Ghulam Ali to make acting debut with Indian film

Pakistan's legendary ghazal singer Ghulam Ali, whose performances in India were marred last year by Shiv Sena threats, is now geared to make his acting debut with Hindi feature film "Ghar Wapsi", directed by Suhaib Ilyasi. He has also composed and lent his voice to an Indian patriotic song for the movie.

Ghulam Ali is here to dub his portion of the film. On Tuesday at a studio here, he was visibly excited to try out acting, which is a "new thing" for him.

"If I keep on doing this for three to four more days, I can be a (professional) actor. I guess singing is very easy," Ghulam Ali, who seemed to have a childlike excitement during the dubbing, quipped during an interaction with IANS.

He was also showcasing his singing prowess in between dubbing, and shared that he took up the acting assignment for Ilyasi, whom he considers as a "younger brother".

The ghazal maestro has enthralled fans across the globe with his baritone voice, and just last week, he was in Kolkata where he performed to a packed audience, three months after the cancellation of his concert in Mumbai.

In "Ghar Wapsi", he has also contributed to the song "Apni mitti ki khushboo hain rago mein yeh basi hai?choomenge isko shaan se. Humko toh pyaara hain yeh watan, apni jaan se."

The film stars Alok Nath, Farida Jalal, Reema Lagoo, Deepak Tijori and Zarina Wahab, and also includes the work of singers like Sunidhi Chauhan, Sonu Nigam and Shaan apart from Ghulam Ali.

Ghulam Ali will head to Mumbai on January 29 for the music launch of the film, which is both produced and directed by Ilyasi of "India's Most Wanted" fame.

Ilyasi hoped the event goes off smoothly.

"I hope the 'Ghar Wapsi' music launch will be smooth and successful without any hiccups," Ilyasi said, adding that "India and Pakistan's relations are improving".

"Both the country's governments and prime ministers are politically inclined to bring people of the two nations closer. Music, art and culture play a pivotal role in mending ties," he said.

(Nivedita can be contacted at nivedita.s@ians.in)