If music is the only interest in your life and you have Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan as your guru you can’t ask for anything more. That’s how it was for Rahat Ali Khan, the man who sang Man Ki Lagaan in Pooja Bhatt’s Paap.
Born at Lyallpur, near Lahore, the nephew of the legendary singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan began training with the maestro at eight. By the time he was 12, Rahat was travelling with him all over the world. “He taught me the nuances of music and how to appreciate good music. Sufism has been a part of music for generations and we are merely carrying the legacy forward. The lyrics of Maan ki lagaan were written by Amjad Islam who has done a wonderful job.” says Rahat.
Rahat, who can play the harmonium, tabla and keyboard with equal ease, looks a lot like his legendary Interestingly. He listens to a lot of Bollywood music and hopes to work with music composer A R Rahman one day. He loved Shah Rukh Khan’s performance in Karan Johar’s Kal Ho Naa Ho “I’ve followed Rahman’s work for quite some time now and he’s unique in every way. But the list of my favourite Bollywood music composers is long. It begins with Madan Mohan, Sachin Dev Burman and Rahul Dev Burman who were incomparable. There is so much one can learn from these geniuses,” says Rahat.
Everytime Rahat visits India there’s one thing he always does: Visiting the Walled City, Jama Masjid and of course, Chandni Chowk. “As you can see, I’m quite a foodie. So Mutton korma at Karim’s and stuffed paranthas at Paranthewali Gali are a must for me. I must confess the food in Delhi and Lahore is the same, much like the people. Putting a geographical line on the map doesn’t make us different. We are all the same since like Pakistan people respect talent here.”
