Jeewan aanch ne kya bakhsha, aik sacche sur ki pyas,
Woh sachha sur laga nahi aur Aali gaye nirash.
In the small state of Loharu, India, 120 miles from Delhi, that had its own small army, laws and police. Where the rich grassy glades covered the hills and valleys, surrounding the fort of great nobles; was born Prince Jamiluddin Aali.
Aali Sahab recalls his childhood days of being the only son of his mother, being stubborn, and happy-go-lucky, so that his every wish was fulfilled. “I went to see Alam Ara in 1931, the first talkie movie of the subcontinent. In the film, my attention was riveted to the dance of 12 girls in a circle, which was most fascinating. As my mother said, ‘Look! Aali has seen the dances of 12 ladies’. Film-making in New Theatres and Bombay Talkies grew with brilliant writers, talented artists and equally gifted production staff,” said Aali Sahab.
This earliest talkie hit, Alam Ara effectively broke the magic of the golden silent era. It was directed by Ardeshir Irani, while melodies were composed by Feroz Shah M. Mistri and B. Irani. The leading actors were Master Vithal, Zubeida, Sushila, Prithviraj Kapoor and Wazir Mohammad, both of whom played spectacularly successful characters. The whole treatment of the film was very professional that produced great results from a single recording system.
Streetplays written by Agha Hashar and others were very popular. People believed that theatre is inspirational enough to interpret the facts of life. “Theatre is still a powerful media to convey messages, but its vulgarity has ruined the impact which made it elegant and popular since ancient days, when cinema was nowhere,” said Jamiluddin Aali. The magic of cinema created glorified evergreen characters that continued a timeless sojourn on the tinsel screen. Among those several films were Chandidas, Devdas and Pukar. “The eponymous character Devdas, played by K.L. Saigol, still stands tall, outliving his existence to celebrate the glorious transition from the pages of a novel to a magnum opus on celluloid. The melodious rendering, Ek bangla baney nyara from Devdas and Baalam aaey baso mere man mein and Ik rajey ka beta ley kar urrney wala ghorra from film President became very famous,” said Aali Sahab.
Youth of those days used to climb trees to emulate the heroes of the films, and were such hero-worshippers that they copied their hairstyles. That was the time when Aali Sahab got addicted to films after watching Pukar, starring Chandra Mohan, Pari Chehra Naseem and Khursheed. “This was the time when the enlightened elite of Urdu wove the cinematographical excellence and created the treatment that was meted out to the plot. Pukar was made up of self-explanatory characters, alongwith elegant dialogues and lyrics by Urdu poetry icon, Maulana Arzoo Lakhnavi that are portrayed in the form of a delicate mix of a poetic romance on cine screen,” says Aalijee.
He has been visiting USA since 1961, where he had an opportunity to watch a legendary movie, Fort of Alamo many times. “Its seven versions have already been made by different names but the impact and treatment on the screen grabs you each time. The last of the defenders among the Texans, David Crockett made a history of independence struggle, which will be remembered forever”, said Aali Sahab.
Continuing with his assessments, Aali Sahab added, “Kamal Amrohvi and Sohrab Modi were prominent directors and producers of their time who made classical, much more believable and acceptable film for masses. He also mentioned that Kamal Amrohvi and Meena Kumari got close to each other after an accident or sickness during shooting at Pune, where Kamal Amrohvi nursed her as a sincere friend, and that was the reason that impressed her to finally marry him.
“In 1946 I went to Pune at some Mushaira, where I met W.Z. Ahmed, who made a famous film company, under whose banner a hit movie Ghulami was produced. Josh Mlihabadi, Krishen Chandra, Ismat Chughtai worked in the same film company for years; I was also asked to work, but refused, as I am always stubborn and choosy,” recalled Aali Sahab.
Progressive and modern thoughts were garnered into Jamiluddin Aali’s personality, in the company of Akhtarul Inam, a free verse poet, Ali Sardar Jafri, Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Mukhtar Siddiqui.
Discussing the different styles of music i.e. dhurpad, khayal, thumri and ghazal, Aali Sahab proves that he has the concept of different forms of raags. “From those numerous Sur Taal, I can identify the raags inbetween. One of the raags, Jai Jai Vanti and Matiyali inspired me a lot, as I started reciting my dohas in it,” he said. “Originality comes from the fact that all this music is inseparable from the poetry that it is structured on. A classical scheme you will find here in Fateh Ali Khan, Nazakat and Salamat Ali; Roshan Ara Begum had an unmatched style and sang in a rich, all-pervading voice”, says Aali Sahab. He also recalled the visit of maestro Nazakat-Salamat to India in 1956, where they emerged as great artistes of subcontinent, and lived on in the heart of every music lover through their incredible performance.
Aali Sahab’s patriotic and motivational songs, Jevey jevey Pakistan, Hum maaein hum behnein hum beitiyan, Hum Mustafavi hain etc. have given a new dimension to the music that created versatility among the singers. “Our biggest asset, Noor Jahan was genius with her expressions in music. Aey watan ke sajiley jawano mere naghme tumharey liyay hain, with all its poetry, has still the power to capture the strings of every heart”, says Aali Sahab.
For forty years, Jamiluddin Aali has studied deeply and made many observations. He has read many books of science, philosophy, literature and general knowledge. Carl Sagan’s powerful Cosmos inspired him a lot. “I want to see the reality of life and universe through science; that is what is being proved. We do not find it in philosophy or in religion, that is why Cosmos inspired me. In 1949, I started writing free verse, titled Insaan that is still incomplete. I am trying to figure out the physical aspect of mankind through it, but I’m not able to get the result, because the process is still on; and I might have asked Christopher Hawkins and other discoverers and inventors from Pythagoras to Dickens to get the answer.
“Haqiqat-e-kubra to jazb-o-fikr key sath ab ek inkeshaf key ma’mal se janna hoga”, concluded Aali sahab.
FAVOURITE FILM: Pukar
FAVOURITE SINGERS: Sehgal, Roshan Ara Begum, Noor Jahan
Jeewan aanch ne kya bakhsha, aik sacche sur ki pyas,
