Ghulam Ali won’t sing for Bollywood

Ghulam Ali says "Ghazal is my first love,"he wont sing unless the songs appeal to him.

MUMBAI: “I am not the one who can sing for films. Ghazal is my first love and it is really close to my heart. I cannot sing any song if someone just asks me to. The song should also appeal to me, I should like it,” Ghulam Ali said.

Hailing from west Punjab’s heartland of Sialkot in Pakistan, the musical genius has been singing ghazals for the past 55 years.

He made an entry in the Indian cinema with his popular song “Chupke Chupke Raat Din” for BR Chopra’s Nikaah. His other famous ghazals include “Kal Chaudavi Ki Raat Thi”, and “Hungama Hai Kyun Barpa”.

“The era of the ‘90s was the best time for ghazals as the genre was at its peak with singers like Jagjit Singh but later the popularity started dwindling. And I can feel the genre is once again gaining ground. People are actually coming to hear wherever I perform — whether in India or anywhere else,” he added.

However, the 70-year-old feels that today’s singers need proper training.

“Ghazal singing is not easy. You have to train a lot in the way you pronounce Urdu words and ensure that you hit the right notes while singing. It takes time and today’s singers are not giving their full attention to it,” Ali said.

The prolific singer first went to India in 1980 and since then he has been performing in both the countries.

Asked how ghazal singing in India is different from that in Pakistan, he said, “The only difference is that people in Pakistan are taught how to speak in Urdu since childhood unlike in India. This is the reason why their (Indian’s) diction is not so clear. But that doesn’t mean that the country doesn’t have good ghazal singers.”

Pakistani singers like Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Atif Aslam have been making waves in the music industry of India, while their Indian counterparts have not been getting the same degree of exposure in Pakistan.

“Singers like Talat Aziz and Hariharan have got a lot of love and affection in Pakistan. Pakistan is a small country and this is the reason why a lot of singers are not receiving the right amount of exposure as they get in India,” he said.

Ali also revealed that he is a huge fan of classic music and folk songs.

“Folk genre takes first place, then second comes classical at the second followed by ghazals. After that comes pop and other western genres,” he said. “Whenever I am stressed, I listen to classical music,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 3^rd, 2011.