Be ready for a spell of magical melody

His voice has the power to pull heart strings and access the deep recesses of one’s soul. All music lovers, who have a bent for soft, Sufi numbers must have had Rahat Fateh Ali Khan on their playlist.

If yes, here is some exciting news.

The singer is set to perform in Auckland on September 28 in a concert called ‘Rahat Reloaded’. The musical evening will recreate the magic of Rahat’s mesmerising voice through a bank of his truly memorable music, comprising Hindi film songs, qawwalis and ghazals.

Ever since the robustly enchanting ‘Mann Ki Lagan’ in ‘Paap,’ Rahat’s voice has been the ‘soul’ of Hindi film music for almost a decade.

Amidst a pool of item songs that rule the Hindi film music scene today, numbers like ‘Tere Mast Mast Do Nain’ (Dabangg), ‘Surili Akhiyon Wale’ (Veer) and ‘Naina Thag Lenge’ (Omkara) among others have helped preserve the much-needed melody quotient.

Belonging to a legendary lineage of qawwals, Rahat is the nephew of renowned Pakistani qawwali singer, the late Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the grandson of the coveted qawwali singer Fateh Ali Khan.

Following the footsteps of his uncle, Rahat admits to have had a huge influence of Nusrat on him, including a replica of his voice.

The Hollywood mix

Before he ventured into playback singing for Hindi films, Rahat collaborated with various Hollywood projects alongside Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and worked on soundtracks for films such as ‘Dead Man Walking’ (1995) and ‘The Four Feathers’ (2002). He also worked with the American group ‘The Derek Trucks Band’ for their album ‘Joyful Noise,’ and rendered vocals for Mel Gibson’s film ‘Apocalypto.’

While he has ‘conquered’ many parts of the world, the forthcoming concert would be the first for Rahat in Auckland.

Last year, he performed to a packed audience at Wembley Arena and Manchester Arena, arguably the most iconic concert and events venues in London and Manchester.

Now it is Auckland’s turn to experience the magic!

Photo : Rabat Fatah Ali Khan