Zubeen Garg's Voice Turned Ya Ali Into Deep Yearning, Emotional Ode To Love - Looking Back At Gangster's Iconic Song

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Ali appears in the third arc of Gangster (2006) and reverberates with Shiney Ahuja's yearning to God for fnding a new direction to life. It's more like a race against the will of many others, and hence its fast-tempo matches with the story's pace. It was the first time when the man singing the track with guitar at a dargah got noticed in its visuals. He was Zubeen Garg, and this was his breakthrough song in Bollywood.ALSO READ: Ya Ali Singer Zubeen Garg Dies At 52 After Freak Accident In Singapore

Zubeen's versatility made Ya Ali different

Ya Ali wasn't your regular Hindi film song. Infact, it wasn't even completely an original track, but a remake of Kuwait-based band Guitara's single Ya Ghali. Though some reports claimed a rip-off, Pritam's touch gave a strong base to Zubeen's husky voice to express the pain of Shiney Ahuja's lead character, Daya.Ya Ali appears when Shiney Ahuja is trying to gather resources to leave crime and flee with his love, Kangana Ranaut for a better life, unaware about her infidelity with Emraan Hashmi and getting double crossed. He clashes with his super boss, the baap of underworld, Gulshan Grover who wants him to stay. Shiney literally pleads to let him go, exactly what the mood of the track does.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmHnlBqjpm0

Magic of words

Sayeed Quadri's words explain the song's agony, placement in story arc and the manner in which it was packaged. It is about a lovelorn man asking for help from Ali (God) in his hour of sorrow. Ya Ali is not a happy song. But it infuses hope towards a better life: "Mujhe kuch pal de qurbat ke. Faqeer hum teri chahat ke. Rahein bechain dil kab tak. Mile kuch pal to rahat ke."Ya Ali is not lip-synced. It runs with the story, with Zubeen appearing in portions since the action around Shiney happens at the shrine. It's so beautifully placed that one doesn't even need a screenplay especially for the track. The track becomes the movie's screenplay at that time. "Because such songs happen once in 10 years.. sometimes once in a lifetime.. It's a benchmark for us," Zubeen had said about Ya Ali in an old interview.

Zubeen's gritty voice still echoes

It's been almost 20 years of Ya Ali, but not an ounce of its melody, singing and presentation has become outdated. It wasn't just the 2000s that made it iconic, it was Zubeen's unabashed vocals.Zubeen voice was apt for emotional renditions. Its deep, gritty texture was too unique for regular Bollywood singing. He could turn simple melodies into a fusion of Indian and Sufi. Infact most of his songs, be it any language, films or singles were rich in blending Indian folk, Hindustani classical, and rock music. His versatility will remain unparalleled, and the vacuum will remain not just in Assam, but the entire country.