Ali all the way

Pakistani singer Shafqat Amanat Ali releases his first solo album in the city with a concert

His vocal feats in songs like Mitwa from Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna and Ye hausla from Dor may have left you breathless, but in Kolkata , Pakistani singer Shafqat Ali Khan was only too happy to hand over the mike to the audience at the Rabindaranath Tagore Centre auditorium this Monday. 8220;It8217;s wonderful to be among people who understand music so well,8221; said Amanat as he handed over the mike to a youth who crooned the track Aankhon ke Saagar from his earlier album with the Pakistani band Fuzon. The packed-to-capacity auditorium was playing host to the launch of Amanat Ali8217;s album, Tabeer, which means fulfillment of dreams. The nine-track contemporary Sufi album happens to be his first solo album too. 8220;With this, I have realised my dream of composing the kind of songs that inspire me,8221; smiled Ali. There8217;s one more reason to cheer: even before its launch, the album has soared the charts.

Ali, who left the band Fuzon in 2004, to pursue a successful career in Bollywood, performed for a good two hours, regaling the appreciative audience with tracks such as Naina, Khairhenya de naal and Dum Ali that feature in the latest compilation. But that wasn8217;t all, as the rain lashed outside, he belted out Bollywood hits Mitwa from Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna and Ye hausla from Dor, apart from Aankhon ke Saagar, Tere Bina and Mora Saiyan too, which added to the already romantic atmosphere. And as the concert drew to an end, the mood mellowed with Allah tero naam, Ishwar tero naam. 8220;If it were up to me I would have had this song on the album too,8221; said a wistful Ali. As part of an initiative by Music Today and The Indian Express Group, Ali had earlier toured Delhi and Mumbai.