Ghazal exponent ropes in cricketers to spread goodwill

CALCUTTA, MARCH 27: The lure of lucre, fame and media glare has dealt a blow to the purity of ghazal rendering. But ghazal exponent Satish Babbar says he’s different. “I can never do injustice to music and deviate from the classical base and the ragas for instant stardom,” says Babbar in an interview on the eve of his concert in the city.

“Good poetry and melody are very important in ghazal singing and no singer should compromise on that for purely commercial reasons,” says Babbar, whose latest album Aaghaz features cricketers like Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid spreading the message of goodwill and integration.

Babbar, a cricket lover himself and whose album on World Cup 1999 with 25 Indian cricketers like Ganguly, Dravid, Kapil Dev, Azharuddin and Madan Lal was an instant hit, said Aaghaz, with six ghazals, excellent lilting and rhythmic music like that of the "golden era" is totally different from the those coming out now.

Music video Aaghaz, an Urdu word meaning "The Beginning", not only has the popular appeal of cricketers, but also marks the beginning of songs that have mesmerised the audiences in the past, claims Babbar.