Sydney goes Sufiana with Mudasir Ali
Mudasir claps along as Billu and Maxine sing
By Manju Mittal
Kashmiri singer Mudasir Ali known for his intense, powerful and energetic voice was in Sydney during Christmas break. As Sydney prepared for the birth of Jesus Christ and for the big family day get together on the 25th, Indian community on the eve of Christmas was privy to a very special evening of Sufi music with Mudasir Ali. He totally enchanted the audience with his singing. His voice filled the ambiance of the Sydney’s well known restaurant Himalaya in Granville with divine energy.
Mudasir Ali took up Sufi singing as a career at a young age against the wishes of his family. I caught up with Mudsair Ali during the Sufi mehfil, when he said, “Like others even my family did not understand the devotion behind this genre and hence they did not want me to indulge in it. I took training without the approval of my family but now my family members understand and support my passion for singing”.
Mudasir with Asha Bhosle recording for the upcoming film ‘Lucknow Times’
Mudasir came to Mumbai in 2010 to pursue his dream as the tinsel town can attract all kinds of talent. And that it gained an artist who has, not only a unique voice, he is handsome and he is what Bollywood looks for, something different, something new. It did not take long when he was spotted as he rendered the vocals for the title song of Girish Malik’s film ”˜Jal’ along with Shubha Mudgal. It was this film that was selected for the Panorama Selection of International Film Festival of India. Mudasir was also part of the TV reality show Sur Kshetra and Bharat ki Shaan. His Indo Pak album ”˜Dil ki Udan Sarhad ke paar hai”˜ was launched by Mahesh Bhatt recently and obviously Mudasir is quite excited about it. He has also performed duets with Shubha Mudgal in a Bikram Ghosh project. Recently Asha Bhosle and Mudasir Ali recorded a song for the film ”˜Lucknow Times’. His other albums are ”˜Jab Bahaar Aayee’, ”˜Jiger’ and ”˜Deedar’. I highly recommend you all to listen to this artist and his albums as some of you who like Sufi music may have missed Mudasir’s Christmas Eve mehfil.
Mudasir and Rohit Revo render a duet on the night
On the night MC of the evening Rohit Revo welcomed the audience. Our own local singer Dinesh Kumar delighted the audience with two beautiful songs. Mudasir Ali then commenced his performance by explaining the connection between Sufi music and Bollywood. He performed complicated notes perfectly showcasing the thin line between Sufi music and Bollywood songs. He sang some famous Rahet Fateh Ali Khan renderings for which he received applause from the audience. Mudasir has this unique voice which is a combination of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Kailash Kher. He sang Kailash Kher’s song “Saathiya” with an exquisite mixture of classical music.
His range is incredible and out of this world. For a singer to be able to sing the high notes with total ease is just unbelievable. But we were there as witness. His voice is smooth and evokes intense emotion as listeners get lost in a different world. Mudasir sings effortlessly and with great passion. He has a great versatility in his voice as it echoes the place. He is also a brilliant composer who uses his vocals to innovate on the spot. Talented young tabla master Abhijit Dan engaged the audience to match Mudasir’s intricate notes. Neil Chand played drums brilliantly and Ali Sarshar played piano to match. Highlight of the event was Kashmiri duet sung by Rohit Revo and Mudasir Ali. Well known Harris Park Restaurateur Billu Singh and organiser of the evening Maxine Salma surprised and delighted the audience with their own beautiful songs.
I must say artists of Mudasir Ali’s ilk are rare and so was his this performance as he left us all asking for more. It was a truly euphoric evening of intoxicating music that some of us were fortunate enough to not only listen, witness and take it home, a memory that will stay with us forever.
Rohit Revo, a Kashmiri himself, is a great Emcee who offered creative interludes, in between, to keep the audience engaged. The evening ended with, what else but, some popular Punjabi numbers for the audience to get up and dance while some hesitant ones joined in by whistling along.
Maxine Salma brought Mudasir Ali and gave Sydney a fantastic Sufi concert. Do take my note that this artist is going to be a rising star of India. In fact he is already. Who knows next time he may land in Sydney to a pricey concert that we will all hanker to go pay and see.
Thanks Maxine and Neil Chand for a wonderful evening of Sufi music with Mudasir Ali!
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