Muzaffar Ali

Film director, artist, fashion designer, Sufi follower, and politician-for-a-while, Muzaffar Ali is a man of many talents. Best known for his highly acclaimed, award winning films such as Gaman and Umrao Jaan, Ali has a remarkably eclectic talent. Muzaffar Ali comes from the royal family of Kotwara, a small town north of Lucknow. Both Ali and his architect wife Meera are well known designers of traditional Awadhi dresses with a modern twist and together have made the Kotwara label famous throughout India.

Ali began his working career in Calcutta with Clarion McCann Advertising Services, where famous film director Satyajit Ray used to work as Art Director. It was there that Ali first thought about using film as a medium of social comment and artistic expression. After a brief stint in Delhi, he moved to Bombay where for about ten years he worked in the publicity department of Air India. In 1981, he resigned from his job at Air India to fully devote his time to film and art industry.

In 1978, he produced and directed his first feature film Gaman, which was an instant hit. With Faroukh Shaikh and Smita Patil in the leading roles, the film was cited as the most sensitive portrayal of problems of migration from villages to cities. Three years later, he produced and directed his best-known work to date; the much-appreciated film Umrao Jaan. Based on the famous novel by Mirza Mohammad Hadi Ruswa, Umrao Jaan is the story of a mid-19^th century courtesan of Lucknow, ably portrayed by the highly talented and beautiful Rekha. The subtle poetry of Shahryar’s lyrics, the rich and haunting quality of Khayyam’s music, combined with Muzaffar Ali’s masterly direction made the film a classic.

During the 1980s, Ali also made several very interesting short films, such as Vasiquedars-Pensioners of Awadh, Venue India, Woodcraft of Saharanpur, Laila Majnu kee Nai Nautankee, Ku-e-Yar Mein, Vaapas Chalo, Sheeshon ka Maseeha, Aya Basant Sakhi, Kali Mohini, and Semal ke Darakht. Ali is also an accomplished painter. Over the years, his art exhibitions have been held at Lucknow, Aligarh, Delhi, Calcutta, Bombay, and Paris.

Muzaffar Ali has always followed his heart in the journey of his life as an artist. His ongoing quest for beauty has drawn him toward the Sufi path of love. During the past decade he has produced several works on Sufism, such as Sama, Seena-ba-Seena, Paighaam-e-Mohabbat, Nisbat, and Raqs-e-Bismil.

Paighaam-e-Mohabbat, a 2-CD album, is a fine collection of poetry written by notable poets of the Indian sub-continent, who could express their pain and anguish on the partition of India only through their poetry. Highly poignant ghazals by Akhtar Sheerani, Rahi Masoom Raza, Jan Nisar Akhtar, Qazi Nazrul Islam, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, and Ahmed Faraz have been sensitively rendered by great singers such as Abida Parveen, Nurul Hasan, Chhaya Ganguli, Ustad Moin Khan, Sukhwinder Singh, Shorjo Bhattacharya, Swati Natekar, and Kavita Krishnamurthy. It’s definitely an album worth adding to your collection.

Raqs-e-Bismil is a collection of Sufi ghazals sung in the haunting voice of Abida Parveen. Brilliant poets such as Hazrat Shah Niaz, Asghar Gondvi, Hasrat Mohani, Hazrat Zaheen Shah Taaji, and Jigar Moradabadi wrote these magical ghazals. This presentation from Music Today is indeed for the connoisseur.

In recent years, Ali has been instrumental in organizing several programs that aim at bringing Sufi poetry back on to center stage through concerts that focus on the Sufi tradition of dance and poetry. One such program, called Tajalli, staged in several major Indian cities, was well attended and much appreciated.

What emerges next from the head and heart of this prolific artist – only time will tell!