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| Debojyoti Mishra and Shafqat Amanat Ali work on a song |
The first time I met Shafqat was when I had travelled to Pakistan in 2007 to score the music for Mehreen Jabbar’s Ramchand Pakistani. Mehreen had recommended Shafqat to me and sent me some of his music. His songs from Fuzon and a few of his classical style ones. I found in him a very broad voice that emotes, I liked that a lot. We were working in Karachi and he came down from Lahore.
He was supposed to sing the song Phir wohi raastey that we were recording two versions of. One by Shubha Mudgal and another that he was going to sing. Although he was quite a big name in Pakistan already, I found in him a sense of modesty and humility that was genuine. He also exuded an immediate warmth of being a friend. I remember Anwar Maqsood (father of Bilal Maqsood, the singer for Pakistani band Strings), who is considered the Gulzar of Pakistan, had penned the lyrics of the songs and I saw in Shafqat great respect for the great masters. He spent a lot of time at the rehearsals understanding what he was required to do and then rendered the song in two takes. After that we decided to give him the second song too because then I was confident that he would do justice to that song too.
On returning to Bombay to record Shubha’s track I felt that Shafqat’s voice would add a different dimension. I called him and he was ready. So he came, sang and went back.
Later, when I was scoring the music for Chaturanga, there was the need for a Sufi number and Shafqat was the first name that came to mind. Given the kind of budget that Bengali films work on, I wasn’t sure if he would agree or have time. Still, I made an impulse call. I called him in the evening because that’s the time when he is most active while mornings he’s in slumber! At that time the advanced technology of wave mix transfers online wasn’t in vogue but to make things easy, I played him the scratch over phone and asked if he would prefer recording in Pakistan and sending me the file.
But he was ready at once and said: “I want to come and sing in front of you”. He took personal interest and was kind enough to come and record two songs without bothering about the remuneration. Had he not agreed, the song wouldn’t have happened.
The third project I worked with him on was Tanusree Shankar’s We The Living.
Today we keep in touch throughout the year and even if I forget, he will always remember to wish me on Puja or the New Year. And it’s not an SMS that he’s sending out in bulk, it is meant only for the person he’s writing to.
Very recently, when he had come to perform at The Saturday Club, I was supposed to go and listen to him but I had to go off somewhere else on work. In the evening, I started getting calls and messages from friends present at the show that he was looking for me so I turned my car around and rushed to the club. The show was almost ending but Shafqat called me on stage and held me in a tight hug for a long time. The hug was like a reinforcement of our friendship and together we sang Phir wohi raastey. Even afterwards, in the middle of the fan frenzy, he kept holding on to my hand and asking me to join him at the hotel for dinner and adda. He’s a great addabaaj!
Having worked with him on three projects and knowing him for all these years, to me he’s someone who has transcended from being a singer with a good voice to an artiste with a great soul. He has tremendous command over classical music and knows how to keep that subtle and contemporary. He has great knowledge of all the Indian classical gharanas and at the same time has a very open mind to all forms of music be it rock, jazz or even Nazrul.
I have never heard him say one word that would hurt or be disrespectful to another artiste. Even after he broke up with his band Fuzon he would never talk ill about anyone. Even if someone tried to broach the topic he would answer with a smile. I remember this one time when I was working on a composition I wasn’t quite prepared because the words were in Urdu and Urdu for me is like Greek. He realised that I was struggling to fit the tune with the lyrics. He quietly helped me out without letting anyone else understand. And keeping my dignity as a composer intact.
We both have a lot of love and respect for each other and I’m looking forward to watching Shafqat on stage in Calcutta. This time I hope to be there from the start!
Shafqat Live, presented by The Telegraph and 91.9 Friends FM, at Netaji Indoor Stadium on February 23 begins at 6.30pm. Television news partner: ABP Ananda. Ticketing partner: indianstage.in. Hospitality partner: Swissotel. Outdoor partner: Artage
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