An acting debut for Ghulam Ali... as himself!

While a particular political party rants against the Pakistani presence in the Indian entertainment industry and has successfully stopped Ghulam Ali’s concert in Mumbai scheduled for January 29, the ghazal maestro quietly slipped into Delhi last week to complete his work on the film Ghar Wapsi.

Reveals the film’s director Suhaib Ilyasi, “Ghulam Ali saab plays Ghulam Ali, the ghazal singer. But he isn’t just singing in Ghar Wapsi. He has a full-length role with scenes and dialogues.”

Ilyasi says there was no problem shooting with Ghulam Ali. “We shot the entire film in Delhi. Ghulam Ali saab is most  welcome in every part of India and the rest of the world except Mumbai and Maharashtra, where  a certain political party is using muscle power to keep him out.”

When Ghulam Ali’s concert was cancelled, the maestro was in Lahore and unwilling to say anything on the matter.

Says Suhaib Ilyasi, “My film Ghar Wapsi is about the growing religious and political intolerance in the country. For those who say that no intolerance exists in our country, why don’t they look at how an artiste of Ghulam Ali's stature is treated by certain political elements in Maharashtra?”