What kind of a person is Lucky Ali? The question was very much in my mind as I set out to a Jeddah hotel where I was supposed to meet him. I had seen his film "Sur" recently and his characteristic role of a music teacher was still fresh in my mind. Is he as serious as he has portrayed in the movie or is he like his father Mehmood, a comedian par excellence? Or is he like his grandfather Mumtaz Ali, who excelled as a character actor in the bygone era of Indian film industry? All that I knew about Lucky — Maqsood Mehmood Ali at birth — was his soulful renderings in his private albums and feature films. And some of them are so catchy and melodious, one tends to keep humming them. When I came face to face with him, he was reclining in a sofa sporting a skullcap and loose shirt and pajama. He was a picture of a pious man who came all the way in search of solace and peace. He had just performed Umrah and was briefly in Jeddah only to go back to the holy city and then on to Madinah to pray at the Prophet’s Mosque.
Q: Aren’t you very much part of the Indian music industry?
A: To be very honest, I won’t know where I stand in the music industry. I only know that the work I do is being appreciated by my countrymen and also by others in the Subcontinent and Asia. I’m not there for the positioning. I’m not there to compete with anybody. They have got their space, I’ve got mine. I’m there because of my work. I don’t interfere with others and I don’t let others interfere with me.
Q: What next after "Sur" in which you’ve played the role of a music teacher who gets jealous of his female student because she does better?
A:I’m awaiting Sanjay Gupta’s "Kaante". Apart from that there are many inquiries and offers, but I’m trying to build up my agricultural estate in Bangalore. When there’s spare time I’ll devote it to music.
Q: How do you divide your time between farming and music?
A: Farming is not my business. It’s my career. Music, singing and acting are my hobbies. I don’t sing, I don’t practice. I just enjoy doing these when I’ve work. I don’t go out of my way to procure it. When it comes to me I try to understand it. If it’s something I like I do it, otherwise I don’t. I’ve other things to do.
Q: How do you handle fame?
A: I’ve seen my father’s success so I’ve some inclination of how to deal and how not to deal with fame.
Q:What frightens you in life?
A: I’m embarrassed by praise. I need to achieve or accomplish what I set out to do. Anything that comes out of the ordinary scares me and makes me nervous. It’s easy to get heady in this industry. I’ve seen and am still seeing consequences of instant success. I just want to give music the space it deserves.
Q: Aren’t you a rarity in Bollywood?
A: I like to be away from it sometimes. I like to be in my own quietude. It’s not difficult. It’s in your head: I can switch on and switch off.
Q: Are you composing music for other producers?
A:I’ve recently composed music for Dev Anand and Sanjay Gupta’s "Kaante". Incidentally, "Kaante" has other music directors too like Anand Raj Anand. I’ve composed a song in the movie called "Maut". I’ve done a couple of films here and there.
Q:Are you taking up new projects?
A: When it pays me a lot of money then I take that into consideration because it helps me pay off bills in other ventures.
Q: How do you find the difference between doing a music album and a movie. Which do you think is more popular?
A: Film work is based on what a director wants you to do. My album work is based on what I feel I should do.
Q: Are you comfortable with what you do?
A: Basically, I’m a very comfortable person. But my comfort levels are defined by things that I can identify with. If I can’t then I stay away from that.
Q: How was your experience in "Kaho Na Pyar Hai?"
A: No experience as such. I just sang a couple of songs. I don’t want to sing for them. I had enough of them. For me, there has to be growth. I just find it difficult doing the same thing all over again. I’m glad the film did well. I’m glad "Sur" is doing well.
Q: Has the "Sur" story got to do with your real life?
A: No. I play a character called Vikramaditya Singh, a teacher, who gets jealous of his student. I just played the part. That’s all.
Q: Your songs are soulful, something that you sing from the heart. Does that reflect, for example, separation from family or home?
A: I’ve lived away from my home forever. I probably have the feeling of getting back home. I’ve traveled since I was 13 years old. I won’t even know where my home is. Where we are staying is probably the home because that’s where the heart is right now. I’m comfortable when I go out. New Zealand is also my home. I’m not bound by geographical borders. My wife and two children — Abdurrahman and Tasmiyah — are New Zealanders. That country has kind of adopted me as one of its own. I’ve lived there (Auckland) on and off for five or six years. "Jahan dil lage, wahan pair jame!"
Q: When have you composed your best songs: During the day or night?
A: Any moment. I play the guitar, flute, piano, but mainly guitar. When I was 13 years old, I just picked up a guitar and with the help of a teacher learned notes and formulated my own songs.
Q: What has been your inspiration?
A: Inspiration comes from the environment you are in. I grew up in my father’s film environment.
Q: What about your albums?
A: I did "Sunoh," "Sifar," "Aks" and "Sur."
Q: When you do an album, do you bother about public reaction?
A: I don’t bother about reaction. I’m bothered about how it feels in my heart.
Q: You’ve traveled a lot. Which place you’ve been comfortable with?
A: I like my home country very much. Whatever happens, I cannot consider myself belonging anywhere else but the place I have come from. No matter where we go, we still look over the sea and think Madras is there, Bangalore is there...
Q: What difficulties did you face in marketing your albums?
A: It was difficult to get my first album across because of these barriers called music companies. They are barriers. They put you down and tell you you’re worthless.
Q: It’s difficult to keep the talent down, but they do succeed in crushing the spirit of the artist, don’t they?
A: They must have... I don’t know. Everyone has the right to answer back, stay back and say what they feel. When I came up with "Sunoh" there was a foreign company that came with (a similarly named album). I’m still in India but they are not. So they cannot really put you down.
Q: Are music companies not after you?
A: Of course, they are. I’m far away from them. They are there for business, to exploit you. It’s their business, they have to make money off you so that they pay their salaries.
Q: What do you think is the state of pop music in India. Do you think it has taken off?
A: India has always been a "saat suron ka ghar" (home of seven notes). That will always be the case.
Q: What do you think of the quality of music now?
A: I don’t listen. I’m not interested in it. Really. In fact, I want to give up this line. I’m tired of this career. I would rather be doing some more important work. I’m not despairing. I’m realistic. I may find more peace in my agriculture where there’s nobody to hassle you. The animals only love you for what you do for them. It’s better working there than work in a field where you’re supporting the salaries of so many other people and they are never happy with it. Understand? That’s the thing. I’m talking about music companies. Your success is paying for their salaries. Still they are never happy. Life is much more than that. I’ve only this much of my life left. I’ve got to spend doing something progressive.
Q: When you’re alone, which song do you sing or hum?
A:None. I’m wondering which seed when sown will grow in how much time.