an exceptional audience, who’ll be loyal to the form and unwilling to compare or replace it with any other genre of music.” Interestingly, Khan Sahib had once shared that he had at one point devoted more than an hour to record a qawwali! But does the youth of today that is happily swinging to shor-sharaba (noisy beats) keen to listen to soulful qawwalis or ghazals? “We could add a blend of percussion (drumming & beating) to the music to attract the youth,” he smiles.
over a cup of chai
Well, not just generations but music is known to cross boundaries too. And Khan Sahib is one man who’s living up the very philosophy. “We’re all one and the differences between us are a mere matter of the mind,” says the maestro from Pakistan, who perhaps has as many fans in India as in Pakistan. Ask him to compare the Punjab of Pakistan to that of Punjab in India and he says, “Hum sab ek dharti hain hum mein koyi farak nahin…Punjabi toh Punjabi rahega, chahe voh kaheen ka bhi ho (We belong to one land and there’s no difference between us. Also, a Punjabi is a Punjabi no matter where he is or where he comes from!).” Interestingly, he loves both Lollywood and Bollywood. “Lollywood has come of age and has recently made its mark in meaningful cinema. Plus, we have some great actors,” he says. He recently enthralled the global Indian audience at the IIFA Awards in Florida with his Sufi-inspired numbers and even confessed his love for Indian cinema. “Bollywood is a talent house, creating some amazing films and songs. I feel the industry is full of raw talent that needs to be nurtured, at the same time the current crop of singers, Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal to name a few, are extremely hard working and dedicated.” He is known to be a fan of legends like Mohammed Rafi, Lata
Mangeshkar, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar. We ask him to name one Bollywood film for which he would have loved to create music for and he says, “Honestly, any of the films that were made by Yash Chopra Sahib. His movies touched the heart.” Khan Sahib’s work is not limited to India and Pakistan he has also teamed up with the likes of Beastie Boys in New York concerts, has made vocal contribution for movies such as Apocalypto and Dead Men Walking, as well as Slam Dance Film Festival, etc. As our conversation draws to an end we ask him is he has a message for his Indian fans, “I love you all. And, I hope and pray that I can always win your hearts through my songs. Also, I am planning a tour to India and looking forward to meeting all my Indian fans. Till then, keep smiling.”
FALL IN LOVE... Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan partnered with MixRadio, a global music streaming service, to launch his album Back 2 Love in Dubai last month (June 2014). “It is great to experience what Mix Radio is all about. I want my album ‘Back 2 Love’ to reach out to the global audience and what better platform could I have asked for than MixRadio,” he said. The video ‘Zaroori Tha’ that features real life love birds, Gauhar Khan and Kushal Tandon is already creating ripples! Interestingly, it too was shot in Dubai. Two other worth mentioning numbers in the album are: Habibi that features Salim & Suleiman Merchant & Raag Champa Kali that aspires to be a classical treat for the youth. The event also marked the launch of MixRadio into the Middle East.
Vishal Bheeroo worked as a journalist for three years in an English newspaper based out of Mauritius. He holds a bachelor degree in Economics. He loves to write & blog about all things related to India. He loves Indian cinema and dreams of making a short film, someday. He is currently working on a rom-com novel and a script for a short film. He is a huge Amitabh Bachchan fan. He loves poetry, travelling and reading. He is currently based out of Mauritius but has plans of returning home, someday soon.
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