The big turning point in my career came after my marriage. I rose to fame instantly after the song Ek Din Teri Raahon Mein for Abbas-Mustan’s film Naqaab in 2007. I’d sung many songs before, but this one got me noticed. I still remember it was in 2006 — just a few months after my wedding — and I was at home not feeling too well when Pritamda asked me to come to the studio for a recording. I heard the song there and loved it. I put all my emotion into it and it became a super hit. There’s been no looking back since and I feel that my wife has brought a lot of luck into my life and turned it around.

Another major turnabout came when I sang for veteran music director A.R. Rahman for the first time. The song Jashn-E-

Bahaara in Ashutosh Gowariker’s Jodhaa Akbar (2008) took my career to a new level. People whom I’d dreamt of working with started to approach me after this song. After this, I experimented with different genres and styles. For instance, I tried out the Punjabi style in Imtiaz Ali’s Jab We Met when I sang Nagada Nagada with Sonu Nigam. And Arziyan, with Kailash Kher, in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Delhi-6 and Kun Faya Kun, which I sang with Mohit Chauhan and Rahman, in Rockstar were Sufi renditions. I’ve been in Mumbai for 10 years now but it’s not been an easy journey. I’m from Delhi and my father is a qawwali singer. In Mumbai, I first landed a song in the film Beti No. 1 that didn’t get a proper release. But I didn’t lose heart and moved onto my next number Jaane Kyun Humko in Chameli (2004).

Last year I even mentored young singers in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs and this year I’ve sung in films like Ishaqzaade, Jannat 2, and Rowdy Rathore. God’s been very kind to me and I intend to move ahead and try out more new and exciting projects.

(As told to Lubna Salim)