Chandigarh, May 23
When music builds bridges, distances cannot deter people from coming together. In an exclusive telephonic interview with Chandigarh Tribune from Mumbai today, the light-eyed singer shared his latest passion, Tanuja Chandra’s ‘Sur’, the film which has cast the singing star in a fresh mould.

“A human story,” as Lucky called it, will have the singer in the role of a music teacher, involved in a clash of emotions and ego with his pupil, played by new-comer Gori Karnik. Enthusiastic about the two movies in his kitty, Tanuja’s ‘Sur’ and Sanjay Gupta’s ‘Kaante’, Lucky is counting on the substance of the scripts. “We should let the film speak for itself. But I cannot resist praising the script. ‘Sur’ operates on a very human level. It is the story of every heart; something which everyone can relate to. It talks of love between the teacher and the learner; it also talks of conflict, which needs to be resolved. The film is about how things are and how they ought to be,” he says.

A firm believer of the director’s mettle, the singer said, “It is through the director that the actor feels the film. The former’s role is indispensable.” In his first ever full-fledged venture as a hero, Lucky is also lending his voice to the soothing scores, brought to life by music director, M.M. Kareem, the man who won accolades for ‘Zakhm’. Lucky is also doing a song in Kaante, in which he is cast along with Sanjay Dutt and Sunil Shetty.

While Lucky is going places, spurred by his new-found talent of acting, life can only get better. Just as it did when music came to the rescue of this horse-breeder, who was also engaged in selling carpets at a friend’s showroom. Focussing his mind on music, Lucky climbed up the ladder of success fast enough to overtake seasoned Bollywood, singers to clinch the Filmfare best male playback, singer for ‘Na tum jaano na hum from Kaho na pyaar hai’.....

Music has always been Lucky’s refuge, as is evident from the kind of songs he offered right from his first ballad ‘O sanam’. This was the score which shot Lucky to fame and sold over 4 lakh copies. The singer remembers the wave of victory, when he won several awards, including ‘Best Pop Male Vocalist’, at the 1996 Screen Awards, the Channel [V] Viewers’ Choice Award (1997). He even stayed on MTV Asia charts for 60 weeks!

The latest musical offering from the man, born to Mehmood as Masood Mehmood Ali, is called ‘Iksoi’. As Lucky told Chandigarh Tribune, “The title means “one path”. It is a Hindustani word, which points towards a singular direction. The songs are soft, as is my style.” Lucky also talked about his friend Aslam, who completes the songs which Lucky writes for his albums. “We can understand each other. Most of my songs are completed by Aslam. My lyrics thus stem from two sources,” said Lucky, for whom music and horses, lie closest to his heart.

Talking to Lucky Ali was like feeling his music every moment of the conversation. One could sense that Lucky believes in celebrating life. As he admitted, “There is no bigger influence than life itself. It helps you take courses meant for you. I concentrate on today and tomorrow happens naturally. I love to feel free, keep my heart and senses open. That is the only way to enjoy the beauty of existence.”