'Bollywood success brings respect to Pakistani singers'

New Delhi, April 15 (IANS) The stock of a Pakistani singer goes up if he gets recognition in Bollywood, says Masroor Fateh Ali Khan who has a degree in urban planning but has turned to music to take forward his late uncle Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's legacy.

'I want to sing for Bollywood and I hope I get some offers too. I haven't approached anyone in Bollywood yet,' Masroor, 30, who was visiting India, told IANS in an interview.

'The Indian film industry is so huge. The market here is way ahead. The Pakistan film industry is way too small. There are more chances here and so the talent comes here and gets highly motivated,' he said.

'An artist who clicks in India earns a lot of respect in Pakistan. It comes out to be a great honour for anyone who comes back after being promoted in India because the industry here is huge,' added Masroor, who is the son of Nusrat's sister.

Not many know that one of his compositions was 'bought by Rakesh Vaid, chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), last year for an upcoming film and is being 'arranged by Ismail Darbar'.

Masroor was in the capital on a two-day visit for a concert to spread the message of peace, harmony and goodwill through music. Supported by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations and NGO Routes2Roots, it was a Zee News initiative to unite the world against terrorism.

'This trip is one of my proper visits to the country and I hope I perform well here and get a lot of opportunities,' he said.

'Music plays an important role in binding nations. All good relations, unity and peace that both our countries have are because of either music or sports. In fact, music has provided a platform for the regular going and coming of artists between the two countries. We have Indian artists visiting Pakistan and so are we called here,' he added.

'Indian artists do visit Pakistan. Singers like Hans Raj Hans, Daler Mehndi and Jagjit Singh have been performing there. And they are also provided full protocol and respect,' he said.

Born in Lahore, Masroor has a degree in urban planning. After working with Daewoo Transport Company for three years, he is now focusing only on singing.

After Nusrat's death in 1997, his legacy was taken forward by his other nephew Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and now Masroor follows suit.

'I definitely want to take his legacy forward and I'll do whatever I can for that. I even have several ideas like him to sync classical music with Western.

'Khan Sahab was my first guru. He taught us everything about khayal singing, ragas, tabla taals, etc., and Rahat bhai is our caliph guru. I take proper guidance from him. I ask him about the ragas, controlling the laya (pitch) and taal (beat) and he helps me a lot. He loves me a lot,' he said.

He is all admiration for south Indian musicians.

'I am trying to blend south Indian music with Sufi for that matter, as south India has people who have very deep knowledge about music,' said Masroor, whose favourite Indian singers are Kishore Kumar and Mohammad Rafi.

His list of favourite composers includes Uttam Singh, R.D. Burman, Isamil Darbar, A.R. Rahman and Shankar Mahadevan.

(Robin Bansal can be contacted at [email protected])