Rahma Ali’s gaari moving forward halke halke

Being the daughter of Abid Ali and sister of Iman Ali hardly helped the singer in her quick flight to success

LAHORE:

Coke Studio has always been a launch pad for fresh faces and a booster for artistes who vanish over a period of time. Usually the newcomers get noticed because of their music and singing, the talented Rahma Ali was set to follow suit.

But before she enthralled everyone with her voice in ‘Gaari Ko Chalana Babu’ she caught the public eye for being Abid Ali’s daughter and Iman Ali’s sister. However, contrary to the assumption that artistes with backgrounds in the industry have it easy, it has been harder for Rahma because of the endless comparisons.

“It has helped me with absolutely nothing. I wish it had, things would have been a lot easier!” Rahma tells The Express Tribune. 

Rahma started off as an actor with the role of Sonia in the 2011 A-Plus entertainment’s production Nail Polish. “I did my first project in 2011 and didn’t quite like the idea of being an actor. A while later I realised that I kind of missed it and had nothing better to do, so I technically started my acting career in 2013 with a different production.”

She then ventured into the singing world with her song ‘Nadiya’ for the seventh season of Coke Studio. In her debut performance on Coke Studio the artist collaborated with Jimmy Khan performing the classic track ‘Gaari ko Chalana Babu’ from the 1956 film Anokhi. Khan was initially “taken aback” by Strings’ decision to turn ‘Nadiya’ into a duet, but he was pleased with the final outcome as “not only did Rahma’s voice blended with the song but was also on the same key.” She also collaborated with him for a cover of lata Mangeshkar’s ‘Ajeeb daastan’.

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Fondly recalling the beginning of her singing career she says, “Singing was just an added bonus, Anwar Maqsood found the hidden talent in me and then Strings put it to work.” Rahma looks back to her experience with Coke Studio as a memorable one and says, “It was one of the best ever”. Regarding her future plans, the artiste states they will consist of more music and less acting as that’s what makes her feel happy and free. However, the only problem with that is the diminishing music industry, “the drama industry is far ahead with endless producers, directors and actors. Unfortunately the music industry is not up to par and we’re all just trying to make it better.” She wishes that Pakistani record labels had not hindered her from releasing a full album to just releasing singles.

https://soundcloud.com/rahmaabidali/zara-zara-rahma-ali

Her favourite contemporary singers are Ali Sethi and Nabeel Shaukat Ali but she would love to sing with Sajjad Ali. “He’s the best we have,” she adds. Known for her vocals she can play percussion instruments and is learning the guitar as well and looks forward to releasing her favourite song in the future.  Here’s to hoping that the gaari of career goes on as smoothly as her voice in the song from Anokhi.

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Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2015.

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