I would not expect the original creator to be amused or flattered. Imagine a music director or a writer spending hours and hours of their time on creating something original and someone casually takes it, rephrases or re-tunes it a bit and releases it under his own name. However, I am not sure if plagiarism (an obvious kind of “imitation”) is the best form of flattery. Everyone will have a laugh at your expense but you might still be able to enjoy it too. Imagine a comedian friend in your group, making fun of the way you walk or the way you talk or some of your special behaviour. But we've cherished both 'DDP' and 'JeJ' for the fond memories of '80s-'90s cricket that they evoke, so we feel the comparison is unnecessary.They say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, which is partly true. Jazba-e-Junoon went on to become the second of the two most timeless cricket anthems from Pakistan, but did its popularity eclipse the first?Īhmed didn't provide any context for his statement we don't know whether he meant 'bigger' in terms of sales or audience reach. And 'JeJ' has been a tough act to follow, for we can't remember another anthem gaining the same kind of iconic status. Which is great – we owe many memories of our childhoods and adolescence to his vision.īut then he went on to utter the words: 'It took a long time, but in 1996, I wrote a theme song for cricket, and 'Jazba Junoon' became bigger than 'Dil Dil Pakistan '.'įor what it's worth, there couldn't have been a 'JeJ' without a 'DDP' with its patriotic vibe, which lent legitimacy to the previously banned rock outfits, deemed too close to Western culture to be alllowed on the local airwaves. So creative differences caused him to split from Rohail Hyatt & co and form a new band, the first of its kind - Junoon, with its unique Sufi rock veins. It may have never occurred to fans of Pakistani pop and rock music to play favourites with the two definitive anthems of the '80s-'90s era, but Junoon founder Salman Ahmed teased the debate in a near-sacrilegious statement to the BBC: '.' Jazba Junoon' became bigger than ' Dil Dil Pakistan'.'ĭil Dil Pakistan not only made for an iconic anthem, but also paved the way for other rock outfits to play on the Pakistani airwavesĪhmed was talking to RJ Noreen Khan for a radio documentary Pakistan Rocks!, which interviewed him, Rohail Hyatt (Vital Signs/Coke Studio), Asad Ahmed (Karavan) and Gohar Mumtaz (Jal) in the attempt to explore the arrival and evolution of guitar-driven music in Pakistan.Īmong other things in the interview, Salman Ahmed explains his departure from Vital Signs, which he believed 'didn't want to push the envelope in terms of music'.

Could you choose between 'Dil Dil Pakistan' and 'Jazba-e-Junoon'?

Dil dil pakistan