I was born into a family of great musicians — the legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was my uncle and my father was Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan. So, my life has been full of turning points and great experiences.
As a child, I remember watching my uncle closely as he did his riyaz (practice). I started training with him formally at the age of six.
Sitting next to Nusrat saab and learning the nuances of classical and Sufi music was a great inspiration for me.
In 1985, when I was 12 years old, I accompanied him on a tour of England where he allowed me to open a musical evening. That concert will always remain close to my heart. I joined Nusrat saab’s troupe officially in 1990 which was a huge turning point in my career as a singer.
Another important milestone in my life was coming to India in 1994. Nusrat saab was working on the music of Aur Pyar Ho Gaya in which Aishwarya Rai made her debut. It was my first trip to India and I got to meet the stars of the Hindi film industry which was very exciting.
In 1998, my album Lagan was released which included my father’s and Nusrat saab’s songs. In 2002, director Pooja Bhatt accompanied by her father, Mahesh Bhatt saab, visited Pakistan and bought the rights of the album. Later they used the track, Lagi Tumse Mann Ki Lagan in the film Paap (2003). The song, featuring John Abraham and Udita Goswami, was a super-hit. This marked my entry into Bollywood. Over the years, I have developed great friendships with music composers Pritam, Sajid, Wajid, Salim and Sulaiman.
Working with director and music composer Vishal Bhardwaj on the track Dil Toh Bhaccha Hai Ji for the film Ishqiya (2010) was a memorable experience.
Another unforgettable moment was performing at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert at the Oslo Spektrum arena in Norway last year with an 8,000-strong audience in attendance. The annual concert is a musical tribute to honour the peace prize laureates.
Recently, I recorded for musician Clinton Cerejo who is making his debut as a music composer in the film Jugni. I enjoyed recording the title track, Jugni, which is a spiritual song. I look forward to such songs as I can’t imagine my life without spiritual music.
(As told to Sarbani Sen)
