Bilal Maqsood

Some Lesser Known Facts About Bilal Maqsood

• Bilal Maqsood was raised by his parents in a joint family in Pakistan.

  

• Bilal Maqsood got inclined towards painting as his father was a painter.

• Bilal started playing the keyboard and harmonium at the age of 8.

• When he was in school, Bilal never qualified to join the music band of his school.

• In 1978, Bilal Maqsood made a cameo in the Pakistan Television Corporation sketch comedy series titled ‘Fifty Fifty’ which was based on the American comedy show titled ‘Saturday Night Live.’ The show was created by his father Anwar Maqsood.

  

• Before getting admission to the Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture, Bilal went to the Government Commerce College in Karachi to pursue a Bachelor of Commerce; however, he quit the course midway as he wanted to enter into a creative field.

• While he was studying at the Government Commerce College, he met the Pakistani musician Faisal Kapadia during the second year of college as Faisal was also studying in the same college.

• Before pursuing his career in music, Bilal Maqsood’s paintings were exhibited at the Pakistan American Cultural Center in Karachi while he was still a student at the Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture.

  

• When Bilal was in the fourth year of his graduation, he started working in order to earn and save money to get married to his now wife. They both dated for a long time as they were studying in the same class in the University.

• In 1988, Bilal Maqsood along with 3 of his other friends, launched a Karachi-based pop-rock musical band named ‘Strings.’ Bilal was the lead vocalist as well as guitarist of the band. The band’s music was composed by Bilal while the lyrics were penned by his father Anwar Maqsood.

  

• In 1992, the band ‘Strings’ disbanded but later made a comeback in the year 2000.

• In 2005, Bilal Maqsood along with the Pakistani musician Faisal Kapadia were appointed as the National Goodwill Ambassadors of UNICEF of Pakistan country.

• In 2006, Bilal Maqsood’s band ‘Strings’ made its entry into Bollywood music when the band was approached to sing a song in the Indian Hindi song titled ‘Zinda.’ The band sang the song titled ‘Yeh Hai Meri Kahani’ for the movie ‘Zinda.’

  

• In 2014, Bilal Maqsood and Faisal Kapadia were appointed as the directors and co-producers of Coke Studio Pakistan from season 7 to season 10.

  

• In 2020, he along with the Pakistani musician Yasir Jaswal was appointed as the director and executive producer for the season of another Pakistani musical show named ‘Velo Sound Station.’

• In 2021, Bilal’s band ‘Strings’ announced that the band was coming to an end.

  

• In 2022, Bilal Maqsood launched his solo music career.

• He released his solo song titled ‘Naya Naya’ (2022) which was co-written by Bilal Maqsood and Anwar Maqsood.

  

• In the same year, Bilal in collaboration with Peek Freans Gluco, sang and composed the album titled ‘Urdu Nursery Rhymes’ which was an album consisting of eight nursery rhymes for children in Urdu.

• The album ‘Urdu Nursery Rhymes’ was inspired by the American children’s TV series titled ‘Sesame Street’ with the aim to further boost children’s entertainment in Urdu.

• In 2022, Bilal released many Hindi solo songs including ‘Zalima,’ ‘Thak Sa Gaya Hoon,’ and ‘Dheem Taana.’

  

• In 2023, Bilal Maqsood started a Pakistani online puppet show titled ‘Pakkay Dost’ for children. The show uses humour as its educational tool to entertain and enlighten young children.

  

• In the same year, he was invited as the keynote speaker at the convocation at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in Karachi.

  

• In 2023, Bilal Maqsood was appointed as a member of the International Board of Advisors at Khadim Ali Shah Bukhari Institute of Technology, Karachi.

  

• Bilal Maqsood performs at live shows and has performed in countries like Pakistan, India, and the United States.

  

• Bilal Maqsood loves animals and often shares photos and videos of his pet cats on social media.