Bollywood Needs Original Music: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan

The maestro talks about everything from the use of Sufi tunes in Bollywood to Justin Bieber.

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan has released a new romantic single. (Photo courtesy: Facebook/ rahatfateshalikhan)

When it comes to bringing a romantic track with classical undertones to life, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan has little competition. The Pakistani Qawwali singer, who’s hugely popular in India and Bollywood as well, has released a new single, Saware, with Anupama Raag and starring Kunal Khemu and Miss India Grand international 2015 Vartika Singh. The song has already crossed 1.6 million views on YouTube.

<i>Saware </i>is a contemporary romantic number with a classical base. That’s what attracted me to the song. Anupama <i>ji </i>and I have worked in quite a few songs together and I really enjoyed this experience. Kunal <i>ji </i>(Khemu) has also done a wonderful job in the video.

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Singer

Khan saab may not be working in Bollywood at the moment, thanks to the ban on Pakistani artistes - he declined to comment on the issue - but he is quite vocal about the need to create original music in Bollywood. Quiz him about his favourite music directors in the industry and their recurrent use of Sufi tunes in their songs, and the maestro says:

What has been done is done. Now there’s a need to try out new things, to create original music. Doing the same thing over and over again is pointless. All music directors in Bollywood are capable of doing great work. <i>Padh unse kaam lena jo hai, woh director ka kaam hai</i>.

Any recent song that he hasn’t sung but really liked? Khan saab points towards Abhi mujh mein kahin, the Sonu Nigam number from Agneepath. “Bahut hi badiya gaana hai,” he smiles.

It’s evident that Khan saab, like his mentor and uncle Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, carries forward the purity of traditional music while appreciating the need to connect with a young audience. Which is why he treasures his experience in Pakistan Coke Studio Season 9, where he presented a rendition of the famous Afreen Afreen.

Season 9 was more complete than the other seasons. They did not tamper with the Qawwali bit at all. I loved it... It was a conscious effort to make <i>Afreen Afreen</i> different from (Nusrat Fateh Ali) Khan <i>saab</i>’s version. Mine is more ghazal-based, a little reminiscent of Jagjit Singh <i>ji</i>’s style I think. I wanted to focus on the poetry, <i>thoda khubsurti se pesh karna chaha usko</i>. I think people liked it.

Also read: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan Brings Back ‘Afreen Afreen’ To Coke Studio 9

Khan is never far from acknowledging his debt to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, with whom he trained since childhood. “Unhi ki training ke dum pe kar rahe hai jo bhi hai,” he says.

And is he a fan of Justin Bieber like some media reports suggested? “No, that was wrongly reported. But my kids listen to him along with others. And I listen to whatever they listen to,” he laughs.