Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is in a good place. With a rich catalogue in classical music, mostly in qawwali or Sufi devotional music, the Pakistani singer has straddled commercial success in that genre as well as in popular Hindi music, especially of Bollywood.
It’s a place that has kept him creatively satisfied, he says, and also incredibly busy — jetting around the world to perform.
“I’m hardly ever home,” he says laughing, speaking over the phone from Lahore, where he is based. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way. Music is my life. I eat music, I sleep music. So I’m most happy when I’m performing.”
Khan is back to the UAE on May 23 at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai for a four-hour concert, which will see him perform some of his biggest commercial and Bollywood hits.
“My UAE fans love those Bollywood songs,” he says. “And I will give them what they want. I want them to have fun.”
Child prodigy
A former child prodigy, Khan first started performing with his late uncle, the legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, considered one of the most important qawwali singers in history. Ustad Khan, as he was popularly known, was respected as one of the foremost singers in world music, before his sudden death in 1997 at the age of 48. Ustad is a referential title given to teachers and artists, mostly musicians.
“I am who I am because of him,” says Rahat. “He taught me everything I know.”
Rahat made his Bollywood debut in 2003 with the hit song Mann Ki Lagan from the film Paap. Building on the headway his uncle had already made in India, Rahat would pave the way for many future Pakistani singers who’ve now found success in the Hindi film industry. He’s since become one of the busiest playback singers, as singers who lend their voices to film songs are called, with his repertoire now including songs in almost 100 Hindi films. This is besides his successful solo career in classical music and also pop music.
He is most comfortable though, when he is in Lahore recording and making his kind of music, he says.
“I like doing my own stuff, working on my own music and having the creative freedom and teaching my students. Also when I’m here, I get to spend time with my family because they can’t always travel with me when I’m on the road,” he says. “In Bollywood, we receive the song that is already made and we just have to sing it. So there are boundaries within which we have to stay.”
The real focus now, he says, is to get back to basics and work on qawwalis, something he’s been wanting to focus on for a long time.
“I’ve been busy doing so many things so now I want to focus on bringing out a Sufi qawwali album. I know I should do more because this kind of music has real soul. It gives life.
True to legacy
“And because I come from the legacy of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and I am his nephew, it is my duty to do that. To keep that great tradition alive. It doesn’t matter if it’s commercially successful or that it makes money. What’s important is that that kind of music should never die.”
An album is already in the works, which will be tentatively released some time before the end of the year.
“In order to survive creatively, artists need to have their grounding. For me, it’s Sufi music and qawwalis. That is who I am,” he adds.
But first, there’s an album of love songs called Back to Love, out on June 9. And a lot more touring before Ramadan when all performances stop.
When he’s not recording or performing, Rahat says he likes to play and watch cricket. While he follows the Indian Premier League, he says he is disappointed there are no Pakistani players in the popular cricket series. Pakistani cricketers have been largely shut out from the league following the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008.
“The battle is not complete because there are some champions who are not part of the tournament,” says Rahat, who travels to India often. “Hopefully things will change soon.”
Political views
He says he’s happy about the recent landslide win by India’s Bharatiya Janata Party in the recent elections.
“I like the change. I am also with change. We [in Pakistan] are expecting good things, and peace and brotherhood from this new government.”
His next Dubai performance, he says, will be a treat for any music lover.
“It will be a great show, four hours of non-stop music with everything from Bollywood songs to classical music and Western music. I want to see you all there,” he says.
