Undettered by Shiv Sena threats, Mahesh Bhatt ropes in Ghulam Ali

The filmmaker condemns all 'unpleasant' incidents in India and is saddened by ill treatment of Pakistani ghazal...

Seems like nothing will stop acclaimed filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt from roping in Pakistani entertainers for his projects, certainly not Shiv Sena.

In an attempt to reconcile ties between India and Pakistan Mahesh Bhatt has roped in Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali to sing for his play Milne Do.

Ghulam Ali to perform in Lucknow on December 3

"He (Ghulam Ali) has been approached and he has gracefully agreed to lend his voice and be a part of the peace endeavour through performing arts. I can't say whether he will come to India or not, but he will certainly sing a song which will be a part of the play," Bhatt, whose 1990 film Awaargi featured a song by Ghulam Ali, told IANS.

Mahesh, whose play narrates an intense love story between two culturally-crossed individuals during times of hatred, says they want to "stitch" ties between the neighbouring countries with Ghulam Ali's voice.

Last month, Ghulam Ali was forced to call off all his scheduled concerts in India due to threats from the Hindu right-wing party and has said that he won't return to India until "things settle down". But now Mahesh wants the ghazal singer to lend vocals to his play -- a collaborative effort of theatre actors from India and Pakistan.

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The filmmaker, who has been initiating cultural dialogue with the audience and artistes in Pakistan through films and plays, thought of an ingenious way to use "Ghulam Ali's voice as the glue to stitch the nations together through this play".

Pakistani band Laal from Pakistan has composed the music and will perform live during the play. The story has been written by Suhrita, the writer of Hamari Adhuri Kahani. Milne Do will be staged in April next year in India and Pakistan.

Bhatt emphasised that through this play they "are saying that human interaction is the only route through which distances created in the hearts of people can be scaled down".

The National Award-winning filmmaker had earlier this year taken a stage production based on his 1989 film Daddy to Pakistan.



Condemning all the "unpleasant" incidents happening in India, he said: "Ghulam Ali sahab, a world icon, has been a ghazal king for years and has been coming to our country for many years. He had an unpleasant experience here in India and we personally, the government -- both in Maharashtra and at the Centre -- have without any hesitation conceded that was not the right kind of treatment."

The ghazal singer made his entry into Indian cinema with his popular song Chupke chupke raat din for BR Chopra's 1982 film Nikaah.