He's hot, sings like a dream and is one of very few Pakistani singers who have made it big not only in Pakistan but abroad as well. Add to this, his boyish good looks and his immense talent as a singer, we are talking about none other than Shahzad Roy, the pop sensation. We recently caught up with him in Karachi at the office of Zindagi Trust, which is Shahzad's latest project and talked to him about his music, personal life and Zindagi.

How it all began?
Shahzad did his early schooling from USA and then moved to Pakistan with his family and did his Bachelors in Commerce from Karachi. As far as music is concerned, Shehzad used to play guitar right from his childhood and from thereon he started singing.

"My first album was released in 1995, second in 1997, third in 1999 and now after a gap of three years my album, Rab Jaane has been released. My album includes a song that I have done with Sukhbir to de-escalate the situation between Pakistan and India." explains Shehzad.

Target audience?
It's been said about Shahzad's music that it is mostly for teenagers but he thinks that his songs are appreciated by people of all ages.

"I think mostly youngsters like my music but then I have received compliments from people of all ages so I don't know who likes it more. Children really liked Kalaam-e-Iqbal that I did. In fact the biggest complement I received was when a maulvi sahib came to me and said that his son has started saying La Ilaha IlAllah after watching my video."

How supportive has been your family?
"My family has been very supportive ever since I started playing guitar when I was very young. My father knew my passion for music and he got me a guitar. Moreover I was studying as well so it was not a problem for them that the studies were being affected."

Big female fan following?
"Its very surprising because whenever I am doing live concerts all I see in the crowd are boys. Yes, its true that I do get lots of phone calls from female fans but then that happens with everyone, I am not the only one who receives phone calls from girls. But I feel that majority of my fans are small children."

From what I hear you were appreciated for more than just your music. Stardust ran a story about your affair with Salman Khan’s ex-girlfriend Somi Ali sometimes ago?
That’s what happens when imagination is allowed to run amok. I did meet Somi in the States and we did strike up a friendship but that’s far that I went. There is a difference having a romantic liaison and forming a friendly alliance. Journalists more often than not take one as the other synonym. A revision of basic language usage is in order.

Are you denying that you dated Somi Ali and that she almost followed you back to Pakistan?
One denies false accusations. I’m laughing at the hilarity of this charge. Of course I didn’t date Somi Ali ever. And no, she didn’t follow me to anywhere. If my mom ever gets to read that she’s not going to be very happy. So, I’ll set the record straight for her benefit as well. Mom! These guys want to get me into trouble. I never NEVER dated Somi Ali in life.

There are people who saw you hang out intimately together?
There are people who claim to have seen Elvis hang around their backyards. How am I responsible for their hallucinations?

If not Somi, who else are you then dating presently?
No one. I hardly get time enough to catch up on my sleep debt let run alone with some girl on my tail.

Listen, you are tall, dark and all that goes with the height and the shade. Half of the nation’s girls swoon over you. So what’s your excuse for being so terribly brutish about the whole thing?
Yaar, I don’t have either the time or the talent for that sort of thing.

Who needs talent to fall in love?
But you do need the time don’t you?

So you’re not in love, have never been in love and refuse to fall in love ever?
That’s bad poetry. Besides you can’t predict the future for that sort of thing.

But if you are untrained how would you ever know that you’re in love?
Cupid shoots a pretty sharp bow from what I hear. So hopefully I’ll know. And anyway, I’ll ready be married to a girl I fall in love with.

One doesn’t always end up marrying the person one loves.
I don’t subscribe to that notion. Call me conventional or unexciting about matters of the heart but I do have the sense of honor in the regard.

If not loved have you ever hated someone?
No, Never.

Because no one’s ever crossed you that way so far?
Not really. It’s just that you just need to invest so much in hating person emotionally, that you end up suffering more your self than the one you hate. Not a very intelligent investment on any account.

Which of the two do you think is more powerful, Love or Hate?
Hate, since it’s a twice painful. You can’t hate if you haven’t loved and in hatred you end up nearing the brunt of both.

Is that inner enlightenment or have you been reading some good books?
A bit of both actually.

So, do you take time out or you just skim through on the run?
Depends, I am not a compulsive reader but if I get my hands on a book I like I do make it a point to read it through.

Which book are you currently reading?
A Brief History of Time’ by Stephen Hawking. I think it’s the best book I’ve ever read on any subject ever. I’ve never been good at understanding complex Physics and yet have been very interested in understanding how the universe works. This book makes wonderfully effortless reading since hawking has made every thing simple to understand.

Whose interview did you last read?
Anthony Hopkins’ in Vanity Fair if I remember correctly. I’d just picked up the magazine on my way from London and ended up reading the entire interview enroute.

What did you like best about the interview?
How it portrayed the essence of the man so well. Hopkin takes his work more as a passion than profession and the interviewer had done a good job of portraying him in that light.

What about poetry? Does the best of verse interest you?
Naturally. I am a singer and poetry forms an integral part of my work.

Do you write your own lyrics?
Most of them I do yes. I prefer to write my own poetry not that I am very good poet or lyricist. But while I compose some words fit together nicely to give a baseline to work upwards on.

Do you compose out of obligation or compassion?
Compassion certainly. I can’t make music to order. I am not very good at it. I have so far not had to produce music under commercial obligations and I don’t think I will be very good at it if it ever come to that. That’s also the reason why I have done a limited number of jingles.

Recite a favorite verse.
It’s a song that is recently recorded. Nadeem Asad wrote the lyrics to a concept I came up with. This is how it goes;

Jakho rakhe sain mer sake na koi
Shaam sawary dar ghere
Duniya ki hai bas do pehre
Ik away, ik jaway
Jo boay woh kaatey.

Roughly translated it means that he who is in God’s protection may not be harmed. Still one lives in constant fear of harm. The world is but two cycles of existence one followed by the other. What one reaps is what one had sown.

That’s deep all right. So do you really think that life is just a few cycles of existence?
I think life can only be defined in terms of how one lives it. In terms of Metaphor though it is but a few moments in eternity.

Do you think it’s possible for one to predict how those moments will evolve beforehand?
I don’t think that God ever intended for men to seek what the future holds for him. One is advised to strive for what it might hold but forecasting the future has been deemed a sin. That’s why I’ve never had my palm read or my Tarot done.

You seem to lead such a sterile life. Isn’t there any thing remotely exciting you are ever up to?
I don’t have a criminal record yet and I intend to keep it that way.

Yeah, but one doesn’t have to break the law to put color in life?
I am pretty satisfied by the way I live.

Like don’t you ever feel like getting your eyebrow pierced?
I have never actually thought about that kind of thing now that you’ve mentioned it.

So, you mean you’ll now consider body piercing?
Never. It’s not a personal preference. I don’t mind if others yield to such a temptation but I think that sort of attraction in appearance leads to ambiguity in gender identification.

What about girls. Do you like to see them wear a nose pin?
Absolutely. I think a nose pin makes a girl look remarkably feminine.

Now we’re making some progress. Tell me, do you chat on the net often? Like log on anonymously and flirt in the privacy of your own room?
Chatting on the Net for pleasure is such a waste of time, money and electricity. What has any one ever done creative on the ICQ ever? But you never know. I could be joining the ranks of cyber socializing men.

In which case your login name would be...
I don’t think I ought to tell you that. Let the element of surprise remain in the exercise.

When you dream what do you usually dream about?
I have never dreamt in my life. My sleep is devoid of unnecessary distractions.

They say dreams are imaginative mind’s ultimate playground?
Playing in two dimensions can hardly he called imaginative. I do all my playing in the real world.

Now you are being pointedly self-important?
I’m merely stating facts. The less you get the accomplish in the day the more the mind attempts to makeup for the lack during the sleep.

Why most of our musicians go to India to promote their albums?
"I don't think if there is anything wrong in it, when we go to India we promote our country, our culture and our music. So be it India or Africa or any other place, as long as we are promoting Pakistan and its culture there is no harm in it."

Idea behind Zindagi Trust?
"My biggest priority these days is Zindagi Trust. Our project is called "I am Paid to Learn", in which we gather all the children selling flowers on the streets and send them to government schools to study. Everyday they are paid Rs. 15 and next day if they learn their lesson they are given Rs. 20.

These kids are so street smart that if you don't pay them they wont study so now that we pay them for learning their previous days' lesson they all study. But these kids are very disciplined because they belong to very poor backgrounds so they know that if they wont study and earn Rs.15 to 20 everyday how will they fulfill their families' basic needs. We aim to spread this project throughout the country very soon and so far we have opened two centres.

The other project we are doing is a Gynae and Paeds Child Health Care Centre that we are building in Shahzadpur, District Sanghar."

How do you manage the financial cost of these projects?
"So far we have done everything on our own but now that my new album has released I plan to organize more concerts to raise funds for this trust and those who want to help me in this cause please visit the website," Zindagitrust.org."

Do you feel a change since you became a star?
"My personality has not changed a bit, I still hang out with my old friends, I still have those habits that I had earlier but I feel that life has become more interesting and enjoyable now that I am doing something for my country through my music.I am a little moody but I am not proud or headstrong because even God doesn't like those who are proud let alone human beings."

How will you describe yourself as a person?
"I live life on a day-to-day basis, at times I work very hard and then there are times when I am so lazy that I don't want to do anything.

I am scared of my anger because normally when I am angry I do something that's bad for myself.

One good habit that I have is that I love those people that are not blessed like we are, so I always try to help such people. Another thing that can be called both good and bad is that I can be emotionally black mailed.At times I am very ambitious and at times I take things as they come."

How about social life?
"Not at all, I am not at all social although the field I am in I need to socialize a lot. Even my colleagues complain that I am not seen at parties or social gatherings. I belong to a very simple Pakistani family and I am no different from an ordinary guy.

What about friends?
"Most of my friends are the ones who are my school or college friends but there are a few I have made through music as well. Normally I don't make friends but when I do its a very strong friendship otherwise acquaintance to sab se ho jati hai."

How close are you with your family?
"I have a very small family, there is an elder sister who is married and is settled in USA. So its just me and my parents here so obviously I am very very close to them, I have a very strong relationship with them."

Plans about marriage?
"I don't know when the time will come, so lets see but Its such a thing that if I say that there is a certain girl I want to marry everyone will start asking who is she and if I say that there is no one then everyone will think that I am lying so normally I don't discuss it."

Love or arranged marriage?
"I'll do love marriage but my parents would think that its arranged!!!"

Ever thought about acting or modeling?
"I have acted once but I don't think if I'll do it again, its just not my cup of tea. I am so busy with my trust and music that I wont be able to justify with anything else. Since music is a highly paid profession that I don't need to do modelling or anything else to earn extra money."

Prettiest face in Pakistan showbiz industry?
"Its a very difficult question because if I mention someone's name the others will be after me that why haven't I mention their name, so I better leave it."

Best work to date?
"As far as music is concerned, my latest album Rab Jaane is my best work to date. Other than music, Zindagi Trust is the best thing that I have done so far."

Future plans?
"My immediate plan is to spread "I am Paid to Learn" programme throughout Pakistan and to build Child Health Care Centre."

Anything you want to say about your fans?
"I love all my fans because they love me a lot. I receive so many mails everyday that even if I am depressed I just forget everything when I see how much my fans love me. I am really very thankful to all my fans."

First thing you notice in a woman? "Intelligence and innocence"

Favourite food? Daal chawal, bhindi, Pizza

Favourite singer? Seal

Favourite song? Kiss from rose

Favourite actor? Anthony Hopkins

Favourite actress? Julia Roberts

Favourite movie? Sliding Doors

Favourite cricketer? Javed Miandad and Shahid Afridi because he is a very good friend!

Message for your fans
"Help me in my Zindagi Trust because we can make a difference, we have to help ourselves and not be too dependent on government and buy and listen to my album Rab Jaane as I have put in a lot of hard work in it.