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Lucky Ali

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For the Danish cricketer, see Lucky Ali (cricketer).

Lucky Ali
Ali performing in Goa, December 2020
Background information
Birth nameMaqsood Mahmood Ali
Also known asLucky Ali
Born (1958-09-19) 19 September 1958 (age 66)
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
  • actor
InstrumentsVocals, guitar
Years active1978–present
Labels

Maqsood Mahmood Ali (born 19 September 1958), better known as Lucky Ali, is an Indian singer, songwriter, and actor. With several popular singles and albums, he emerged as a significant figure of Indipop during the 1990s.[1]

Early life and education

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Ali is the second of the eight children of Bollywood actor, Mehmood Ali. His mother Mahliqa, was part Bengali and part Pashtun, and the younger sister of 1960s Indian actress Meena Kumari. The Bollywood actress and dancer, Minoo Mumtaz, was his paternal aunt. He attended City Montessori School, Convent of Jesus and Mary, Hampton Court, Mussoorie, Manekji Cooper (Kindergarten) (Juhu), Bombay Scottish School in Mumbai, and the Bishop Cotton Boys' School, Bangalore.[2]

Connection with Tagore family

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His mother Mahliqa's grandmother, Hem Sundari Tagore, was either the daughter or a widow of Rabindranath Tagore's distant cousin.[3][4] After the death of her husband, she was forced by his family to leave for Meerut, where she became a nurse, married a Christian named Pyare Lal Shakir Meeruti (1880–1956) who was an Urdu journalist and embraced Christianity.[5] She had two daughters; one of whom was Prabhavati, Ali's mother Mahliqa's mother.[6][page needed]

Personal life

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Ali has two children with his first wife Meaghan Jane McCleary – Ta'awwuz and Tasmiyah. He then married Inaya (Anahita, a Persian). With her, he has two children: Sara and Raiyan. He married a third time in 2010 to British model and former beauty queen Kate Elizabeth Hallam whom he divorced in 2017.[7][8] The couple has a son named Dani Maqsood Ali.[9] Ali presently lives on the outskirts of Bengaluru in his farm house. His favourite places are Mecca and Medina.[10]

Ali and his father shared a tempestuous relationship. Mehmood Ali was a very busy actor in the 1960s and 70s, and remained away from home for his shoots. Once, around the age of four when Ali first returned from boarding school, Mehmood and the entire family had come to receive Ali after 10 months in boarding school, at the airport. Ali did not recognize his father, but on seeing him said, "He's the film comedian Mehmood!" Ali lived away from his family in a St George's College boarding school in Dehradun, Mussoorie. Ali's tryst with marijuana led Mehmood to write the script of the movie Dushman Duniya Ka (Enemy of the World).[11] The movie stars Ali's youngest brother, Manzoor. It is the story of the drug abuse of a young man called Lucky. In the end, the young man kills his mother, destroys everything around him and is then killed by his father. Ali differed from his father's vision and did not act in the movie. "I felt the story lacked hope," he said.[11] However, he sang his first song for the film.[12]

Best known for his music, singing and acting, Ali has also bred horses, worked on an oil rig off the coast of Pondicherry in South India, cleaned and sold carpets and is a farmer with a strong opinion on organic methods in farming.[13]

Personal albums

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Ali made his debut on the Indian music scene with the album Sunoh, which established him as a singer. This album won many of the top awards in Indian music, including the Best Pop Male Vocalist at the 1996 Screen Awards and the Channel V Viewers Choice Award in 1997. It stayed on the MTV Asia Charts in the top three for 60 weeks. The song "O Sanam" from Sunoh launched his career. It was also nominated at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards[2] His next album, Sifar, was noted for its music, lyrics and vocals.

Ali became known for his distinctive music style and also for his untrained voice - elements that helped him emerge as a leading figure in Indipop during the period.[14] His third and fourth albums were Aks and Kabhi Aisa Lagta Hai, both of which were reasonably successful. He is also known for contributing the song "Anjaani Raahon Mein" to the album Meri Jaan Hindustan, which commemorated 50 years of Indian independence in the year 1997. The video was directed by Mani Shankar, and features him as a young rural man working in a foreign country, with a longing to go back home, and his joy of actually returning to a place he loved. When asked about the video, he once said "The video of 'Anjaani Raahon Mein' was a beautiful story in itself. It was done straight from the heart and it is very special to me."

Bollywood career

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Ali debuted in Bollywood with the song "Nasha Nasha" in the movie Dushman Duniya Ka. After that he sung "Ek Pal Ka Jeena" and "Na Tum Jaano Na Hum", featured in Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000). He received the 2001 Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer for "Ek Pal Ka Jeena" song. He was nominated for the Best Playback Singer Male for "Aa Bhi Jaa", featured in Sur in the 48th Filmfare Awards, but lost to Sonu Nigam. He has lent his voice to films such as Sur (2003), Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008), Anjaana Anjaani (2010) and Tamasha (2015).

Playback singing career

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Lucky Ali started his playback singing career with the song "Walking All Alone" from the film Ek Baap Chhe Bete in 1978. This film starred Mehmood Ali and his six sons. Ali's second song was "Nasha Nasha" from the film Dushman Duniya Ka, which starred his brother Manzoor Ali in the lead role. The film was directed by their father Mehmood.

He has worked with composers such as A.R Rahman, Vishal Bhardwaj, Vishal–Shekhar, Mikey McCleary, Prashant Pillai, Varun Ahuja and Rajiv Bhalla.

Acting career

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As the nephew of Meena Kumari and son of Mehmood, Lucky Ali did not lack the requisites to make his debut as an actor. He first appeared in Chote Nawab ("The Little Prince") in 1962, directed by Mehmood. He acted in a few films in the 1970s and 1980s such as Yehi Hai Zindagi (1977), Hamare Tumhare (1979) and Shyam Benegal's Trikaal (1985). He also acted in the television series Bharat Ek Khoj, directed by Shyam Benegal. After a long break from acting, he returned in Sanjay Gupta's Kaante (2002), in which he acted alongside leading stars Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Kumar Gaurav and Suniel Shetty. Ali also acted in the TV serial Zara Hatke. In 2002, he acted in the Hindi musical Sur-The Melody of Life playing a complex role.

Discography

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Main article: Lucky Ali discography

Ali's discography contains six studio albums, six compilations, seven singles, 19 soundtracks, two concert tours and two other albums (as a composer).

Studio albums

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Soundtrack

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Filmography

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Films

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Year Film Role Notes
1962 Chote Nawaab child artist
1974 Kunwara Baap child artist
1977 Yehi Hai Zindagi Dinesh
1976 Ginny Aur Johnny Man in Car
1978 Ek Baap Chhe Bete Lucky
1979 Hamare Tumhare Ajay
1985 Trikaal Erasmo
2002 Sur-The Melody of Life Vikramaditya Singh
2002 Kaante Maqbool "Mak" Haider
2005 Kasak Amar
2008 Good Luck! Tarun Chopra
2009 Runaway Khalid
2021 Murder at Teesri Manzil 302 Inspector Tejender Singh

Television series

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Year Title Role Notes
1986 Katha Sagar
1988 Bharat Ek Khoj[16] Various characters
1994 Zara Hatke [17] Malu
2013 The Dewarists Himself

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Viral: Lucky Ali's Impromptu Gig In Goa. Need We Say More?". NDTV.com. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b Mala Kumar (25 September 2003). "Ali is a Maali at Home". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 21 May 2009. Retrieved 11 February 2008.
  3. ^ "MEENA KUMARI: An Enigma". Songsofyore. 1 August 2017. Archived from the original on 27 February 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  4. ^ "The eternal Tragedy Queen". 1 August 2018. Archived from the original on 28 August 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Literary Notes: Meena Kumari, Pyare Lal Shakir Meruthi and journalism". Dawn. 25 February 2020. Archived from the original on 25 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  6. ^ Mehta, Vinod (2013). Meena Kumari: The Classic Biography. HarperCollins Publishers India. ISBN 9789350296271.
  7. ^ "Former Miss UK Visits Samarthanam | This Week Bangalore". Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  8. ^ "'I realised that I want a man who is not divided between three families' - Times of India". The Times of India. 25 September 2019. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Our son is God's most beautiful gift to us: Lucky Ali's wife". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  10. ^ "Malleshwaram & St Mark's Road, Bengaluru with Lucky Ali | Tere Gully Mein | Curly Tales". YouTube.
  11. ^ a b Aparjita Ghosh. "Hitting the high notes". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
  12. ^ "Lucky Ali explains his cryptic tweet on chemotherapy that got fans worried about his health". Hindustan Times. 20 July 2018. Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  13. ^ "ALI is MAALI at home". The Hindu. 25 September 2003. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  14. ^ Ghosh, Devarsi (31 December 2019). "Press play (and wipe away the tears): The ultimate 1990s Indipop songlist". Scroll.in. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  15. ^ "Lucky Ali makes Sandalwood debut". The Times of India. 9 November 2011. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012.
  16. ^ "Revisiting Bharat Ek Khoj that showcases India's rich history in brief". 26 January 2021.
  17. ^ "Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah's Dilip Joshi shares a throwback picture from his show 'Zara Hatke'; says 'the first time I was entrusted to lead the show' - Times of India". The Times of India. 5 September 2020.
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