Rahat Fateh Ali Khan (, ; born 9 December 1974) is a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

Punjabi singer, primarily

Qawwali Qawwali is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing originating in the Indian subcontinent. Originally performed at Sufi shrines throughout the Indian subcontinent, it is famous throughout Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and has ...

, a form of

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

devotional music. Khan is one of the most popular and highest paid singers in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. He is the nephew of

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (, ; born Pervez Fateh Ali Khan; 13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997), also known by his initials NFAK, was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, and music director. Khan was primarily a singer of qawwali, a form of Sufi devot ...

, son of

Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan () (December 25, 1952 – September 9, 2003) was a Pakistani musician, who played the harmonium in Qawwali music. He was also a member of a well-known family of Qawwali musicians, the Qawwal Bacchon gharana (Delhi gha ...

and grandson of Qawwali singer Fateh Ali Khan In addition to Qawwali, he also performs

ghazals ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...

and other light music. He is also well-known as a

playback singer A playback singer, as they are usually known in South Asian cinema, or ghost singer in Western cinema, is a singer whose performance is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and the performers lip-sync the ...

Hindi cinema Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

and the

Pakistan film industry The film industry of Pakistan, consisting of motion pictures, has had a large effect on Pakistani society and culture since the nation's independence. Pakistani cinema is made up of various sub-industries, including Lollywood, which mak ...

Early life

Rahat was born into a Punjabi family of Qawwals and classical singers in

Faisalabad Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...

Punjab, Pakistan Punjab (, ) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. With a population of over 127 million, it is the Demographics of Pakistan, most populous province in Pakistan and the List of first-level administrative divisions by popu ...

. He is the son of

, grandson of Fateh Ali Khan and the nephew of Qawwali singer

. Rahat displayed an adoration for music from a very young age and was often found to be singing with his uncle and father, as young as three. From an age of seven, he was already being trained by his uncle

in the art of singing

Career

Rahat performed publicly for the first time, when he was nine, on the death anniversary of his grandfather. Since he was fifteen, he was an integral part of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's well-known qawwali group and toured the United Kingdom with his uncle in 1985. He also performed solo songs at different concerts, in addition to fulfilling his roles in the Qawwali ''group''. He debuted as a playback singer in Bollywood with the movie ''

Paap ''Paap'' () is a 2003 Indian crime thriller film, directed by Pooja Bhatt in her directorial debut, and features John Abraham, Udita Goswami, Gulshan Grover and Mohan Agashe. The film received mixed reviews from critics, praising its cinemato ...

'' (2003), in the song "Mann Ki Lagan". In April 2012, Rahat toured in the UK, performing at

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena () (originally the Empire Pool, currently known as OVO Energy, OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, Greater London, England. The 12,500-seat facility is Greater Lond ...

and the

Manchester Arena Manchester Arena (currently known as AO Arena for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the Manchester city centre, city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights space. Pr ...

, playing to a combined audience of over 20,000 people and creating a record of maximum ticket-sales. The song "Zaroori Tha" from the album '' Back 2 Love'' (2014) became the first original non-film music video from the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

to cross 100 million views on YouTube after two years, and 200 million views within three years of its release. Eventually it reached a billion views. He is also touring with Leo Twins from

Nescafé Basement ''Nescafé Basement'' is a Pakistani music television series which features studio-recorded performances by underground and emerging artists. The show is produced by Nescafé. The artists are recruited and mentored by Xulfi, who is also the mu ...

regularly.

Soundtracks and collaboration

In a subordinate role with his uncle Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, working in collaboration with

Eddie Vedder Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist, primary lyricist, and one of three guitarists for the rock band Pearl Jam. He was previously a gues ...

, of the American rock band,

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

, Rahat contributed to the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

of the 1995 Hollywood film, '' Dead Man Walking''. In 2002, he worked on the soundtrack of ''

The Four Feathers ''The Four Feathers'' is a 1902 adventure novel by British writer A. E. W. Mason that has inspired many films of the same title. In December 1901, ''Cornhill Magazine'' announced the title as one of two new serial stories to be published in t ...

'' in collaboration with the American composer of

orchestral An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, a ...

and film music,

James Horner James Roy Horner (August 14, 1953 – June 22, 2015) was an American film composer. He worked on more than 160 film and television productions between 1978 and 2015. He was known for the integration of choral and electronic elements alongside tr ...

. In 2002, Rahat guested with

The Derek Trucks Band The Derek Trucks Band was an American blues rock group founded by young slide guitar prodigy Derek Trucks, who began playing guitar and touring with some of the blues and rock music's elite when he was just nine years old. After experimenting a ...

on the song "Maki Madni" for Trucks' album, '' Joyful Noise''. In 2006, his vocals were featured on

the soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured ...

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...

's ''

Apocalypto ''Apocalypto'' () is a 2006 epic historical action-adventure film produced and directed by Mel Gibson, who co-wrote the screenplay with Farhad Safinia. The film features a cast of Indigenous and Mexican actors consisting of Rudy Youngblood, ...

''. In 2008, he sang the song " Teri Ore" for the movie ''

Singh Is Kinng ''Singh Is Kinng'' is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Anees Bazmee from a screenplay by Bazmee and Suresh Nair. The film stars Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Om Puri, Ranvir Shorey, Neha Dhupia, Javed Jaffrey, S ...

'' alongside

Shreya Ghoshal Shreya Ghoshal (; born 12 March 1984) is an Indian singer. Noted for her wide vocal range and versatility, she is one of the most prolific and influential singers of India. Often referred to as the "Queen of Dynamics'' for her remarkable voc ...

Television

He judged the show ''

Chhote Ustaad ''Star Voice of India'' is an Indian television singing competition that premiered on 18 May 2007 and ended on 24 November 2007 on StarPlus. The show was directed by Gajendra Singh, creator of the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa series, and produced by Urban ...

'' alongside

Sonu Nigam Sonu Nigam (born 30 July 1973) is an Indian playback singer, music director, dubbing artist and actor. He is one of the most versatile singers and widest vocal ranges in the history of Indian music. His songs vary from romantic to break-up, cla ...

. He was also one of the judges on the singing reality show '' Junoon'', which premiered on

NDTV Imagine Imagine TV was a Hindi general entertainment channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System, and based in New Delhi. The channel was known for shows such as '' Ramayan (2008), Chandragupta Maurya, '' Swayamvar'', '' Baba Aiso Varr Dhoondo'', '' ...

in 2008.

Nobel Peace Prize Concert

Rahat became the first Pakistani to perform at any Nobel Prize concert, when he was invited to the concert at

2014 Nobel Peace Prize The 2014 Nobel Peace Prize was shared, in two equal parts, between Kailash Satyarthi (b. 1954) and Malala Yousafzai (b. 1997) "for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education". ...

ceremony. He performed

's most memorable qawwali "Tumhe Dillagi" and "Mast Qalandar", and he also sang "Aao Parhao" there.

Musical shows

Coke Studio

Rahat has appeared in five editions of the Pakistani musical show '' Coke Studio''. He first appeared in season 1, where he collaborated with singer

Ali Azmat Ali Azmat Pacha (born 20 April 1966) is a Pakistani singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He is best known as the lead singer for the influential Sufi rock band Junoon and for his subsequent solo career later followed by a career as an act ...

for the track "

Garaj Baras "Garaj Baras" ( ) is the seventh track on the 2003 album ''Dewaar'' by the sufi rock band Junoon. The song is written by the band's vocalist, Ali Azmat and lyricist, Sabir Zafar. The single was selected as part of a Bollywood movie soundtrac ...

". He then collaborated with

Abida Parveen Abida Parveen (; ; born 20 February 1954) is a Pakistani singer, composer, musician of Sufi music, painter and an entrepreneur. Parveen is one of the highest-paid singers in Pakistan. Her singing and music have earned her many accolades, and s ...

in season 7 for "

Chhaap Tilak Sab Chheeni ''Chhaap Tilak Sab Chheeni'', is a Kafi written and composed by Amir Khusro, a 14th-century Sufi mystic, in North Central Indian language Braj Bhasha. Due to the resonance of its melody and mystical lyrics, it is frequently heard in Qawwali concer ...

". In season 9, he sang "

Afreen Afreen "Afreen Afreen" ( ) is a nazm (song) performed and composed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan with lyrics written by Javed Akhtar. It first featured on their collaborative album ''Sangam'' in 1996. In 2003, a studio version of the song was recorded by ...

" along with

Momina Mustehsan Momina Mustehsan (; born 5 September 1992) is a Pakistani singer. In 2017, BBC named her one of the 100 Women (BBC), 100 most influential women, and the following year, ''Forbes'' featured her among its "30 Under 30" Asia list along with nine o ...

which has garnered more than 300 million views on YouTube, becoming the first

song to cross that mark. He collaborated with

Amjad Sabri Amjad Farid Sabri (23 December 1970 – 22 June 2016) was a Pakistani qawwali singer and a proponent of the Sufi Muslim tradition. Son of Ghulam Farid Sabri and nephew of Maqbool Ahmed Sabri of the Sabri Brothers, he emerged as one of So ...

for "

Aaj Rang Hai ''Aaj Rang Hai'' (; ; ) also known as Rang or Rung () is a Qawwali written by the 13th-century Sufi poet, Amir Khusrau in Hindavi and Braj Bhasha dialects. In the song, Khusrau describes to his mother his ecstasy upon finding his ''murshid'' (spir ...

", which was the final performance of the latter, prior to his assassination on 22 June 2016. He appeared in

Coke Studio Pakistan (season 10) The tenth season of the Music of Pakistan, Pakistani music television series ''Coke Studio Pakistan'' premiered on 11 August 2017, and ended on 21 September 2017. Strings (band), Strings and The Coca-Cola Company emceed the show as executive pr ...

where he performed "

Sayonee ''Sayonee'' ( ) is a song by the Pakistani sufi rock band Junoon, released in April, 1997. It is the first track from the band's fourth album, '' Azadi'' (1997), released on EMI Records. Written by lead guitarist and founder of the band Salman Ah ...

" with Ali Noor and a solo number called Rangreza. Rahat's latest appearance in Coke Studio was in Coke Studio 2020 where he performed "Dil Tarpe" featuring Zara Madani.

MTV Unplugged

Rahat had appeared in ''MTV Unplugged'' (India) in 2016.

Discography

Awards and nominations

Controversy

In 2018, the daughter of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan said she intended to take legal action against copyright infringement of singers who sing her father's songs. To this Rahat responded saying he was the adopted successor of Nusrat and doesn't need anyone's permission to sing his songs. In January 2019, Khan was accused of smuggling foreign currency and summoned by the

Enforcement Directorate The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is a law enforcement and economic intelligence agency of the Government of India. Established on 1 May 1956, it is responsible for enforcing economic laws and combating financial crimes. The ED operates under th ...

(ED) of

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. In January 2024, a video emerged of Khan beating his student over an alleged ‘sanctified’ bottle of water.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Rahat Fateh Ali Filmi singers 1974 births Bollywood playback singers Living people People from Faisalabad Pakistani male singers Pakistani playback singers Pakistani qawwali singers Pakistani world music musicians Singers from Faisalabad Punjabi-language singers Urdu-language singers Urdu playback singers Pakistani qawwali groups

Rahat Rahat (, ) is an Arab Bedouin city in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel. In , it had a population of . As such, it is the largest Bedouin city in Israel, and the only one to have city council (Israel), city status. Ra ...

Pakistani tenors Filmfare Awards winners Screen Awards winners International Indian Film Academy Awards winners Qawwal Bacchon gharana