Date:25/09/2003

ALI is MAALI at home

Lucky Ali has travelled to every corner of the world, from the pyramids to the slums of Brazil. But home for the singer of softly hummable songs is still his farm on the outskirts of Bangalore, discovers MALA KUMAR.

 
Lucky Ali: he of the honey eyes and voice. — Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

SOME BIRDS keep disturbing us while we speak. Of course, the birds don't know that the person I'm interviewing is a light-eyed singer who melts young hearts with his ballads, or that he is a celebrity son of a celebrity father, or even that his concert at the Palace Grounds drew over 8,000 fans. The birds are just enjoying the luxury of singing on a farm that has coconut, orange, mango, chikoo, lychee, and pomegranate trees. And when they want a change, they can just hop over to the organically grown paddy or ragi fields on the farm. Because, when Lucky Ali is not strumming his guitar or making music, or indulging in his recent passion for flying planes, he is an agriculturist. "A maali in lungi, actually," says Lucky Ali, born Maqsood Mehmood Ali.

"I'm not a trained singer, but I love singing," said the singer-actor-composer at the press conference held prior to the show in aid of Jain Vidyaniketan, the school for the underprivileged in Kanakapura. "My city honours me more than I deserve," he added. Dressed casually in a T-shirt and coat, the man dazzled mediapersons as much with his pearly whites as with his modesty.

His singing career took off with the song "O Sanam" from the album Sunoh, filmed amidst the pyramids of Egypt. Many awards later, he followed up the album with Sifar, Aks, and is working on his new album tentatively called Iksoi, but waiting to be christened something that even "a fan in Bihar can understand". Of course, the hugely popular songs from Kaho Na Pyaar Hai left a whole generation of young people asking for more of the same emotion-laden, softly hummable songs.

But how does Lucky Ali feel when he is seen as a role model for the youth? Interrupting our talk to order some fresh yelneer for his Mumbai guests, Lucky Ali says: "I feel very strange. But yes, I do feel we singers have a big responsibility towards children and youth. I think what I'm trying to say through my songs is that nobody wants to stay stagnant. We all want to grow, not necessarily financially. But when we start growing mentally, spiritually, and concentrate on being true to one's self, when we start doing work that we enjoy, then financial success too follows. This is something that I think my songs communicate to the youth."

Lucky Ali has been around. He studied in Bombay Scottish, Cottons, and Doon, worked on an oil-rig, sold carpets, ridden horses, worked in New Zealand, acted in movies such as Kaante, Sur, and others shot in Cuba, Egypt, and Brazil. "Brazil is wonderful. It's so much like India, except that it is so much cleaner. Even the slums there are cleaner. We need to be better managers of life, more civic-minded, and then we too can have as clean a country," he says. "But only Bangalore is home. This place is still a jewel — I feel good coming back here," said Lucky Ali at the press conference, the "good" resounding oh so well in his throat!

Lucky Ali's is not a "perfect" voice. And, perhaps, there lies its popularity. Which is why A.R. Rahman made him sing for the Tamil movie Boys. "I feel blessed that I've been given a voice that people like. And I feel happy when the voice is able to raise funds for the underprivileged," says the man who believes nothing, not even bad remixes, can make Indian music deteriorate. "All the best to them! But, meanwhile, I think everyone who likes to sing should continue to do so."

At the concert in aid of Jain Vidyaniketan, Chenraj Jain, the Chairman of the Jain Group of Institutions, lavished praise on the singer for contributing to a cause. "I feel very small, really," says Lucky later. "There is so much to be done. When we started looking for a school for my children, we found that school education had become so unfair, so sadly commercialised. How can anything of value be conveyed to children when so many of them are in one class under one teacher? So, I co-founded Oasis International School with my friend Ayesha Masood. It started with three students and now has 250. The not-for-profit school puts back the money into a trust for the education deprived children," says Lucky, now working on opening eight more pilot schools.

"My wife Maymunah and I would have liked our children Taawwuz and Tasmiyah to attend this school; right now they go to a school closer to our farm," says this son of veteran actor Mehmood. Mehmood and three of Lucky's siblings live in the US, while one brother stays on the farm. "We keep in touch regularly. That's what makes a family." The birds on the farm try but they can't drown the voice that says: "We have so much beauty around us in this city and this country, we need to enjoy it more, preserve it better..."

In the spotlight
Will Sur make music for Gauri Karnik?

Gauri Karnik, a young debutante from suburban Mumbai, will sing her way into the glare of publicity when Sur, a film produced by Pooja Bhatt and directed by Tanuja Chandra, will be released shortly. Gauri plays a music prodigy and is paired with eccentric actor-singer Lucky Ali, who plays her mentor, writes Vimla Patil.

WHEN Gauri Karnik talks about her soon-to-be-released film Sur, her clear brown eyes sparkle and her thick, screwdriver curls bounce around her head jauntily. Obviously, making the film has been a challenging opportunity for her. With her natural halo of curls, Gauri seems untouched, as yet, by the fierce competition, intrigue and punishing schedules of the film industry. Sur was completed in one schedule of just over a month. In spite of her sudden stardom and the film’s previews drawing appreciative audiences, Gauri remains a bright-eyed young Mumbai girl just out of college.

"My family has lived in suburban Mumbai for years. My father is in the dairy business and my mother is a teacher. I went to a local school. But later graduated from St Xavier’s College in economics," she says, "When I was planning to do my MA in economics and appear for the UPSC Civil Services Exam, I entered the Miss India Contest in 2000 on a mere chance. I thought even if I don’t win, I would get an unforgettable learning experience. I went to master photographer Gautam Rajadhyaksha, got a portfolio done and sent my pictures to Femina and also to many agencies, as advised by him. I did several ads and TV commercials as a result of the photo shoot. Among these ads were Ariel Super Power, Berger Paints, Britannia Little Hearts, J&J lenses and so on. At the same time, I was selected among the 25 finalists for the Femina contest in 2000. I was lucky to get a month of wonderful grooming though I did not win any title. The grooming helped me tremendously and is a bonus which will last me a lifetime.

"About this time Saurav Shukla — of the Satya fame — saw my pictures and asked me to act in 13 episodes of Little Mirchi Thoda Papper for Zee TV. Zee then recommended me for Khamoshiyan Kabtak. Then I worked in Milan for Sony and Tanhaiyaan for B4U. I did two more soaps called Rishtey and Sukanya as well as a thriller for Sony. But most important, I did Soni Razdan’s Hamare Tumhare. This is where Mahesh Bhatt saw me. He showed my pictures to Pooja Bhatt and Tanuja Chandra, who were both planning to make a film...They both interviewed me extensively and then took me to meet Pritish Nandy, who was the presenter and the financer. When he agreed that I could fit the role of the heroine of Sur with Lucky Ali, I signed the contract and was groomed for the part."

"The film was completed in one long schedule in Ooty and Mumbai. The ambience of Ooty was perfect for unfolding the story of Sur. The cast was young and enthusiastic and the music by M.M. Kreem was beautiful. I am totally in awe of Lucky Ali after his phenomenal success as a singer in Kaho Na Pyar Hai. I had heard of his great talent, heard his soul-touching songs, seen his music videos and heard of his lifestyle with two wives — one a New Zealander and the other a Parsi — and his two children. I was intrigued by his personality ..."

"I was a newcomer to films. I made many mistakes. I was nervous in the presence of stalwarts like Lucky Ali and others. My director would haul me up and shout at me for my mistakes, sometimes very strongly. But Lucky would soothe my frightened, frayed nerves and teach me patience. He would also tell Tanuja to be patient with me. She was the most wonderful mentor for me because she accepted nothing but the best for my role and for the entire crew. Lucky would guide me too, and encourage me to give my best to every scene in the film

"In dealing with the character I play — that of a young Christian girl from a church choir — I had no difficulty whatsoever. I am religious by nature and feel close to God...I had doubts whether in real life I too would turn to religion if I was heartbroken. Looking back, now I feel a girl who is disillusioned with love and loyalty, might just take shelter in a religious institution if she has an inclination towards God already...The emotions of ego, jealousy, love, loyalty, surrender, disappointment — all have a place in the narrative and they develop the character of the girl I play. I begin as an innocent girl singing in a church and slowly grow up into a young woman who has suffered and grown to love the very man who helped her to realise her dreams only to reject and hurt her deeply when she becomes a challenge to him. My passage from a teenaged girl to a woman in love and then to a woman who gives up everything for God is very beautifully etched out in the film ..."

Gauri’s plans of taking the civil services exam have been shelved for now. An only child, she values her family, her study of comparative religions, her music and personal evolution the most in life. At the threshold of her twenties, Gauri, like millions of young women in India, admires Aamir Khan, Madhuri Dixit and Kajol. Right now, she waits with bated breath for Sur to be released. She is sure that the magic of its music and story will capture the hearts of all viewers.

Creating music on the screen

Lucky Ali makes his screen debut in `Sur,' an offbeat film about a musician.

THE WORLD is talking of Kaante, an action flick with bank robbery as the pivot of the wheel. The film's promos show prolific director Mahesh Manjrekar making his debut with a swagger, not to forget Lucky Ali trying gamely to keep pace. Yet Kaante, is essentially an Amitabh Bachchan-starrer. Lucky Ali, meanwhile, would rather have the pivotal role in Tanuja Chandra's Sur, The Melody of Life to launch his career in films. Yes, well-known singer Lucky Ali is following in the footsteps of Shaan who made a forgettable debut in Daman to try his hand at acting in recent months. He won't be alone though. Sonu Nigam is joining the gang with his own Jaani Dushman shortly.

Pooja Bhatt, real-life producer here, though is not worried. Not even the fact that Kaante might just have a larger audience brings a crease to her brow. Simply because "Lucky Ali is phenomenal in the film, you have to see him to believe it. He has played the role of a singer, which is something dear to him. It is also a performance which comes straight from his heart."

Is it aimed at the niche audience? "Well, one cannot say that, though obviously such a subject is received better in some quarters initially but ultimately, it is a subject with which all of us can identify."

Sur, incidentally, is the story of Vikramaditya Singh, a highly-acclaimed singer and a music teacher, who feels that in his whole life that he has lived as a teacher, he has not found that one student on whom to shower the riches of music inside his heart. All that until there comes Tina, a simple Christian girl, whom he finds singing in a church. Mesmerised by her voice, he is convinced that she is the student he had been waiting for all these years. He takes her under his wings. He imparts all that he knows little realising that the naturally gifted girl needs no fine-tuning, no embellishment. The last nail is driven when he realises that his student could be better than him, that the sincerity in her voice could melt the stoniest of hearts.

He even stoops to steal his student's tune. Yet, he is not a man without a conscience. He goes back to confess. And what better place to confess than the church? Only thing is time has moved on and the little girl, far from the fleeting name and fame of this world is preparing to renounce it by embracing the life of self-denial. Vikramaditya's story begins there... .

This film, due to release in July, is written and directed by Tanuja Chandra.

  Aparajita Saha

The acting bug has bitten Lucky Ali again. After all, everything said and done, blood is thicker than water and eventually asserts itself. And if one has the legendary Mehmood for a father, acting does seem to be the inevitable conclusion.

But acting chose the singer rather than Lucky Ali choosing acting again. Friend Aditya Bhattacharya, producer of Avataar, convinced Ali to do the title role. Says Ali, "I had approached Babla (Bhattacharya) to make the video for my new album and the meeting resulted in him convincing me to play the lead in Avataar!"

Bhattacharya is the son of the late film director, Basu Bhattacharya, and the grandson of the legendary Bimal Roy. After his directorial debut Raakh (with Aamir Khan) failed, he moved to Italy.

Asked about the latest development in his professional life, the unflappable Ali replied, "I am taking it all in with a pinch of salt!"

Ali will also produce an album with the same name. He will also sing a few tracks from the album for Bhattacharya's movie.

Avataar will be filmed in English and also star New York-based actress Nandana Dev Sen, who also has a famous father (Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen). It revolves around an Indian singer seeking an international break. The singer, played by Ali, ultimately encounters the break he desires in a most unlikely place. Nandana plays one of the three romantic leads opposite him. Another will be portrayed by one of the celebrated Rossellinis. (Another Indian connection there. After his marriage to Ingrid Bergman broke up, director Roberto Rossellini married Sonali Dasgupta, who was previously wedded to documentary stalwart Harisadhan Dasgupta.)

Laughs Ali, "The movie has a mixed cast, with some international stars and local people, such as myself!"

The movie will be completed in six weeks; shooting will commence in August. Avataar has the backing of Ali's record label, Sony Music (India) Ltd, apart from Sony Entertainment, MTV Asia, the Prasad Group, Nude Records London and Twentieth Century Fox.

This is, of course, not Ali's movie debut. That happened with Hamare Tumare (the comedy starring Sanjeev Kumar and Rakhee). Then, in the early eighties, he played a brooding charmer in Shyam Benegal's Goan epic, Trikaal. He is listed in the credits under his real name Maqsood Ali. After Trikaal, he also featured in Benegal's television series Bharat Ek Khoj, before abandoning stardust and tinsel for a life of washing carpets for a while.