[ STRINGS INTERVIEW - INDIAN PRESS ]

Tireless rehearsals, unending interviews and endless concerts don't seem to bog down this fiery duo, of the Karachi-based band Strings. Every time Bilal Maqsood and Faisal Kapadia take on the stage, they make for an electrifying performance. The two stopped over in the city to perform for a college fest. And the melody makers, stringed their melody story successfully, once again! Clarifying as to why the band prefers to call themselves a pop-rock band, Bilal says, "Before Strings was formed, I used to be a keyboard player. It was after I met Faisal and we decided to jam together that I began strumming the guitar. So I was always into mainstream pop and it was during the jamming sessions that I developed an interest in rock."

On a more personal note, the duo admit their's is a very strange relationship. "Our personalities are poles apart, but still we get along with each other. We argue about everything. We have known each other for 15 years now. We respect each other's judgement and can predict what the other is thinking," says Bilal.

After the success of their album Duur, there has been no looking back. Their track Naa Jaane Kyun ... from the album Dhaani was included in Spiderman-2. So has success come easily? "We never struggled. After 6 or 7 months of forming the band, we got a deal from EMI. We came back with Strings, then Dhaani and Spiderman 2 happened. It has been smooth sailing," says Bilal. "When Strings was born, the only market in Pakistan was for mainstream pop, so we had to condition the listeners to rock. That took a while," adds Faisal.

Working with Indian artists like Hariharan, Sagarika and Euphoria has been a great experience they admit. Talking about their song Bolo Bolo, Bilal says it happened by chance. "After the song was recorded, Faisal said he wished Hariharan would do this song with us, so we called Hariharan ji. He told us if he likes the song, he will do it, so we sent him the CD. He recorded his vocals and sent it to Karachi. His vocals became a benchmark for us and we re-recorded ours. It was great," says Bilal.

Working with Euphoria was also quite a challenge. "It was a very healthy competition and recording the song was great fun," adds Bilal. So how does it feel to perform before screaming crowds across the world? "Bahut achchha lagta hai. Fifteen years back only family and friends were supporting us but it feels great to know that we now have fans all over the world. We sing only for our fans. If we don't get their support we will leave this profession," says Bilal. As far as their favourites from the Indian music industry are concerned, they find Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy, Hariharan, Sonu Nigam and AR Rahman irresistible.

Moving away from music, ask them if they believe that relations between Pakistan and India can improve, Faisal says, "We have moved ahead compared to a decade back. And I look forward to a brighter future."