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RANA SIDDIQUI
Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan on his journey to the hearts of his fans. |
I would bunk classes on the pretext of practice
PHOTO: V. SUDERSHAN
WELL-LOVED Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.
'I am like a beloved child in Pakistan. I get stones thrown at me when I sing in films, but am hugged and blessed when I render sufiana qawwali. So, I am punished and forgiven according to what I sing,' says Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, the nephew of famed Pakistani sufiana qawwal, the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
This 34-year-old singer, who prefers to be known as a sufiana qawwal, had the whole of India swinging to his "Lagi tumse lagi lagan" in Pooja Bhatt's film "Paap". The song also marked his entry in Hindi film singing. His melody continued to mesmerise all with "Tuje dekh dekh sona", from "Kalyug", "Naina thag lenge" from "Omkara" and more.
First song
Such is his love for Hindi film music that it seems symbolic that the first song he played on his keyboard at the age of 16 was "Main teri dushman" from "Nagina". "That was my first step to success," Khan recalls nostalgically. A soft-spoken Khan, who recently performed at New Delhi's Shri Ram Centre — courtesy Routes to Root, an NGO dedicated to fostering India-Pakistan ties through literary and cultural events, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the Indian Women's Press Corps — loves to talk about his school and college days, his uncle (
taya) Nusrat, and how he would bunk classes for the love of music.
"When I was seven, I developed a penchant for music. I told my parents I wouldn't go to school but learn music under uncle's guidance. My father wasn't that keen. He ordered me to finish college first. In school, I learnt to win over students by teaching them the tabla. I became a member of the 'tarana party' and would escape classes on the pretext of practice!" Khan says mischievously.
Great moment
It was in 1985 that his uncle took him to England for a concert and made him sit on the dais to learn to perform. "I was in class five then. When Khan saab stopped for breath in between, I picked up the 'turn'. Khan saab was amazed. He hugged me after the concert and told my father, 'he is ready to take our legacy further'. That was the happiest moment of my life. By the time I reached class 12, I had started singing very well. I would look for excuses to run away from college. My abba said, 'Lagta hai ab ye nahin padega'."
He was right. Khan took to music full-time after that. "In our
khandan, singing came from the Dagar family. We boast 900 people carrying on the sufiana qawwali legacy in the emperor Mohammad Ghaznawi's court. Our's was called '
Qawwal bachchon ka gharana'. Today when we are able to touch the actual sufiana sur, tears come out. Unfortunately, today no one renders real sufiana kalam. There are no listeners either. Ameer Khusrau's actual bandish, sama and rasam, etc. have never been rendered. That is in Persian and hardly two lakh people in Pakistan understand Persian. It has been abolished from schools too," regrets Khan.
But Khan has taken the responsibility of singing these and promises to come out with an album within two years. For now, he has a few Hindi films in hand, including an item song! The item song "Tere ishq me ranjha" is from Sanjay Gupta's film "Woodstock Villa". Anand Raj Anand has scored the music. Yashraj Films' "Jhoom Barabar", a sad song for "Namaste London" and a romantic one for Sanjay Chauhan's "Lahore", are others in his kitty.
Edited by Qwest - 17 years ago
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