[Reader-list] Murtaza Mustafa...The Rising... Prashant Pandey

Fri Jul 22 14:05:12 IST 2005

Murtaza Mustafa is a classical vocalist who has 
sung a number of film songs along with his brother Kadir. 
I had an intoductory posting about him and this is a detailed interview that happened at his Perry Road Residence in Bombay. 
I also wish to thank everybody who has followed my posts
with keen interest. 

Conversations with Murtaza Mustafa

Sir you belong to a tradition of a much rarified gharana
style of singing yet you do a lot of fusion and stage shows
and film scores
 is there ever a contradiction or any
self-doubts? 

No
 our musical grooming is different. Entire approach
is different. We never see classical as a holier- than thou genre.
The whole industry has trained from papa ( Ustad Ghulam
Mustafa Khan). We (Murtaza and Kadir) do everything that comes
our way; however we would never let our training and traditions down.

How was your training like?

It was
 see
 in our families a kid is taught music from a 
very tender age
 I think I was 6-7 years old when I started to learn. 
Our grandfather taught us. We had to get up at 5 am in the morning
for our riyaz. As kids we found it very distasteful but as time
progressed we got used to it. We were bound to a very strict 
discipline.  I have learnt from my grandfather, my uncle and my
father. There would always be people to teach us. Those days
there was no cable
 no other entertainment. There was a 
Sunday film and cartoon on Doordarshan. We would be told that
we wont be allowed to see them if we did not do our riyaaz. 
But our grandfather had his own style. He would give us extra 
makkhan (butter) in our breakfast and allow us a good time
to monkey around. He would say Today your brother was better
So I would practice more. Next day he would put the same thing
diplomatically to my brother Kadir. 

How your film music career started?

We used to do classical performances.. We still do infact.
Rehman bhai(A.R Rehman) came to Bombay to meet my father. 
Rehman bhai wanted to learn and my father was happy to take him as a student.  I think it was then only when we too sang
some raag
I think we sang Malkauns. Much later Rehman
Bhai told Hari bhai( Hariharan) that he had heard us and 
wanted to use our voices. So thats how it started. 

So you sang Pia Haji ali ( Fiza,2000) and Chupke se ( Sathiya,2002) 

No. we did a lot of alaaps in tamil films before it. 
These songs happened later. Actually we have a lot
of work in south
now we are getting a lot of offers
from south Indian producers
yet  it is a problem as
not everybody can pay for our air fare and accommodation 
charges. With Rehman there is no problem as he
works with big budgets. A lot of times we go to 
Chennai to do a very small alaap or to do backing vocals.

Is it because of your Hindustani classical identity?

Yes in a way. Rehman started this trend. 
Mixing carnatic with very pure Hindustani
classical alaap.  (He gives me a demo) 

There is a Tamil song that I heard
 there
is an alaap
( I try to do the alaap but I dont get the pitch right.)

(Murtaza smiles. )

(We talk about several things including
my interest in music and so on. Something 
strikes me and I sing that alaap again 
I tell him its a song from a huge hit calls Boys
(Tamil, 2003) and the song is Anarkali . 
He remembers it too and sings the alaap). 

Oh where did you hear it? 

I heard it in Delhi. 

I have done this alaap! 

(I tell him that its a great song and Rehman
should do more of his Tamil compositions in Bombay. 
He asks me if I can get a copy of the song

I tell him to ask any south Indian who he knows. )

I can try Hari bhai but Hari bhai (Hariharan)
wont have this
 (Smiles)

You have a song in Rising
( Aamir Khan Productions)

Yes its called Maula.( He gets up and plays a scratch
version of the song. Its a very tough song and both
Kadir and Murtaza Mustafa have sung it with ease
and power. Rehman and Kailash Kher have done
background vocals.) 

I am quite certain that people will like this song.
Lets hope for the best. 

How is Rahman to work with ?

Oh he is great.  He is a very energetic and spiritual person.
He can work non-stop for days. As you know he works in the night.
Whenever we enter his studio it is evening but when we get out 
We get to see a bright day.  Rahman has a very unique improvisational style.
A lot of times we stand in the studio with the mics and he plays
something on the keyboard And asks us to sing. There is no
practice. We sing it as we get newer ideas from Rahman.
He says, Sing this
 or later he would say 
 sing like that. 
You never know what is going to happen. Its  great fun. 

I hear that producer directors sit in waiting for him?

Yes
 Infact now Rahman bhai has got a very big studio 

very beautiful. Simultaneously he can do more than one project. 
He has a very efficient staff (recordists,arrangers,managers,
telephone operaters,Secretaries,helpers) and a pure south Indian 
canteen also. This helps him to finish the work efficiently

yet always there are producers/directors waiting. He says 
Now you come
. Now you come 

Its like a doctors clinic?

(Laughs) 

Please when you go for your next Rehman recording please 
Bring some song sheets from there. It will help me a lot
In my research. 

What will you do with song sheets?

Well
 I will scan it and put it on our website.
People can see what a Rehman song sheet looks like.

What are you doing these days?

Giving interviews.
(We laugh) 

We are making an album. It will be a mix of melody
Pop and classical. Then we are making a couple
Of television appearances to promote the music of Rising.

Best of luck

You too

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end of post 

Prashant Pandey for Sarai 

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