In what was a candid conversation right after his Ramazan show, singer-turned-entrepreneur-turnedtelevangelist Junaid Jamshed spoke to Instep about his entrepreneurial dreams, Ramazan show formats and his moment of enlightenment. It was an easy interview to prepare for given the wealth of information available on Junaid Jamshed’ s transformative journey online and the number of controversies he made headlines for over the past couple of years. Adding to the advantage was the fact that it was the month of Ramazan that lent a perfect opportunity to question the absurdity and irony of over-commercialized religious transmissions from the man right at the forefront of it all. But it wasn’ t quite a walk in the park when it came to conducting the interview. He has quickly become a celebrated cleric amassing a considerable fan following and as tempting as it was to delve straight into a heated debate, recent turn of events were enough of a warning on what can happen if a woman tries to challenge a cleric’ s stance( case in point: Marvi Sirmed). Junaid Jamshed now is vastly different from the Junaid Jamshed of the’ 90s. His sparkling electric guitar has been replaced with a tasbeeh and his ripped jeans with a Muslim skull cap. But despite the difference, he has remained a constant source of news – at times because of his entrepreneurial or charitable efforts but often because of his televangelism. And while some admire him for his righteousness, others aren’ t too pleased with his chauvinistic statements. Those also contribute to the reason why he is the most preferred subject for satire in print media. Naturally then he is also not the most loved by women apart from during lawn season. A fellow journalist is particularly vocal about disliking him ever since he said that people suffering from depression are merely away from God. Surprisingly enough, certain religious groups aren’ t fond of him either as was seen when he was attacked by a charged mob at the Islamabad airport. That said, those, who have taken his Hajj service, just cannot stop praising him for the facilities and comfort it provides None of the above, however, infl uenced me before the interview. All that I was concerned with was whether I am supposed to cover my head before meeting him; how far am I supposed to sit from him while asking questions and what if the interview turns into an unexpected dars – will that fi t the bill for the cultural section that I work for? It seemed to require a fair bit of pre-planning and strategy from my end but much to my surprise, the 53 minutes went by as normally as they could with some interesting insights and more than a handful of religious
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CHIT CHAT
In conversation with Junaid Jamshed
anecdotes that did steer the interview towards becoming more or less a‘ bayaan’. But well, any knowledge is good knowledge. Straight out of his live Ramazan transmission, dressed in a charcoal gray kameez and shalwar, tucked right above the ankle as it should be, and a white Muslim skull cap with a renewed freshness on his face post iftari, Jamshed looked every bit the televangelist he plays for the full 30 days of the Holy month. And even though it’ s a role his fans adore, being a religious anchor isn’ t quite the career fi eld he connects with the most. Entrepreneur is what he prefers to be known as, fi rst and foremost.“ I never imagined that I’ ll become what I am right now in life,” Jamshed began by saying.“ I was a studious boy all throughout school and college and I never wanted to be a musician but ended up being one. When I fi nally decided to let go of music to pursue a clothing business, I was very serious about it and I still am very serious about it. I am not my blowing my own trumpet but I always wanted to launch a Pakistani brand that excels in everything and that would do well all over the world. So I discussed the idea with my friend, Sohail, who was an exporter and doing quite well in his business. I pushed him to shut down all of that even though he was making millions out of it and got him to think the way I was thinking. Life isn’ t all about making money. You’ ll fi nd a gazillion people in this country who are making big money but how many those can say that the glasses that Sharon Stone is wearing are from their company? I remember when somebody asked me why opened a clothing store on the fi rst day of that launch, that’ s exactly what I told him that one day I want Sharon Stone to wear my brand’ s glasses( she’ s my favourite actress). The aim was never to stick to Pakistan, I always wanted to take the brand all over the world and that’ s where I’ d like to place myself as a professional.”“ Branching out to different avenues just happened by chance,” he added, while speaking on juggling multiple roles including that of a televangelist.“ Jerjees convinced me to do the Ramazan transmission even though I told him that I won’ t be able to pull it off because I may make mistakes but he had faith in me and said that‘ it’ s alright you’ ll learn’. First year was very diffi cult to be honest but I am thankful to my colleagues for giving me the encouragement to continue.” One would like to believe Jamshed has a sound knowledge of religion. It’ s also quite apparent from his show where he is either seen quizzing audience on Islamic history or giving a lecture. He has also made a conscious effort of bidding adieu to his musical background,