'Indian playback brigade fears performing in Pakistan'

Varanasi, Aug 11 (UNI) Terming India the land with no pop or rock bands, upcoming singer from Pakistan Junaid Shaikh vying to conquer the stage of 'Zee Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007' show today said Indian playback singers are afraid of performing across the border.

Junaid, a resident of Pakistan's port city Karachi when asked about why Indian music bands/singers hardly performed in Pakistan said ''pehli baat to yeh ki India mein koi rock ya pop band hai nahi aur doosri baat yeh ki yahan ke playback singers shayad humare yahan perform karne se darte hai'' (firstly I think there is no rock/pop band in India, which only boasts of playback singers. Secondly the Indian playback singers are afraid of performing across the border.'' ''We want Indian playback singers to perform live in our land, but probably they fear performing across the border out of security concerns,'' he told newspersons at a press conference here today.

About the deluge of rock/pop bands in Pakistan, Junaid -- one of the nine singers left in the Zee TV show's 'Agnipariksha Round,' who are vying for the title of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007 -- further said ''Pakistan has a deluge of rock and pop bands, be it in colleges, schools or anywhere else. But in India there is hardly any pop or rock band as this country only boasts of playback singers.'' When told the names of Indian bands like Parikrama or Agni, Junaid said ''I have never heard these names on the music scene.'' Junaid was accompanied to this temple city by three other participants of the Agnipariskha round, including compatriot Musarrat Abbas and Amanat Ali (Dubai) and Poonam Jatau from Lucknow.

Later this evening, the four talented singers were set to rock the stage at the Varanasi Nagar Nigam Prekshagriha auditorium with their scintillating performances.

Also accompanying the budding singers to the city was Aditya Narayan, the Zee TV show anchor and son of playback singer Udit Narayan.

Maintaining that music was his first love, Aditya who has already sung for many films during childhood days and also acted in films like Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai and Pardes said ''I have been getting film offers, but right now I want to stick with the job of a TV anchor. May be in future I will act in films as well as do TV anchoring but music and singing will always be my first love.'' MORE UNI