The initial excuses were that he was unwell. And then news filtered out that he had to undergo a tonsillectomy - a surgery of his troublesome tonsils that could have taken a long while to recover - or could even change his voice texture. The surgery news could have been true - or maybe it was just another rumour floated about. But the real reasons on why Amanat Ali preferred to keep away from Saregamapa seems to be very different.
According to a close friend of mine, who spent quite a while with various local organizers of the Saregamapa world tour in the US, it was Amanat Ali and his family who decided to take a stance that Amanat will not be part of the Zee sponsored Saregamapa tour. After Saregamapa ended, Amanat did stay back in India for a few days. In between he did fulfill a few Zee obligations, including the interview you saw on Zee Next recently. But once he left for Pakistan at the end of October, Amanat's family firmly said NO to Zee television's plans.
The fact was that Amanat's family was seriously irked with Zee Television. They were so angry with Zee, that they simply refused even to talk to them. The world tour organizers were caught in a tough situation. Publicity of Amanat participating in the show was already heavily done. Local sponsors all across Northern America were putting pressure on Safdar Hussain and Daboo Malik, the main organizers. They badly wanted Amanat for the shows, but the Ali family wasn't in a mood to relent.
Finally, the organizers met Nazakat Ali, Amanat Ali's father who was based in Brooklyn, NY, to sort out the issue. According to local organizers, Amanat was offered a princely sum that ran into several thousands of dollars to be part of the concerts. The amount, they say was, way higher that any other singer was paid. Safdar and Daboo Malik were confident that Amanat's family (which isn't soaked in money in any case), would give in to the temptation. But Amanat's father simply refused the offer. And it was then when Amanat's pictures were removed from the promotion posters.
That brings us to the point - what did Zee do that irritated Amanat's family to such a great extent? Why did the family, which could have accepted the money, decide that honour was far more important? It couldn't have been the Saregamapa final results. Amanat, in any case wasn't a favourite to win the trophy.
The only reason I can see is the Independence day controversy. What had happened there? Let's do a recap. Zee wanted a bit of controversy to boost its TRPs. So what its think-tank did was simple. The team of Ashish Kaul, Payaol Patel and Rajeev Arora decided to invent a story and leak the information to the press. They planted a story in the media that the Pakistani singers had refused to sing Indian patriotic songs. The issue was needlessly blown out of proportion by some shrewd manipulation by Ashish Kaul and his chamchas. And then they forced Amanat Ali, Junaid and Mussarat to apologize on International television for something they never did. And this is what probably didn't go well with Amanat's family. They saw this manipulation by Zee as a blot on their honour. And rightly so, they refused to toe the Zee line.
There has also been another theory going the rounds that the friction between Zee and Ismail Darbar was responsible for Amanat and Poonam's non-participation. There were suggestions that ID might have blocked Amanat and Poonam's participation from the world tour. Plus, Poonam has not been seen in any Zee sponsored shows - for instance the Israel concert. But I am not convinced about the ID theory. Zee had enough clout to block Amanat's participation from the Surat Garba . And remember only Amanat's picture were removed from the world tour posters, not Poonam's.
Whatever the reasons, there is a very good chance that Amanat might not be seen in India in the near future, unless he gets a big break from the Indian music industry.
Amanat fans did miss out on seeing him on the world tour. Amanat too lost an opportunity to consolidate his fan base. But what must be appreciated is the principled stand Amanat's family took - there is no point in bowing to third-rate manipulators. Even if that means risking a bright career.
http://www.rajahasan.com/?p=466
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