Singer’s son Shah Zaman Khan also recognised at London event attended by MPs, South Asian community members
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and his son Shah Zaman Khan receving awards.
KARACHI:
In a moment of international recognition for Pakistan’s music industry, legendary singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and his son Shah Zaman Khan have been honoured with awards at the British Parliament.
The ceremony, held in London, was attended by members of the UK Parliament including Tariq Ahmad, Mohammad Yasin and Afzal Khan, along with guests from the South Asian community.
The event was organised by musician duo Kashif Raja and Rubaiyat Jahan, and aimed to celebrate musical excellence across cultures.
The recognition comes shortly after the father-son duo performed at London’s Royal Albert Hall, where they presented a mix of classical and contemporary South Asian music.
Speaking at the ceremony, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan said receiving an award at the British Parliament was a “moment of pride”. He credited his success to the prayers of his parents and years of dedication to music.
He also spoke about the unifying power of music, saying it connects people across borders and cultures. “With love, whatever I could give from my heart, I have shared with audiences everywhere,” he said.
The singer revealed he is working on a Bengali-language song, describing it as part of his effort to reach wider audiences.
The event highlighted growing cultural ties between South Asia and the United Kingdom, with organisers saying such initiatives help strengthen artistic collaboration across the region.
Rahat was born into a Punjabi family of Qawwals and classical singers in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. He is the son of Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan, grandson of Fateh Ali Khan and nephew of Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
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 Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan in the art of singing Qawwali.
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 (2003), in the song “Mann Ki Lagan”.
In 2011, after his release from a high-profile Customs case in India, Rahat was touring the US where one of his promoters, Chitresh Srivastava, died in a car crash. In April 2012, Rahat toured in the UK, performing at Wembley Arena and the Manchester Arena, 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 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 regularly.
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 that he doesn’t need anyone’s permission to sing his songs.
In a subordinate role with his uncle Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, working in collaboration with Eddie Vedder, of the American rock band, Pearl Jam, Rahat contributed to the soundtrack of the 1995 Hollywood film, Dead Man Walking. In 2002, he worked on the soundtrack of The Four Feathers in collaboration with the American composer of orchestral and film music, James Horner. In 2002, Rahat guested with The Derek Trucks Band on the song “Maki Madni” for Trucks’ album, Joyful Noise. In 2006, his vocals were featured on the soundtrack of Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto. In 2008, he sang the song “Teri Ore” for the movie Singh Is Kinng alongside Shreya Ghoshal.
He judged the show Chhote Ustaad alongside Sonu Nigam. He was also one of the judges on the singing reality show Junoon, which premiered on NDTV Imagine in 2008.