While a minor section of the country is lauding the Pakistani singer’s release, Bollywood is still reeling from his detention by I-T officials

Subhash K Jha (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 16, 2011)

It’s doubtful if Rahat Fateh Ali Khan will return to Mumbai to record songs, let alone perform at live concerts in India.

And if he decided not to, what will happen to all the pending songs that Mumbai’s composers have planned to record with him? On February 13, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan was detained by I-T officals for carrying unaccounted foreign currency, an incident that created further panic when his business manager, Chitresh Srivastava, was also found with $200,000.

We are told that at least four composers had planned to record numbers with Rahat in the next six months but three of them have dropped the idea.

One of them argues, “Rahat saab’s sufiana voice is not non-existent in our country. We have singers who can bring the same kashish to any track.

I’m planning to record my song in Daler Mehndi’s voice.” However, another composer argues that the singer’s voice is “irreplaceable” and adds, “Composer Nadeem who was extridated from the country continued to create tunes in exile.

Rahat is not an offender by law in India. I’ll certainly continue to record with him.” Despite the optimism of a few, it’s clear that the singer’s arrest has had some serious ramifications.

Ironically, singer-actor Ali Zafar arrived in India a day after Rahat was released. Ali was here More >