 | | Rahat Fateh Ali Khan DNA | In spite of his constant pleas of unconditional amity with India and the Indian entertainment industry, Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan remains out of bounds here. Bollywood composers who wish to record their numbers with the maestro (who happens to be the late legendary singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s nephew) have to proceed to Dubai for the recording. The latest Bollywood song to be recorded with Rahat in absentia is the number Dil ko aaya sukoon for Priyadarshan’s Rangrezz written by Sameer Anjaan and composed by Sajid-Wajid. This love ballad also marks the debut of singer Hiral Brahmbhatt, who is a very well-known singer in Gujarati cinema. While she recorded her part of the song in Mumbai, Sajid-Wajid flew to Dubai to record Rahat’s part of the duet.Apparently producer Vashu Bhagnani tried every trick in the book to get Rahat to India for the recording, but to no avail. Hiral says, “Unfortunately I couldn’t record the duet with Rahat saab. Sajid and Wajid recorded with him in Dubai. No one would be able to tell that the two singers were apart when they sang this song. But I would love to sing with him at some point.”As for the inability to bring Rahat into India, sources say the status quo is unlikely to change inthe near future. “Relations between the two countries have worsened to the extent that even Gulzar saab had to return home from Pakistan. And then Rahat is a special case. He was alleged to have been involved in FERA violations in India and would therefore be even more wary of coming to India than other Pakistani artistes,” says a source from the music industry. The source adds that it’s become an accepted practice to record with Rahat in Dubai. “And why only Rahat saab, several other Pakistani artistes also record Bollywood songs in absentia,” adds the source.Recently director Luv Ranjan recorded a love ballad with Pakistan’s Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan for Aakash Vani on Skype. And when Mira Nair wanted the legendary British rocker Peter Gabriel to collaborate with Pakistan’s pop icon Atif Aslam on Bol ke lab azaad hain tere for her film The Reluctant Fundamentlist, the collaboration was conducted via the internet. | |