Syeda Amtul and Sana Abdul Salam Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Renowned Ghazal singer Mohammed Vakil has seen success in the form of playback singing for major Indian movie productions, performing before legendary singers like Lata Mangeshkar and conducting several live performances within and beyond India. Referring to his recent performance in Jeddah, Vakil said: “I am very thankful to Desi Entertainers and one of its organizing members, Mohammed Al Mohammed, for all the support I received.” “Nadeem Tareen has also been a major support in my career, especially for my visits to the Kingdom. This visit was very special because I was able to bring my mother here for visiting Makkah,” he said. He emphasized the importance of hard work to achieve success by reciting the following lines: Barsaat main qadmon ke nishaan dhond raha hai Awara fizaon mein dhuwa dhond raha hai Kismet ki lakheerein teri mehnat main chupi hain Haton ki lakheeron main kaha dhond raha hai You look for footprints in rain washed sand And for smoke in wandering winds Whilst your fate lies hidden in your hard work And not in the palms you read Vakil said: “There can be no success without hard work. Furthermore, the success that one enjoys after hard work has its own flavor.” Vakil is from the sixth generation of a family of classical singers and musicians. His grandfather Ustad Afzal Hussain and great grandfather Mohammed Ismail were renowned artists in the field. He studied music from an early age from his uncles and teachers,Ustad Mohammed Hussain and Ahmed Hussain. “I was fortunate enough to be born in a family learned in music. However, being born into such an environment is not enough. One must make the effort to learn music formally,” Vakil said. He performed for the first time on a large scale at the age of fifteen in Jaipur. “Before participating in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, I performed in hotels. I struggled for about seven years before gaining some form of recognition. People were initially not ready to listen to me, so it took a lot of hard work to get ahead.” First experience of playback singing Vakil's introduction to the Hindi film industry's playback singing was through a ‘Qawalli(a form of sufi music)' he sang for the movie Veer Zaara, “Aaya tere dar par.” “I was pleasantly surprised to see that Yash Chopra, despite his stature, was an extremely humble person,” said Vakil. Even years after the song was first released, it was played in gatherings in Pakistan where Shah Rukh Khan was a guest. Vakil considers this to be a huge honor, as well as a major milestone. Singing reality shows Vakil won the Indian singing reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa in 1997, and went on to win the mega final of the show in 1998. He said that back then singing reality shows were more genuine, as they did not have the public voting system and the winners were chosen by stalwarts, such as Jagjit Sing, Naushad Ali, Parveen Sultana, and Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasiya. According to him, now there is more drama in reality shows, which bears no relation to art. “I think instead of public voting, capable judges should be chosen. Then, we can ensure that the deserving artist wins, and not one who merely entertains for dramatic effect,” said Vakil. On singing with or without learning music formally, Vakil said: “Singing without formally learning music is like walking without the ability to see. One can find his way somehow, but not with the same precision. “On the contrary, one who learns music knows it well, can identify different ‘Raags,' and understand the whole system of music. Love for Ghazals Vakil said that he loves Ghazals because they combine poetry and music, both of which he is close to. In Urdu, apart from Ghalib his favorite Urdu poets are Waseem Barelvi and Bashir Badr. Vakil does not support innovations in Ghazals, however it depends on the way its presented. “Jagjit Singh once sang a Ghazal accompanied by western musical instruments, and the result was amazing. He had not disturbed the form of the Ghazal, and thus the soul of the Ghazal remained,” said Vakil. Parents and progress Vakil credits his mother for much of his success. “Once I was going to perform in Saudi Aramco, and the evening before the performance I had a very serious throat infection. I just called my mother and said ‘Please pray for me.'” “I was so blessed after that, that during the next day's performance I sang high notes I had never hit during my music career.” He added:”Prayers should accompany hard work. You reap what you sow, so if you serve your parents, your own children will serve you.” Playback singing vs. live performances Commenting on the difference between playback singing and performing before a live audience, Vakil saidd that earlier recording happened in the presence of both the musicians and singers. So, there were no chances to correct mistakes. “In recordings today, people belonging to each element of the song dub their parts separately, so there is a chance to re-do a part. However, he likens performances to walking on the edge of a sword, where a mistake can never be taken back,” said Vakil. Hence, for him a live performance is more risky, but recordings require knowledge of techniques like distance from the mike in relation to the notes sung and so on. Favorite personalities in the music industry Vakil's favorite playback singers are legends, such as Mohammed Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar. Sonu Nigam, who he has also performed with, is also among his favorite singers. Along with his masters Ustaad Ahmed Hussain and Mohammed Hussain, Vakil likes the Ghazal singing of Mehdi Hassan, Jagjit Singh and Ghulam Ali. Upcoming project Vakil is currently singing for Ismail Darbar's directorial debut venture in which he is lending his voice to Amitabh Bachchan.
