A voice for the ages

One of ghazal music’s most recognisable faces, Talat Aziz opens up about making it big in films and his music’s relevance today

Growing up in Hyderabad, especially when you’re born into a family that’s inclined towards art, you’re bound to pick up a thing or two about ghazals. That’s exactly what happened with Talat Aziz, one of the music form’s most recognisable faces.

“I come from an old Hyderabadi family — my father was a senior bureaucrat and was very fond of music, while my mother was a writer,” says Talat, speaking to us ahead of his performance in the city on Sunday. “It was a different era back then, we used to have these mehfils at home and that’s how I came to love music. But I never thought I’d take it up as a profession,” he adds.

After Jagjit Singh launched his career by producing his first ghazal album, Talat shot to fame and soon became a trusted playback singer for the Indian film industry too. But that didn’t take away from his focus on being a ghazal singer, he says: “From the late ’70s and early ’80s, there was a period of about 10-15 years where ghazals as an alternate to Bollywood became very big. I was a part of that movement. Our albums would outsell even Bollywood and international albums. People wanted a change, and we gave that to them — a simple melody with good lyrics. That’s essentially how ghazals became mass. Before that it was very niche.”

And even with the rise of other genres in the industry, he believes that ghazals are still just as universal. Talat says, “Last night I was in Kota where 10,000 people were listening to me for three hours. Internet and social media can help art, not just music. The only problem is, you have to invest and make sure you stand out. As long as you have talent, it will show... and hopefully you’ll get a break!”