Javed Ali

Slow and Steady

The name Javed Ali does not yet evoke rapturous responses from music fans but mention the song Ek din teri raahon mein from Naqaab, and they will perk up immediately. Playback singer Javed Ali, the voice behind the song, has been working in Bollywood for nearly a decade, finally finds fame knocking at his door.

Bollywood is a place where instant gratification rules. Everyone wants fame and money - now. Playback singer Javed Ali is a class apart from the usual industry types. His rise to fame has been slow and steady. He doesn't regret it at all. What he wants is to be known as a good singer. He is not in the least bit bitter that although he played a part in the song ‘Kajraa re’ (Bunty Aur Babli), he was overshadowed by Shankar Mahadevan and Alisha Chinai. He admits that he got noticed only in songs where he had to 'stand in' for the final singer and dub his lines. Even in Naqaab, the original choice was Zubeen Garg. It is perhaps this very attitude that will help him carve a niche in the long run.

Javed Ali's father Hamid Husain, is a renowned Qawwali, Gurbani and Kirtan singer. He was Javed's first teacher. Later, the young man learnt music from Mallu Khan and Majid Khan as well. He says that although classical training helps, a playback singer has to be extremely versatile in order to survive in Hindi films. Javed Ali also impressed Kalyanji (of the famous Kalyanji-Anandji duo)so much that the veteran music man even suggested to Javed's father that he, Kalyanji, would foot all his educational expenses if he remained in Mumbai. However, Javed went back home to Delhi, honed his singing skills and came back to Mumbai in 1999.

The path to becoming a playback singer was carved by Kalyanji since initially, Javed only wanted to be a ghazal singer. However, when Kalyanji asked him why he did not want to sing in films, Javed thought it was a good idea and started working on becoming one. It wasn't difficult since he was already a trained classical singer. He sang his first song, a duet with Anuradha Paudwal, in Viju Shah's (Kalyanji's son) Beti No. 1. However, the film did not do well and he sang 'A ding-dang-do' in Paagalpan along with Udit Narayan, Sunidhi Chauhan, Harvard and Vicky. It was no surprise that he was never noticed.

His breakthrough came with ‘Ab ghar aaja’ in Haasil in which he sang his first solo. He dubbed the song for Jatin-Lalit but director Tigmanshu Dhulia liked his voice so much that Javed's voice was retained. He reasons that although the classical tag might have been a reason for the slow and steady rise in his career, he was never without work. The songs kept coming in ranging from ‘Chhalka chhalka’ (Aankhen) to ‘Bheegi hui koi shaam hai’ (Chameli). Recently he has sung in My Friend Ganesha and worked with A.R. Rahman in some regional films as well.

He is all praise for Pritam, his music director in Naqaab. He is grateful for all that the industry has given him and says that he got plenty of work to do remix along with working in TV serials. He has no qualms singing songs of any genre although he trained in classical music. He knows that in order to survive in the film industry, he needs to be versatile, talented and persevering. Javed Ali is well on his way to claiming his own spot in the spotlight.

Source: hindisong.com