I8217;ll be back: Ghulam Ali

MUMBAI, April 27: For Pakistani ghazal singer, Ghulam Ali, Sunday's ugly incident is a non-event. The drama, which saw a mob of angry Shiv S...

MUMBAI, April 27: For Pakistani ghazal singer, Ghulam Ali, Sunday8217;s ugly incident is a non-event. The drama, which saw a mob of angry Shiv Sainiks storming the stage at Hotel Juhu Centaur and led to the cancellation of the maestro8217;s performance, has also left Ali unfazed.

The singer says he has no qualms about returning to the city and will, in fact, be back in May for another performance. 8220;I have a live performance scheduled in Mumbai again some time in May. Insha Allah tab baat karenge,8221; he told Express Newsline at the hotel, before leaving for an undisclosed destination in the city.

Allergic to controversy of any kind, Ali softly says: 8220;Bade afsos ki baat hai It8217;s very unfortunate.8221; He absolutely refuses to be drawn into commenting on Sunday8217;s incident, saying only 8220;the atmosphere is not right8221;.

Ali has also refused the security cover offered by the Mumbai police and was anxious to make a quick exit. 8220;I have a lot of friends and well-wishers in Mumbai and I am going tospend the rest of my time here with them,8221; he explains.

Police bandobast at the hotel has been tightened since Sunday, when around 100 Shiv Sainiks, led by Vibhag Pramukh Vinayak Raut, rushed to the stage and shouted anti-Pakistan slogans, forcing the organisers to cancel Ali8217;s performance. The Sainiks had seated themselves among the audience and descended on the stage as the musicians were tuning their instruments.

However, no police complaint has been lodged as a terrified Navin Rohotgi, director of Sapphaire Entertainment Ltd which had organised the show, merely handed over a letter to the local police saying the show was disrupted and had to be cancelled 8220;due to unavoidable circumstances8221;.

8220;I do not want to register any police complaint in this regard,8221; Rohotgi says, refusing to say any more. Police say they had no inkling that trouble was in store. 8220;It was a private function and no tickets were sold. We had only given permission to the organisers to use loudspeakers after 10 pm, and whateverbandobast was made at the hotel was meant to ensure safety of the guests, which included personalities like Dilip Kumar who already have police protection,8221; explains Police Inspector Arun Wable of the Santacruz police station.

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In fact, Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray was invited as chief guest but he failed to show up. The Sainiks themselves had been invited, and their rowdy behaviour took the guests completely by surprise. Police Inspector A R Kadam of the Criminal Investigation Department says Ali was also offered personal security and an escort vehicle, but he refused to accept them. 8220;Ali told us it would only attract more attention to the controversy and has checked out of the hotel,8221; Kadam says.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Manohar Joshi was hard put to explain the tamasha created by Sainiks at the programme. An embarrassed Joshi, besieged by reporters after a press briefing on the launch of the government8217;s Marathi television channel, was cornered by the press corps, whose rapid-fireinterrogation8217; left the chief minister almost speechless this evening. Joshi, a Sainik himself, said he would seek more information and consult party chief Bal Thackeray before announcing the government8217;s policy on Pakistani artistes performing in Mumbai. Shuffling his papers nervously, Joshi said he was not in the city when the incident took place and was therefore unable to state the government8217;s response to the Sainik8217;s show of strength at the function. The CM ignored most questions, deliberately avoiding the reporters8217; gaze. Frustrated by now, the reporters asked him if he was at least aware of the incident. Replying in the affirmative, Joshi reiterated that he would seek more details on it.