ਰਾਹਤ ਫ਼ਤਿਹ ਅਲੀ ਖ਼ਾਨਰਾਹਤ ਫ਼ਤਿਹ ਅਲੀ ਖ਼ਾਨ

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, born on 9 December 1974 in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan, is a Pakistani Punjabi singer of Qawwali, the devotional music of the Sufis. He is the nephew and chosen successor of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and one of the most popular South Asian voices of his generation, equally at home in a Qawwali mehfil, a Bollywood soundtrack and an arena concert.

Early life and training

Rahat was born into a family of Qawwals and classical singers whose name became closely tied to South Asian musical tradition. His grandfather Fateh Ali Khan was a noted Qawwali singer, his father Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan sang in Nusrat's party, and his uncle Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan rose to become the most famous Qawwali singer in the world. Rahat has said in interviews that the family tradition is six hundred years old, and that becoming a singer was never in question.

Music began almost as soon as he could speak. He has recalled starting to sing at the age of three under his father's guidance, with formal training from his uncle beginning at seven. His first stage performance came in 1979, aged nine, at a ceremony marking his grandfather's death anniversary, and in 1985 he sang a solo Punjabi ghazal, 'Mukh Tera Sohneya Sharab Nalon Changa Ae', at a concert in Birmingham. As he moved through his teens he became a regular member of Nusrat's celebrated touring party.

Carrying the family Qawwali forward

When Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan died in 1997, Rahat, who had been selected by his uncle to lead the touring party after him, took over its leadership. The responsibility was large: a style built on long improvisations and on call and response between the lead singer and the chorus had to be carried to a new generation of listeners. Rahat kept the repertoire of his grandfather and uncle at the centre of his concerts while presenting it to younger audiences in Pakistan, India and the diaspora.

His voice also travelled through film work abroad. Working alongside his uncle, he contributed to the soundtrack of the Hollywood film Dead Man Walking (1995), collaborated with the composer James Horner on The Four Feathers (2002), and sang on the soundtrack of Apocalypto (2006).

What are Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's most famous songs?

His Bollywood playback debut came with 'Mann Ki Lagan' in the film Paap (2003), a composition of Nusrat's that had first been recorded for an unreleased album. Film songs then made him a household name across India and the diaspora. He has himself named 'Mann Ki Lagan' and 'O Re Piya' among his signature songs, and his duet 'Teri Ore' with Shreya Ghoshal, from Singh Is Kinng (2008), was a major hit. 'Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji', from Ishqiya, won him the Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer.

Outside films, his best known recording is 'Zaroori Tha', from the 2014 album Back 2 Love. Its video became the first original non-film music video from the Indian subcontinent to pass 100 million views on YouTube, passed 200 million within three years of its release, and eventually crossed a billion views.

Coke Studio and the world stage

Rahat has appeared in five editions of Coke Studio Pakistan, and those appearances map his range: 'Garaj Baras' with Ali Azmat in the first season, 'Chhaap Tilak Sab Chheeni' with Abida Parveen in season 7, and in season 9 'Afreen Afreen' with Momina Mustehsan, which passed 300 million YouTube views and became the first Pakistani song to cross that mark. In the same season he sang 'Aaj Rang Hai' with Amjad Sabri, in what became Sabri's final performance.

In April 2012 he played Wembley Arena and the Manchester Arena in the United Kingdom, drawing a combined audience of more than 20,000 people. Two years later he reached a different kind of stage: at the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize concert he became the first Pakistani to perform at a Nobel Prize concert, singing his uncle's 'Tumhe Dillagi' and 'Mast Qalandar' along with 'Aao Parhao'. He has also appeared on MTV Unplugged India and worked as a judge on television singing shows in India and Pakistan.

Honours and later life

Honours have followed the music. In 2017 the University of Oxford named a rehearsal room the Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan Music Room, an honour reported as the first of its kind for a South Asian artiste, and in 2019 Oxford awarded him an honorary doctorate in music. Pakistan gave him the Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 2018, and on Pakistan Day in 2024 the Hilal-e-Imtiaz, the country's second-highest civilian award, was conferred on him for his services to music. He continues to tour internationally, performing Qawwali and his film songs to arena audiences, and says Qawwali remains his first love.

Personal life and legacy

Rahat married Nida in 2001. They have two daughters, Maheen and Filza, and a son, Shahzaman, who has followed him into Qawwali singing. At home he is known by the nickname Tipu.

His legacy is continuity. Rahat took a family art form shaped in the mehfils of Punjab and carried it, without dropping its devotional core, into cinemas, streaming charts and concert halls from Faisalabad to London. For many younger listeners his voice is the first door into Qawwali, and through it, into the music of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.