Faces to watch out for in 2005

Faces to watch out for in 2005

Every year, we're told that real music is in deep crisis, fashion gurus are ripping off designs from foreign runways, cinema and television are mediums to show off the glamorous side of our culture that doesn't exist and that theatre is dying. But during the compilation of this article, Images invariably found that there are more great people and things happening than we can shoehorn into our list. The beginning of 2005 seems like the perfect point in the calendar to take a status check.

Eclectic, over-the-top, and essential - the list of names and faces to watch out for embody all three of these admirable values. The rules for inclusion are simple: each person who makes it to this list is a name to reckon with in 2005 and sets a standard for others to follow

Ali Azmat

The reason for the delay of the album release was blamed on the extensive tours with Junoon that take up much time. The musicians who have been pulled in to play on one of the most exciting releases of the year 2005 are musical giants like Ziyyad Gulzar, ex-band mate Brian 'O Connell and Rohail Hyatt. As far as the lyrics are concerned, there are certain tracks in which the lyrics have been done entirely by Ali Azmat himself, but on other songs he has collaborated with the master himself - Sabir Zafar.

The album that has been titled Social Circus will have a total of 11 songs and according to Ali the record will be sponsored and that is also another reason for the delay in the release date. The album doesn't contain live drums and that's due to the lack of good studios and therefore Ali might fly down to Mekaal's Studio to get the final treatment completed. The video of his song Deewana has been shot by Jami and will be released anytime from now and other directors that he plans to work with in the coming year most probably will be Saquib Malik and Asad-ul-Haq.

According to the bald one: "In the year 2005 I'm looking forward to Noori's album as well as Fuzon's sophomore effort. I guess all the musicians now have their own market and therefore they all sell so I can't really name one person who will make it big in 2005. Having made in this list myself I guess there's a lot of responsibility on my part. I feel that if your work is good it will speak for itself."

Naqsh

The group who will be coming out with an album in 2005 exudes and conveys a genuineness which is sorely lacking out there. They hit a home run in my game of best-music-yet-to-be-released by their meaningful lyrics that are delivered with raw emotion every time.

Noori

Talking to Ali Noor the front man, we are told that the sound of the follow-up album due for release in 2005 will be heavier and guitar-oriented, and compared to the debut effort it is a slightly darker record.

The album's release scheduled after Moharram is being recorded in Lahore. The album has been titled Peeli Patti Aur Raja Jani Ki Gol Duniya! The record will include the tracks that were released illegally on the Internet such as Ooncha, Khalla and Sari Raat Jaga. The lyrics have all been penned by Ali Noor and Ali Hamza and are very introspective by nature.

The band worked on the demos in Abbotabad and soon after bassist Ali Jafri announced his departure from the band. The new bassist is Ali Hamza and according to Ali Noor the sound quality of the recording with Jafri aren't up to the standard and they might have to redo all the tracks with Ali Hamza.

The album has a total of 10 songs that sound quite odd since there are usually 14 or 12 songs in a record. From the looks and the sounds, this might be a much more mature album than the debut record released by the band.

Umar Anwar

Umar Anwar is one up and coming director who has become a cult name in the handful of directors that are ruling the scene.

Music videos are sort of the stepchild of cinema, a subgenre that's generally considered a necessary evil of consumerism. But the best music videos have as much or more to offer as what's playing at the local multiplex. They're concentrated doses of cinema, little shot glasses full of intense and immensely satisfying performances if given the right treatment. This is the busy intersection of commercial production and avant-garde filmmaking, less a neighborhood where "real" and less privileged directors' slum and more a place where committed visionaries can experiment lesser budget, interesting ideas, and complicated editing rhythms.

In 2005, he is one name to look up to as there are big string projects in the making. Ace-director Jami has been heard talking highly of this young chap.

Ameer Zaib Khan

In a business teeming with heavenly bodies, his is said to be the best toned. Uncovered, it leaves women feeling weak in the knees; covered, his laboriously etched features dazzle. Any model's initial smalltime work, where the face is rusty and the body language not proficient, is usually passable and never unforgettable. Ameer's, however, garnered him a Lux Style Award nomination for best male model. And then it helped him pass rigorous scrutiny, which led to the birth of the new him. Buff and beautiful, Ameer has already been sought by the likes of designer labels Amir Adnan and Exist to bring his distinctive oomph into their clothes. And this is only the beginning. He could possibly be the new male sex symbol.

Nooray

With Sadaf holding the fort at Karachi, little sister Nooray has broken through the throngs of aspiring Lahori lovelies to become the darling at Khawar Riaz's modelling agency, Ocular. Designers and labels are vying to dress her up in their clothes. Maria B, Rubina Calzoom, CrossRoads and Chen One are just some of the names that have made use of both Nooray's ravishing looks and her sparkling in-print chemistry with good friends, Abdullah and Harib. Nooray will definitely not be fading into history anytime soon.

Tooba

In fashion, there are two kinds of models: those that know the difference between superficial arrogance and blue-blooded aristocratism, and those that don't.

Usually, it's the upstarts who fumble with the former while trying to ape the veterans who naturally exude the latter. Tooba Siddiqui, however, is one relatively newcomer that has all the ingredients of the classics. From a crimson-pouted Hollywood glamour doll in a biscuit ad to a multicoloured tribal-goes-futuristic icon in a Nomi Ansari shoot to a fresh-faced young lass boogying in a Waqar Ali music video. Tooba, in the tradition of modelling greats such as Linda Evangelista and Iraj, has the ability to precisely channel the vision of anyone who works with her.

Quite a few already have and from the looks of things many more will in the future. The foundation of yet another classic has been laid.

Nadya Malik

Nadya Malik's is a face that's been around for a number of years. As part of Ather Shehzad's heaven-born coterie of glam queens, she was ensured a prize position in Pakistan's modelling hall of fame. However, like a truly gifted child, she kept a low profile, preferring to pour over textbooks rather than pout for the camera.

But she couldn't escape destiny for long after having flung her graduation cap. With her Sri Devi eyes and pixy frame Nadya is slowly and steadily coming to the fore, and her face will feature prominently in 2005.

Harib

We have male models with rugged good looks, those with pretty-boy or boy-next-door looks, Greek-god lookalikes, and male models that have bad boy looks. With features composed with the precision of an ace architect and lips slight parted, Harib could easily sweep any princess off her feet. It