For Nizami Bandus, Sufism is a way of life. The trio: Ustaad Chand Nizami, Shadab Faridi Nizami and Sohrab Faridi Nizami belong to the family of qawwals, who were court singers of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, we are told.
Chand, the eldest of the group, says, "This has been our profession for 700 years. And now we sing at the Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and Hazrat Amir Khusro dargah."
Besides Sufism, they have a strong Bollywood connect too. They are the same Sufi band which was seen in the song Kun Faya Kun, Rockstar (2011).
"Yes, it was AR Rahman sahab's idea to show the actual dargah singers," says Chand, adding, "In fact, Ranbir Kapoor would often eat at our homes, during the shoot."
And there are others from the film industry they've met.
"Yahan sir tikane (to pray) toh bahut log regularly atey hain. Pehle Rajesh Khanna, Raj Kapoor bhi atey the. Emraan Hashmi bhi ayein hain. Aur Shah Rukh Khan bhi," says the 52-year-old Sufi singer, explaining that during SRKs TV days, Khan would often be seen in the area.
However, it's the Grammy award-winning musician, AR Rahman, who they thank the most.
"Unhone sufi ke liye bahut kiya hai. Aur wo saal mei six to seven baar toh aatey hi hain," says Chand adding, that he was invited to Rahman's place as well. In fact, he has even had offers to move abroad.
"People offer houses, cars, but we turn them down. The dargah is where we belong," he says and hopes that one day he will open a school to teach sufi music.
For now, they will be heard and seen in Salman Khan's upcoming film, being shot here.
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