Talat Aziz: Jagjit Singh was like an elder brother to me, he used to always tell me to act – Exclusive – Times of India


There are actors who can sing, singers who can act and then there is Ghazal maestro Talat Aziz, who can do both with equal mastery. After being introduced by the legendary ghazal singer Jagjit Singh in 1979, Talat was supposed to make his Bollywood debut as a lead in the 1989 film Dhun opposite Mahesh Bhatt, Sangeeta Bijlani, Anupam Kher among others. But unfortunately, the film did not get a release at that time. In his second innings as an actor, he is now moving ahead steadily with projects such as Scam 2003 and director Siddharth Anand’s Fighter. He also plays a role in the new OTT release Gulmohar alongside Sharmila Tagore, Manoj Bajpayee among others.
In an exclusive conversation with ETimes, Talat spoke candidly about his equation with Sharmila Tagore and Pataudi family, his acting and singing career and his unforgettable memories with Jagjit Singh.

Tell us about your role in Gulmohar.
I am playing the role of a close friend of the Batra family. I have also sung a song called Dilkash and acted on it. It acts as a facilitator for the film which opens with me. The director then opens up the tracks of the different characters in the film through my song Dilkash. It’s a 5-minute song and it has been beautifully done. Indo-American songwriter Siddhartha Khosla had sent me a scratch and then I started making the tune with the director. The lyrics have been penned by Shellee. It’s a beautiful song, very warm and it has been picturised when there’s a family function going on.

Since you share close relations with the Pataudi family, tell us how different it was to work with Sharmila Tagore.

I have shared close relations with Tiger (Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi) and his family. I have played cricket with his nephews Aamir and Saad (Saif Ali Khan’s cousins) in Hyderabad. We were in the same school. So it was a brilliant experience working with Sharmila ji and I will tell you why. When we were kids, we used to watch Sharmila ji on the big screen. She was a big star then and now as well. I have seen her film Safar 7-8 times. I was already a huge fan but we never got a chance to work together. So when we met for the first time on the sets of Gulmohar, she was very warm and gracious. The first thing she asked me was, ‘Kaise ho Talat?’ And I replied, ‘Mai thik hu, aap kaisi hai?’ And from that moment on we felt a comfort level with each other. We reminisced our old memories with the family. When she got married, they had hosted a huge party. I was also there. I was in school at that time. So we shared a lot of emotional moments together.

How was it to work with Manoj Bajpayee?

I have a very good relationship with Manoj. He is a music lover and every evening we used to have our music session on the sets. He is a big fan of my music. He is also a foodie. One thing about Manoj is that he will feed you but won’t eat himself. That’s how he remains fit and slim and makes everyone else fat (laughs).

How did acting happen to you?

I have been into acting for a long time now. This is my second innings. I had my first film Dhun as a lead actor in 1989 but unfortunately it did not release. It was supposed to star Sangeeta Bijlani, Anupam Kher and Laxmikant Pyarelal. It was a very good film but things did not materialise for some reason. Yash Johar had released the film’s songs and they became hits. It was not in my destiny, I guess. So I left it there and went to the US. Then I came back in 1994-95 and worked in selected TV shows like Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayee and Ghutan, followed by a lot of work in music. I have worked with Soni Razdan, Kiran Kumar, Navin Nischol and Vikram Gokhale.

It was not like I was new to acting. It’s just that people have not seen me enough on the screen. I keep getting a lot of acting offers but I didn’t do it because I couldn’t connect with them. I have done a short film Baai with Hansal Mehta and he is a good director so I decided to do it. I really enjoyed playing the role in it. During the shoot, Hansal told me one thing, ‘You don’t know how much your music has motivated me in my career.’ In fact, when we first met while shooting, we were singing my song together Kaise Sukoon Paoon.

Before I started acting, I remember filmmakers used to tell me, ‘Tumhari personality achchi hai, dikhte achche ho, acting kyu nahi karte?’ And I used to jokingly reply, ‘Haa banao na film, main acting karta hu.’ Then Dhun happened, Mehdi Hassan sang with me but it was not my in my destiny.

Will we see more of you on the screen going forward?

Now I am doing selected roles. I am getting good offers. After Gulmohar, I will be seen in Scam 2003. I have finished shooting my part. I am doing a small role in Siddharth Anand’s Fighter where I am playing Hrithik Roshan’s father. The makers had been requesting me multiple times, telling me, ‘Personality wise bohot suit karte hai aap.’ So I thought I will do it. Sanjay Khan and his wife Zarine are very close family friends. I used to meet Hrithik and Sussanne when they were together. Rakesh ji was also there. We used to go for dinners at Rishi Kapoor’s house. We used to have a gang. This was somewhere around 2001-03.

What about the evergreen musical career?

I have my live concerts, travel tours, my music album Yaadein will release now. And there are few more projects but I can’t reveal at this moment. Some projects I had to say no because my dates were clashing. I am just taking my time and moving ahead nice and slow.

Would you like to share the kind of relationship you shared with Jagjit Singh?

Jagjit Singh was like my elder brother. It is a mere coincidence that his birth anniversary was on February 8 and I did a concert at Dr Bashir Badr’s residence in Bhopal on February 18. The same day, it was also Mohammed Zahur Khayyam sir’s birth anniversary.

I first met Jagjit bhai, when he had come to my home in Hyderabad for daawat even before his album Unforgettables was released in 1975. I am talking about 1974. My father Abdul Azeem Khan was a very popular personality in Hyderabad. Everybody used to come to our home. When Jagjit came home, I told him that I also sing. He said, ‘Suna na kuch.’ I had a harmonium, a small mic but there was no stand. When I was searching for the stand, he told me, ‘You sing, I will hold the mic for you.’ He sat with me, held the mic and I started singing with my eyes closed. I was totally in the mood and did not realise for how long I had been singing. Then suddenly, when I opened my eyes, I saw my mother standing over there, making some gestures asking me to shut off, ‘Bas karo kab tak woh mic pakde rahenge tumhare liye.’ Haste haste hum log pagal ho gaye.

Jagjit bhai had then told me, ‘Tujhe compose karna hai na, tu Mumbai aa jaa, mai ghumata hu tujhe chal.’ I came to Mumbai in 1976. He used to take us for a ride in his Bug Fiat. Wo zamana kuch aur tha. He composed his first album because of me, Jagjit Singh introducing Talat Aziz. We recorded it in 1979, released it on February 8 on his birthday and today it’s been 42 years since then.

Log jo bhi bole na, Jagjit bhai ka aur mera rishta alag hi tha. We had inner mutual respect for each other. Kabhi milte the, kabhi alag bhi ho jate the, but with my wife Bina, he used to love and respect her a lot. If Bina ever asked Jagjit to come for walk on the ramp for a kids fashion fundraiser event, he never said no. He was just like, ‘Kab aana hai batao.’

I had also recorded a ghazal with him, which he sang in the 1996 serial Sailaab. It became very popular. He then recorded it and sung in several live shows. That time, he used to call me and ask, ‘Bina kaisi hai, bacche kaise hai.’ And it happened multiple times. Then one day, I was like, ‘bhai saab kabhi mere bare me bhi puch liya karo na.’ To which, he replied, ‘Tu to thik hai, tu acting kar, tu actor achcha hai.’ And I was like, ‘To mai kya gana nahi gau? Acting karu? To iska matlab aap ye kehna chahte hai ke mai achcha nahi gata hu?’ Such was our rapport.

Do you think Ghazal has stopped making the kind of impact it used to in mainstream cinema?

If you want to go by the storyline, it can happen. But people don’t have time nowadays. You will see how the story moves forward as the song progresses in Gulmohar. That keeps the interest of the audience. Times have changed. Everything has become digital now. But people who like listening to Ghazals are still there in large numbers. They sit for 2-3 hours straight. This is a misconception that Ghazal doesn’t have a presence any more. It is just because of social media that people think that there aren’t enough Ghazal listeners. Ghazal listeners have been around as they were. It also depends on the director and his vision. If the director doesn’t have enough knowledge of music or is not associated with it, then the collaboration with Ghazals won’t happen.

Have you ever felt the need to pitch your Ghazals to filmmakers?

I have never felt the need to go and ask anyone for work. Never. Jo aaya uparwale ne diya, log khud mere paas aaye, kaam aaya, mujhe pasand aaya to kar liya, aur puri imandari se kiya. Hum nahi jate kisike pass. There’s no need for that. I didn’t know Rahul. He came to me with Gulmohar. He introduced himself to me and said that he was doing a film and asked me if I can do the part. I told him that I won’t come to office. He said, ‘No worries, I will come to your home.’ I invited him for dinner, we sat and talked about it. He is a nice guy. He narrated me the story, maine kaha chalo done. Khana khaye, baate kari, chalte firte kam ho gaya. One thing I liked about this is, there was no stress at all. Earlier, there used to be a lot of noise during the shoots but now times have changed. It has become smooth. New techinques, new high resolution cameras are there, there is no shor sharaba, people have walkie-talkie on the sets. So no one shouts like the old times. It’s a different atmosphere.

Of late, some senior actors have spoken how they don’t get the respect they deserve on a film set, especially from younger members. Have you come across any such situation?

I have never come across such people or situations. I have done so many shoots but everyone, right from the spotboy to ADs to the production people, drivers, directors, everybody has been very respectful towards me.

When I was working on Scam 2003, there was a spot named Virender who used to give food to everyone. He used to come and ask, ‘Sir, kya lau aapke liye?’ I was like, ‘Bete kya hai bata.’ I used to treat him like a human being and not like a spot. He became a fan. Then I asked him, ‘Tune khana khaya?’ He was like, ‘Sir mai khaa lunga,’ Aur maine kaha tu jaa khana khake aa fir mai batata hu kya chahiye. He told me, ‘Aapko milne me maja aata hai bohot.’ I used to carry my harmonium with me in my vanity van. In between breaks, we used to have musical sessions. So, it is upto you how you want to spend your time and how you treat people. If you give respect, you earn respect.



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