| MTV Unplugged brings ghazals to town |
27th Apr 2013
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Shafqat Amanat Ali | Photo: Munish Dhiman
The clock struck midnight but the intrepid crowd wanted more, with sounds of encore reverberating. Acclaimed ghazal singer Shafqat Amanat Ali, belonging to the Patiala gharana, recently performed at the Pewter Room's Blue Blazer, Chandigarh, for the MTV Unplugged Season 2.
The audience grooved the dextrous renditions of popular tracks like Aaj Jaane ki Zid na Karo, Mitwa, Bin Tere, Aankho ke Sagar, Mora Saiyaan.
Ali said, "The success of any live show depends on how well the audience's vibes go with the renditions. Another defining factor of a performance is the volume of the audience. I instantly connect with the audience as I ascend the stage and the vibe they generate affects my expression."
Alongside the powerful performances, his hilarious anecdotes added to the show. Contrary to his persona on stage, Ali is calm and quite composed off-stage.
In an informal tête-à-tête with Guardian20, Ali said, "Pakistan lacks in public performances and security is also a vital issue there. Professionally speaking, Bollywood is becoming a Mecca for singers. It's been really great that I entered it at the right time. I think after RD Burman there was a phase when music became predictable, but the new-age musicians, including AR Rahman, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Salim-Sulaiman etc have virtually changed the entire scenario."
On the present scenario of music, precisely the Sufi genre, he said, "We cannot term today's genre of singing as pure Sufi singing. Sufi is something that Bulleh Shah, Baba Sheikh Farid and others wrote and sang with a view of propagating the very essence of Sufism. Today, it is just a sugar-coated version of sufiana qalam and is not purely Sufi."
About Bollywood favourites, he said, "It goes without saying that all those whom I have worked with, are doing a wonderful job but the immortal RD Burman and the evergreen Kishore Da, remain my all-time favourite." Ali also has a remarkable sense of humour as encountered when he asked audiences, "Do you know my full name?", "It is Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan and I'm not a terrorist."
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