Irrespective of whom I work with, there is always a conscious attempt to replicate the sound in my head.
There's also some angst, but it has been dealt with in a positive way.ĭo you consciously define the sound of your albums, or do they sound the way they do simply because you work with the same people? I would describe it as something that isn't profound, and yet is. What are the themes that have gone into its development? Let's talk about the new album, Kabhi Aisa Lagta Hai. It is just another aspect of my ability to work in a creative environment, another facet of myself as an artiste. The only weird thing was seeing someone else mouth my lines. I have always enjoyed a peripheral relationship with the film industry after all, so I was comfortable doing it. Rakesh Roshan approached me, and my father asked me to consider it. There was no moment of sitting back and saying, 'I have a daughter, so let me write a song.' I think it was a more complete change, for me as an individual.ĭid your coming to Bollywood happen by accident, or were those tracks for Kaho Naa. As for it changing my writing, I think fatherhood changes you as a person. I have two daughters, Tasmia and Sarah, and a son, Tahafuz. Has fatherhood changed the way you write? As you mature, you feel the need to come home. The need to take a trip somewhere exists more when one is younger. Then came my travels abroad, and years of living in New Zealand. He kept telling me how lonely it was for him there and, after a point, I realised I had never really spent time at home. Where are you currently based?įor a while now, I have been living on a farm in Bangalore with my father. I still play them for my children, telling them it is their dada on screen. I used to sing songs from films like Bhoot Bangla and Kunwara Baap. Your father Mehmood had a number of songs on screen that went on to be huge hits. I work with professionals, so the task is always an easy one. I then sit with the lyricist and musicians, and tell them about the direction I am looking for – the ambience in my head. There's always a connecting theme, even though I don't necessarily stick to it right through. It's never just a couple of tracks strung together. Do you create an album with a theme running through, or string a couple of tracks together to reach the requisite number for an album? Sunoh, Sifar and Aks are albums of ideas that convey a message. That kind of growth, at least for me, has been a constant. There are some radical changes in style, in the approach to making music. As for the genre changing, I think it's the level of maturity that has changed. How has the genre of Indipop changed? Do you think it has lived up to the hype it first generated? I just do what I want to, musically, and they accept it.Įight years of music-making make you a veteran of the Indian music industry. I have never had to sell my music to a label. And no, it hasn't made me a better salesman or anything. Has your past made you a better salesman, for instance? You must have some interesting tales to tell. You have led an interesting life – breeding racehorses, selling carpets, working at an oil rig. I wasn't interested in whether or not they would be, though. Did you expect that kind of success from a first album?Īll my albums were successful. "I'm Lucky," he smiles, extending his hand, and slipping into a conversation easily, smoothly, as if it were another of his many lilting melodies.Įxcerpts from Lucky Ali's chat with Lindsay Pereira: His blue, weather-beaten jacket and casual footwear do little to divert attention from the unshaven face and sprinkling of grey in his beard. So, with the confidence that comes from selling millions of CDs, he saunters in. After all, he's not some remix artiste forced to rely solely on glamour to get people to listen. Maqsood Mehmood Ali isn't worried about first impressions. Lucky Ali: I have never had to sell my music
Lucky Ali: I've never had to sell my music