For Ali Mercchant, a performance in Hyderabad comes with a sense of familiarity. The actor-DJ was recently in the city for a show with Sunny Leone, where their respective performances came together on one stage. For Ali, though, Hyderabad is not simply another stop on his performance calendar. It is a city he has a longstanding connection with, both personally and musically. In a chat with us, he talks about the collaboration, his relationship with the city and the journey that has taken him from television and acting to finding his space behind the DJ console.‘Hyderabad is my second home’Ali’s recent Hyderabad performance with Sunny Leone brought together his DJ set with her performances of popular songs, accompanied by a group of dancers. “It was a great collaboration between Sunny and me. I had created a Sunny Leone mashup for the performance, and she performed to the songs along with the dancers,” he says.The show also brought him back to a city with personal significance. “Hyderabad is my second home. I met my wife (Andleeb Zaidi) here, so I will always have a soft corner for Hyderabad. I am always excited to perform here. Hyderabad has a lot of energy,” he says.‘Marfa gives that vibe of everybody celebrating together’That connection has also influenced his music, most notably leading him to experiment with Hyderabad’s marfa sound after his wife introduced him to it. “She said, ‘Why don’t you do something with this?’ and I thought, ‘Oh wow, this does sound really nice and exciting.’” After speaking to people in Hyderabad, he learnt that it was largely associated with weddings. “I wanted to shift that and make it more exciting for the younger generation as well as for everybody who had not experienced marfa.”
When I see the mashups going to 10 million, 20 million, 30 million views and see that much love coming my way, I feel that whatever you do, as long as you are being appreciated, that is what satisfies an artiste- Ali Mercchant
He combined the sound with Voices In My Head by Anyma, Argy and Son of Son with the mashup soon making waves in Hyderabad. “For me, music is always about togetherness. Marfa gives that vibe of everybody celebrating together. For Punjabis, it is ‘oh-ho-ho-ho’; in the same way, for Hyderabadis, I think it is marfa.”‘Just like an actor, I felt I could move people’s emotions as a DJ too’Ali’s shift to DJing followed years in television in shows like Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai and more. “I used to do a lot of television. Obviously, I could see that television was dying, and I wanted to do things that were more creative and independent as a profession, as well as a performing talent.”What appealed to him about DJing was its ability to change an audience’s mood. “I loved the idea of how people, after the end of the day when they are really exhausted and tired, can have their mindset and tempo changed by a DJ. You can give them all the possible joys or move them along with their emotions. I felt that maybe I could do something similar as a DJ for a live audience. It clicked, it went well, and that is how my journey with it went in the most exciting manner.”‘I’m not saying no to acting’While acting remains on his radar, Ali says DJing is currently his top focus. “I think both are in the same phase, but right now, for the next phase of my career, I would actually say DJing is my first priority.” He also feels the nature of his audience’s response has changed. “I received the same amount of love when I used to do television. The only difference is that, at that time, it was for a particular character they loved and, obviously, for the particular channel they were watching. Now, the difference is that they are coming in for me.”Acting, meanwhile, remains open, provided the role interests him. He has completed a film produced by Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s brother that is currently on the festival circuit and hopes to return to reality shows. “If I get a very exciting role that really moves me, rather than something stereotypical that is happening currently, I would be interested,” he says, signing off.
