Bilal Khan – Bachana (Instep Review)
A soulful ballad that has over a staggering 30,000 YouTube hits so far, and has also been making rounds on the airwaves, ‘Bachana’ has all the makings of a hit song for an Indian film. One can never quite figure out whether the chorus is ‘doob raha’ or ‘dhoond raha’ or ‘toot raha’, or a variation on every effusive emotion between this spectrum. It’s a song that is catchy, pulls at your heartstrings and nestles its way into your mind. Everyone loves a sappy love song and although ‘Bachana’ isn’t necessarily sappy it’s a wonderfully romantic ballad. A strong combination of guileful, moaning guitars back the throaty rendition from young singer, song writer and musician, Bilal Khan. Bilal has been making music for the past seven years but has just been brought to light (literally) via YouTube.
“I think the Internet is such a wonderful thing,” enthuses Bilal. “I don’t think you need to rely on TV as much as you had to in the past. More people are busy on their Facebook or are watching stuff on YouTube. There’s never been a better time in history to share your music so easily.”
Technology certainly has propelled the music industry forward creating opportunities for fresh talent to exhibit their work in the absence of any formal structure and rampant red tape in the entertainment industry. It’s always difficult to get that crucial first break all upcoming talent will muse; but Bilal took a more pragmatic and optimistic approach and dived full on in the most obvious way he could.
“I made a video of my own and mailed it out on DV format to a few channels on their address, thinking: that’s probably how you get your video on air, but I don’t think that’s how it works in Pakistan,” says Bilal, “so I have no clue about the TV side of things.” However, where video let the popstar hopeful down, radio took him on. “Radio stations have been playing my song a lot,” Bilal says, “for which I am particularly grateful to FM 89 and FM 91.”
The ‘Bachana’ video a fantastic effort for a young boy who has done it all by himself. He shot the video by propping a camera up on a bookshelf and leaning against a wall to lend the video a musician’s attitude (Aamir Zaki style) and then pieced it together with images that correspond to the song. It’s a laudable effort and heartening to see a young musician make a mark through the most basic tools at his disposal, relying only on his music and talent to make it big.
– Hani Taha Salim
Source: Instep Today
