Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan

In the past few years, Pakistani music has made a huge impact in Indian music industry. Two artists from across the border, which really caught my attention in recent times, are Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.

Shafqat Amanat Ali is the vocal force behind the Pakistani band Fuzon and his voice is taking him places. Shafqat Amanat Ali is the son of one of Pakistan’s legendary classical singers, Ustad Amanat Ali Khan of the renowned Patiala Gharana.

I was mesmerized when I first heard the songs from the Sagar album by Fuzon. The songs from this album had modern arrangements with traditional melodies and had titles like Khamaj, Malhaar and Madhvanti to create an awareness of classical raagas among the youth. I got an instant liking of the songs when the music video hit the music channels.

Two of the songs from the album, Mora Saiyaan (Khamaj) and Tere Bina, were included in the Nagesh Kukunoor movie Hyderabad Blues 2. Mora Saiyaan is too tough to even hum for a non-singer like me but I can’t just get enough of listening to that number.

Recently, Shafqat Amanat Ali sang the popular number Mitwa from the Karan Johar movie Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. This song stands apart from the rest of the track with his powerful and controlled singing and good lyrics. I’ve listened to it many times and it still finds its place on my most played list.

Yeh Honsla from the movie Dor is another good song rendered immaculately by the same singer. Though not commercially popular as his earlier numbers, this inspiring number is a treat for music lovers. I’m sure Nagesh Kukunoor is a fan of Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan beacuse Shafqat’s songs have been featured in his two movies Hyderabad Blues 2 and Dor.

Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is the son of Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan and nephew of the great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. He’s been known as the successor to the great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Though Rahat does carry shades of Nusrat, he has a presence of his own which definitely leaves a mark.

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan captivated the listeners with his immensely popular number Mann Ki Lagan in Paap and Jiya Dhadak Dhadak from Kalyug. I fell in love with this melodic single ‘Mann ki Lagan’ the minute I heard it. ‘Mann Ki Lagan’ had become a bigger hit than the film itself.

One track Jiya Dhadak Dhadak from his album Charkha was featured in Kalyug, which I feel is absolutely beautiful love songs in recent time.

Most recent rendition by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is the song Naina from Omkara. Though the brilliance of this song was not realized by the masses, the superb rendition by the vocal God cannot go unnoticed.

Though these are the only three numbers I heard from Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, they are thousand times better than innumerable craps that are being churned out regularly by a particular music director in the name of Sufi songs.

I hope music lovers get to hear many more captivating numbers from these two singers and they get the recognition they truly deserve.

Update

Latest song by Rahat Fateh Anil Khan that caught my attention is ’Main jahaan rahoon’ from ’Namaste London’. Music is by Himesh Reshammiya and lyrics by Javed Akhtar. Though I’m not a fan of Himesh, I feel it’s one of his best composition. Rendition by Rahat is superb. Good that he thought of making Rahat sing this, not himself.

Here’s an excerpt from an article from India glitz about this song:

Although, people will feast on ‘Chakna Chakna’, ‘Rafta Rafta’, ‘Dilruba’ and ‘Aanan Faanan’, I think the best song is ‘Main Jahan Rahoon’. Magnificently sung by Rahat Fath Ali Khan and ably supported by Krishna, this sufi song boasts of a good mix of classical effectiveness as well as wonderful strings arrangements in the background. Javed Akhtar’s lyrics are an asset for taking the song on a different level. Thankfully Himesh didn’t sing this number. For, although his voice is good but an overexposure of anything leads to a lack of novelty value.

Here’s hoping Himesh will extract good work from quality singers and use his own voice selectively.

So true