurgaon – Atif Aslam has been a busy man in India recently. Before he flew back to Pakistan, the singer spoke to TNN about visiting India after a long time, the steady inflow of talent from across the borders into India, and enjoying fatherhood.

‘I took a break to be with family’:

We asked him the reason behind not visiting India for a long time, and he replied, “Well frankly, I wanted to take a break and spend some time with my family. I have spent some beautiful moments of my life in the past two years. Firstly, I decided to get married and settle down. Secondly, I have been blessed with a son who is now eight months old and have been enjoying playing the role of a father. I have been enjoying each and every moment with my son, from changing his diapers and giving him a bath to taking him out for evening walks.”

‘Fatherhood has changed me totally’

So, has becoming a father changed him as a person? “Yes, it has changed me totally. I’m happy that I’m getting some time to spend with my kid and wife and other family members. My family never treats me like a celeb. I like to be a normal person at home. I find a lot of change in me after marriage, and more than that I think my life has changed a lot after my son was born.”

‘I hate being treated like a VIP’

After performing at a wedding in Udaipur recently, Atif decided to drive down from Udaipur to Delhi via Ajmer. In between, he also made a short visit to the Dargah Sharif in Ajmer. “This was my first visit to the dargah. It was indeed a marvellous experience. I had reached early in the morning around 6am, thankfully it wasn’t too crowded. I offered my namaz and chaddar. I’d heard a lot about the qawwali at the Ajmer dargah and was lucky to hear them. My friends had asked me if I needed any security to visit the dargah, but I just said no. I wanted to experience visiting the dargah as an ordinary person and not as a celeb or VIP. I had, heard a lot about Ajmer Sharif and so I was determined to travel by road from Udaipur to Delhi just to make a short halt at Ajmer and offer my prayers at the dargah.”

‘Social media has played a vital role in getting more Pakistani artistes to perform in India’

Talking about the increasing demand of various Pakistani artistes performing in India on a regular basis, Atif said, “Of late, I have been noticing that there has been a great demand for Pakistani singers in India. I think the major reason is that social media is playing a vital role in getting Pakistani artistes to perform in India. The artistes have become very active on social media and it has become easier for the promoters to interact with them and call them for shows in India.”

Recalling his days of struggle, Atif added, “But you can’t become legends like that. Woh aakhri darwaza tha entry ka jab hum aaye thay, ab koi nahi hai… We have gone through days of struggle to reach the stage where we are today. Aaj ke artistes toh shortcut use karte hain… I sometimes feel sorry for them. Ab woh quality nahi rahi, sirf quantity reh gayi hai.”

‘I’m in no hurry to join Bollywood’:

Any plans to act in Bollywood? “As of now, no. I’m in no hurry. I have just completed a song for a new Pakistani movie,” Atif added. About his next trip to India and Atif said, “This was a short but hectic visit, but surely I would love to visit again soon. There is a show lined up in Kolkata for the New Year’s Eve, so hopefully I should be in India around that time.”