By Durga Chakravarty

New Delhi, Feb 19 (IANS): No matter how many chartbuster songs are made, one thing that remains a constant for the last few decades is Lucky Ali's music. The musician who has given soul-stirring songs such as 'O Sanam', 'Gori Teri Aankhein' and 'Na Tum Jaano Na Hum' and many others, spoke about what's keeping him away from doing Bollywood songs now.

In conversation with IANS, Lucky talked about how he only does music that touches his heart, hence he'd choose songs from Bollywood accordingly.

Lucky's songs never fade away.

Talking about the same, he said: "I just do my work the way I feel it. If I want to make a mistake in it but it is something that agrees with my vibe I would go ahead and do that and then deal with it later on. Many of our songs, if you have noticed, have a very Indian feel and all of a sudden we are doing grooves that are very broad."

"That's the music part but what you say is very important to me. I don't want to say something for the sake of saying it, it has to actually mean to me what I am trying to express. That's why I don't do Bollywood tracks and movies because I'm not speaking the truth in them."

Others try too hard to stay relevant, however, Lucky, whose real name is Maqsood Mahmood Ali, does not need to even try.

"It's Just God's blessing. I haven't done any great thing. My songs are simple. They are everybody's music."

Is simplicity the key to successful tracks?

Pat came the reply: "I don't know what's the truth but just be true to yourself and you have to live with what you say. It's not like aaj aapne keh diya and then you don't follow what you say then you become a hypocrite. So, you live by the work that you do."

Has self-doubt ever crept into Lucky?

The singer, who emerged as a significant figure of Indipop during the 1990s, said: "Of course, I mean there are many times you feel like 'kya kar raha hun, kiyun kar raha hun' (why am I doing this and where do I want to go with this). The answers are very elusive.

"I do the music, so I do the music as long as the music is there and when it's not there, main bhi apna jhola band kar chala jaunga (I'll pack up and move)."

The singer, who made his debut on the Indian music scene with the album 'Sunoh' in 1996, has a special place in his heart for New Delhi.

Calling it a "second home", Lucky said: "Delhi is like a second home to us."

For him its been a go to place since childhood, as he would go through New Delhi to his school Convent of Jesus and Mary, Hampton Court in Mussoorie.

"Even during boarding school, we had to come through Delhi and Dehradun and then go off to Mussoorie. So, Delhi has always been our go to place and it's been an amazing growth in the city because we literally saw it change."

The singer concluded: "It has maintained its old values and all aspects of the culture. Of course things are changing but it still holds a cultural base of what our country represents."