I will keep visiting India like before: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
Singer claims "certain people" are trying to put chains on blossoming bilateral ties between India and Pakistan
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan says "there are no issues" after he was questioned by the Indian authorities for alleged forex violation on Thursday.
Famous qawal Rahat Fateh Ali Khan who believes music and sports can strengthen ties between India and Pakistan, says he will continue to visit India despite problems.
On Thursday, the Main Jahaan Rahun and O Re Piya singer was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in India in a case of alleged forex violation.
In 2011, he was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence following a day's detention at the airport here for carrying undisclosed foreign currency totaling more than $100,000.
But Rahat remains undeterred and says now "there are no issues". "There was the issue in 2011. The ED called us again for some pending queries. We tried our best to fulfill them."
"Thank God, they were satisfied. Now there are no issues. I will keep visiting India like before," Rahat told IANS.
Read: Alleged forex violation: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan questioned by Indian authorities
The singer, who is visiting India after a four-year gap, is currently celebrating the success of his songs in Bollywood films like Hamari Adhuri Kahani and Drishyam.
"Music has no boundaries. Music and sports can play a strong role in strengthening bilateral ties. And they have already done it. These things matter a lot, so they should be given more importance," he stressed.
Speaking positively on the "musical and cultural" relations between India and Pakistan, he said "certain people" are trying to put chains on blossoming bilateral ties between the two countries.
"The musical and cultural relations may not be appreciated by certain people, so they are trying to put chains. But it's a bad thing. It's not right," said Rahat.
He pointed out that many Pakistanis had relatives in India and vice versa."They travel from India to Pakistan. From Karachi, people come to India to meet their relatives."
Read: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan supports Adnan Sami's stay in India
Rahat, whose track Zaruri Tha is getting massive response in India, credits Bollywood's Bhatt camp for its growing popularity. The song has been featured in the film Hamari Adhuri Kahani, which is directed by Mohit Suri and produced by Mahesh Bhatt.
"The song is a part of my album Back 2 Love, which was released in 2014. In the Indian film industry, a good song has a huge platform… (I am hoping) it will get more popularity. It's all possible because of Mahesh Bhatt. All credit goes to the Bhatt banner," he said.
"I started off with Pooja Bhatt's film Paap and since then we have shared a great relationship," added the crooner, who lent his melodious voice to the song Mann Ki Lagan for the John Abraham-Udita Goswami-starrer Paap.
Rahat also revealed that a new album was in the making, which may see the light of day later this year.
"There is a new album coming out end of this year. We are doing the listing of the album right now."
On the musical style, Rahat said that the yet untitled album was based on Punjabi songs.
"The new album will have 70 per cent Punjabi songs and the rest will be in Hindi. There will be songs on the lines of 'Mai tenu samjhawan ki'. No name has been finalised for this album yet," he added.
On Thursday, the Main Jahaan Rahun and O Re Piya singer was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in India in a case of alleged forex violation.
In 2011, he was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence following a day's detention at the airport here for carrying undisclosed foreign currency totaling more than $100,000.
But Rahat remains undeterred and says now "there are no issues". "There was the issue in 2011. The ED called us again for some pending queries. We tried our best to fulfill them."
"Thank God, they were satisfied. Now there are no issues. I will keep visiting India like before," Rahat told IANS.
Read: Alleged forex violation: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan questioned by Indian authorities
The singer, who is visiting India after a four-year gap, is currently celebrating the success of his songs in Bollywood films like Hamari Adhuri Kahani and Drishyam.
"Music has no boundaries. Music and sports can play a strong role in strengthening bilateral ties. And they have already done it. These things matter a lot, so they should be given more importance," he stressed.
Speaking positively on the "musical and cultural" relations between India and Pakistan, he said "certain people" are trying to put chains on blossoming bilateral ties between the two countries.
"The musical and cultural relations may not be appreciated by certain people, so they are trying to put chains. But it's a bad thing. It's not right," said Rahat.
He pointed out that many Pakistanis had relatives in India and vice versa."They travel from India to Pakistan. From Karachi, people come to India to meet their relatives."
Read: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan supports Adnan Sami's stay in India
Rahat, whose track Zaruri Tha is getting massive response in India, credits Bollywood's Bhatt camp for its growing popularity. The song has been featured in the film Hamari Adhuri Kahani, which is directed by Mohit Suri and produced by Mahesh Bhatt.
"The song is a part of my album Back 2 Love, which was released in 2014. In the Indian film industry, a good song has a huge platform… (I am hoping) it will get more popularity. It's all possible because of Mahesh Bhatt. All credit goes to the Bhatt banner," he said.
"I started off with Pooja Bhatt's film Paap and since then we have shared a great relationship," added the crooner, who lent his melodious voice to the song Mann Ki Lagan for the John Abraham-Udita Goswami-starrer Paap.
Rahat also revealed that a new album was in the making, which may see the light of day later this year.
"There is a new album coming out end of this year. We are doing the listing of the album right now."
On the musical style, Rahat said that the yet untitled album was based on Punjabi songs.
"The new album will have 70 per cent Punjabi songs and the rest will be in Hindi. There will be songs on the lines of 'Mai tenu samjhawan ki'. No name has been finalised for this album yet," he added.