Famed music director Alauddin Ali hospitalised

Renowned composer and music director Alauddin Ali has been hospitalised with respiratory illness, Bangla daily Prothom Alo reports.

Ali was admitted at a private hospital in Mohakhali, Dhaka around 11:30pm last night, his wife Farzana Mim told the daily.

He was later shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital, she said.

Ali made his debut as a music composer through the film Shondhikkhon in 1974. In 1977 his compositions for the films Golapi Ekhon Train-e and Fokir Mojnu Shah earned him fame.

In 1978, one his best-selling albums featuring diva Runa Laila was released.

"The album broke all previous records and my songs attained greater popularity in West Bengal. In the last 20/25 years I'd recorded several songs in Dhaka, Kolkata, Mumbai, Lahore and Karachi. I consider myself fortunate that I've been able to have this kind of exposure,” he said during an interview with The Daily Star.

His genius did not go unrecognised as he received the greatest number of National Awards as a music director in our country.

In 1990, during the grand celebrations of 300th anniversary of Kolkata, Ali was accorded a reception at Salt Lake Stadium in the city, along with maestros including Salil Chowdhury and others. He was the music director for the SAAF Games Ceremony in 1993 at Dhaka Stadium, where over 8000 artistes sang to his tune.

He was born on December 24, 1952 at Banshbari village in Munshiganj district.

Ali's father, Jadob Ali, was a staff artiste at the radio. His uncle, Ustad Sadek Ali and cousins Dhir Ali Miah, Mansur Ali, Yunus Ali and Momotaz Uddin were all renowned music directors and composers of the Dacca (now Dhaka) Radio Station during the 60s.

His journey to the realm music commenced with his uncle Ustad Sadek Ali.