Shafqat Amanat Ali wants youngsters to take songs to next generation

Mumbai: Pakistani singer Shafqat Amanat Ali, the magical voice behind chart busters "Mitwa", "Tere naina", and "Yeh Honsla" disagrees with the notion that songs nowadays don`t have a shelf life. We still remember Lataji`s (Lata Mangeshkar) and Kishore-da`s (Kishore Kumar) songs because our parents had told us about them. Now it is our responsibility to pass today`s songs to the future generations. I am sure these songs will also be remembered in the future just like old songs have been," Ali told reporters. The 47-year-old, who is popular in the Bollywood, has sung for a host of Hindi movies - `Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna`, `Dor`, `Tum Mile`, `My Name is Khan`, `Jannat 2` to name a few. He praises Bollywood music, saying it has now reached a different level. "The past decade was not a very favourable period for Bollywood music but today composers like Vishal Bhardwaj, Salim-Sulaiman and Pritam have taken film music to another level and I can see it progressing only," he said. Son of legendary Pakistani singer Ustad Amanat Ali Khan, Shafqat represents the seventh generation of Patiala gharana singers. A graduate from Government College University, Lahore, and a recipient of the roll of honour from its music society, he has been learning classical music since the age of four. Shafqat considers himself to be very lucky to have got the best films, music directors and actors. He goes on to say that at times a song does not appeal to the masses early on, but later it grows on them and becomes popular. "There are different kinds of songs. When people heard `Chahe koi mujhe jungli kahe`, they didn`t like it at all. But it is a song that has become a legend and will be heard by generations to come," he said. A former vocalist of Fuzon band, he feels there was no friction among the band members. Why did they disband the group? "When you play in a band, you have to deal with insecurities. A singer remains the face of a band no matter what you do. When you want to replace him, insecurities come up." "There were not any creative differences in Fuzon, there was just disagreements within the band members," he said. Respected in music circles in Pakistan and India, Shafqat is praised for his classical-contemporary blends like "Ankhon ke saaaer", "Khamaj" and "Akhiyan". IANS