Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, who made his mark worldwide with songs like 'O Re Piya', 'Tere Mast Mast Do Nain' and 'Afreen Afreen', has turned 50 today. Be it Sufi music or his songs sung in Bollywood, all have left a mark on the hearts of music lovers.
However, as much as Rahat's music is filled with love, it also has a deep connection with controversy. He is accused of smuggling foreign currency. Apart from this, sometimes videos of him beating his disciple and sometimes being drunk have also gone viral.
On the occasion of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's 50th birthday today, read some interesting facts about his life.
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan was born in Pakistan Rahat Fateh Ali Khan was born on 9 December 1974 in Faisalabad, Pakistan. The tradition of Qawwali has been passed down from generation to generation in his family. His father Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan and grandfather Fateh Ali Khan were famous Qawwals, but his uncle Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan gained the most fame and is also called the Badshah of Qawwali.
Rahat took musical training from uncle Nusrat Due to the musical environment at home, Rahat became interested in songs from childhood. It was for this reason that at the age of only three he started going to the music stage with his father and uncle. At the age of seven, Rahat began receiving musical training from his uncle Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan with his Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Sahab (left).
Sung a song with uncle and father in a Hollywood film in 1995. Rahat sang for the first time at the age of 9 on his grandfather's death anniversary. At the age of 15, he joined Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's Qawwali group. In 1995, he sang a song with his uncle Nusrat and father in the soundtrack of the Hollywood film 'Dead Man Walking'.
Rahat was very close to his uncle Nusrat Rahat was very close to his uncle Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan died of a heart attack in 1997, leaving Rahat heartbroken. Although he carried on the family's musical tradition with his father, Rahat still often cries remembering his uncle on stage.
After the demise of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Rahat cried while singing a Qawwali on stage for the first time.
The year he made his singing debut in Bollywood, his father passed away. Rahat started working as a playback singer in Bollywood in 2003. He got a chance to sing the song 'Mann Ki Lagan' in the film 'Paap' directed by Pooja Bhatt. This song was a huge hit. The film had Udita Goswami and John Abraham in lead roles. However, his father Farooq also died in the same year. After this, Rahat sang many hit songs in Bollywood films.
Salman dropped Rahat from the film when Pakistanis were banned 40 CRPF jawans were martyred in the attack on February 14, 2019 in Pulwama, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. After this there was anger across the country from common people to Bollywood. Meanwhile, the All India Cine Workers Association (AICWA) has imposed a complete ban on Pakistani actors in India. It was also said that strict action would be taken against any organization working with Pakistani actors.
After this, Salman Khan removed Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's songs from the movie 'Dabangg 3'. The spokesperson gave a statement about this. He said that there is no difference between Rahat and Salman Khan. The actor has followed India's sentiments by removing the songs recorded for the film.
T-series also removed the relief song According to Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's tweet, his song 'Zindagi' was scheduled to release on February 15, 2019 on the T-Series platform. According to media reports, the song was released, but was removed from the platform following protests from Raj Thackeray's party Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). However, T-Series later re-released the song 'Zindagi'. The song is still available on YouTube.
Rahat's song 'Jaroori Tha' breaks records on YouTube The song 'Jaroori Tha' was released by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan in 2014 for the album Back to Love. The song surpassed 100 million views on YouTube two years later and touched 200 million views within three years of its release. Now this song has reached one billion views.
Controversy of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan As much as Rahat Fateh Ali Khan has been in the headlines for his songs, he has also been associated with controversies.
1. Smuggling of foreign currency In 2019, Rahat was accused of smuggling foreign currency, following which the ED sent a notice to Rahat under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) seeking his reply. Rahat was accused of illegally earning US$3,40,000. Out of it, he smuggled 2,25,000 dollars.
2. Beat the disciple In early 2024, a video of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan went viral, in which he was seen hitting a man with a shoe and a chappal. Rahat was asking him about a bottle and the man was saying that he did not know where the bottle was.
This video of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan beating his disciple went viral.
After this video went viral, Rahat clarified the whole matter by sharing a video on social media. He said that this is a matter between a guru and a disciple. The person seen in the video, Naved Hasnain, is his disciple. While apologizing to Naved, he said that the bottle was special for him as it contained water prepared by Pir Sahib.
3. Called himself heir of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (uncle). In 2018, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's daughter said she wanted to take legal action against singers who sang her father's songs for copyright infringement. To which Rahat Fateh Ali Khan replied that he is the successor of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and does not need anyone's permission to sing his songs.
4. Allegation of secretly marrying In the year 2013, it was reported that Rahat Fateh Ali Khan had secretly married his girlfriend and model Falak and for this he had divorced his first wife Nida Rahat. However, Rahat dismissed the news as a rumour. He said that he neither knows nor has ever met any model named Falak. This false news has been spread with the aim of tarnishing his image. Rahat also said that he is thankful to his wife, who understood the rumor and did not take it seriously. Rahat and Nida got married in 2001.
5. Drunk Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's video went viral Two years ago, a video surfaced of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, in which he was seen drunk calling his late uncle Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's manager only Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Due to his move, he was trolled a lot on social media.
An intoxicated Rahat told uncle Nusrat's manager that Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Rahat has achieved many achievements in the world of music In the last few years, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan has achieved many achievements in the world of music. In 2012 they performed to audiences of over 20,000 at both Manchester Arena and Wembley Stadium in the United Kingdom. He has also been awarded a Doctor of Music by Oxford University for his contribution to Bollywood and Hollywood music.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
