| Font Size |
When Sufi singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan got together with the Canadian producer and guitarist Michael Brook at UK’s Royal Festival Hall in October last year, to pay tribute to his uncle Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, little did he know that he would soon find himself inviting Brook to visit and perform in India.
As talks go on for a joint performance of Khan with Brook in November this year, the Sufi maestro continues to shift gears between Bollywood playback, a private album and his new role in a reality show. “Sufism is the truth and it is the truth I stand for. I want the youngsters to bring out the honesty of Sufism through their voice,” says Khan, who will soon become a mentor for six contestants on a reality show Junoon to be aired on NDTV Imagine starting June. “It’s the only individual platform that Sufi music has been given till date so I decided to be part of it,” smiles Khan, who, in any case, was looking for opportunities to bring Sufi into the forefront.
Khan surfaced in the Bollywood circuit in 2004 with his playback singing for the movie Paap. Four years and many songs later, including those in Namastey London and Om Shanti Om, the singer has his plate full.
Khan has 4-5 releases this year and is singing for an array of music directors including Sajid-Wajid in Main Aur Mrs Khanna starring Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor, Sachin Gupta for an untitled film starring Rahul Khanna, Irrfan Khan and Soha Ali Khan and Vishal Bhardwaj amongst others.
“When music directors think of a song for me, the Sufi tone is inevitable and I’m comfortable with that,” says Khan, who is also readying to start work on his private album. “I am hoping that Javed Akhtar pens the lyrics for my next album and apart from that I’m looking forward to playing in a concert together with Michael Brook by the year-end in Dubai and Mumbai,” informs Khan.
