C H I T C HAT
From Sufi songs to more
commercial ventures, the
journey of RFAK
T
he thought of interviewing one of the most celebrated qawwali singers of our time, Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan was certainly intriguing. As I
reached Movenpick Hotel in Karachi on a bright evening
to interview this living legend, I found out that the venue had been shifted to PC Hotel due to unavailability
of rooms at the former. Walking out of one hotel and
crossing the road to reach another was definitely draining, thanks to this belligerent heat, but the experience
remains undiminished.
As I entered the room to conduct the interview, I noticed that RFAK was surrounded by a group of at least
half a dozen people. While adjusting to the distractions
around, I fielded a strange request from a fellow journalist who advised me to not use my intellect while asking
the questions. Okay then.
Once seated, the conversation began with Khan’s upcoming show in London where he will be performing to
a live audience on August 14, Pakistan’s birthday. Discussing the feel of the show, RFAK noted, “This one is
going to be a very unique performance based on spiritual qawwali and will feature some new songs presented
in a distinct style.”
Khan’s manager Salman Ahmed, seated right in front of
us throughout the interview, seemed more interested in
responding to my questions than Khan himself. Sharing
the details of Khan’s UK tour, his manager told BOOM,
“It’s a three-day tour starting from August 12 till August
14 with RFAK scheduled to perform at a handful of venues with the final show taking place in London on August14.”
Khan is essentially known as a Sufi singer, who was
born to a family of Qawwals, and has been given the
charge of carrying the legacy of his late uncle, the legendary Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, forward. His breakthrough record, Charkha, produced by Rohail Hyatt and
released nearly a decade ago, veered towards Sufism
and established Khan as the one true heir to Nusrat
Fateh Ali Khan’s legacy. In comparison, his recent music
productions, elaborate as they maybe, possess a slight
hint of commercialism.
“It depends on the makers [of the songs],” noted Khan
when asked about this shift in his sound. “You see, most
of my songs after Charkha are from Bollywood so there
has to be a certain level of commercialization in them.
But if you take note of my album Back 2 Love (2014),
12 | BOOM