“Faiz Unplugged” is a celebration of Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poetry, his life and times, with a rendition of his famous ghazals by the renowned Indian Classical Sufi singer Smita Rao Bellur.
The concept, design, script and narration is by Suhail Akhtar Warsi, a well known literary figure in the Urdu world, writer, poet and production designer.
About the Artists Smita Bellu & Suhail Akhtar Warsi
Smita Bellur is rare amongst India’s vocalists. She is India’s first female Hindustani vocalist to have been accepted into a lineage of traditional qawaals (Sufi/ Islamic mystic singers) and to have received extensive guidance from them. This remarkable training, her deep engagement with mysticism and over twenty years of being immersed in the Khayal form of north Indian classical music has meant that her performances bring a profound humanity and an an easy access to the spiritual poetry of the sub continent – Nirguni, Bhakti, Sufi, Veerashaiva and Haridasa traditions dating back to the 12th century. Her perfect tones, depth and her ability to sing mellifluously in many languages (Hindi, Urdu, Kannada, Punjabi) has connected her with audiences across the subcontinent on hundreds of occasions – on radio, on TV, at fund raiser/ charity shows, inter-faith harmony gatherings, festivals such as Jodhpur RIFF (Rajasthan), Spree Paisley Festival (Scotland), Jahan-e-Khusrau (Delhi) Eid-e-Milap (Hyderabad), Kalaghoda Arts Festival (Mumbai) and for state governments and national agencies such as the Indian National Trust for Cultural Heritage.
A post-graduate in systems management and ex-SAP manger, Smita has now dedicated her life to raising her daughter, performing and teaching music and making music in an environment conducive to her spiritual practice.
Suhail Akhtar Warsi is a Writer, Poet, Lyricist Playwright and has authored books such as ‘Urdu aur Bollywood’, has been the editor of ‘Khirman’ and co-authored ‘Immortal dialogue of Mughal-e-Azam’