Khatija Rahman was about 15 when she first watched K Asif’s magnum opus — Mughal-e-Azam — after her music teacher asked her to soak in the cinematic experience. While she was awed by composer Naushad’s trailblazing tunes, one song — a naat (an Islamic hymn) — in the second half of the film particularly moved her. Bekas pe karam keejiye, sarkaar-e-madina (Bestow compassion on the sufferer, O Almighty), a piece in the emotive raag Kedar, is sung by Anarkali after she is banished to the dungeons. Khatija could not forget the suffering, its depiction and how it was sung with so much heart by melody queen Lata Mangeshkar. This song, and not Pyar kiya toh darna kya, was also Naushad’s most cherished composition from the film. “I really connected with it. She (Anarkali) is in jail, completely helpless. It felt like a prayer, where you are weak and need a higher power’s help,” says Khatija, 27. Bekas pe is one of the five songs by Mangeshkar that Khatija has presented in her debut album, Kuhu Kuhu (Saregama), a collaboration with Dubai-based Firdaus Orchestra — an all-women, 50-piece orchestra mentored by Khatija’s father AR Rahman. Released last week on Mangeshkar’s 94th birth anniversary, the album also comprises Khatija’s renditions of Piya tose (Guide, 1965), Kuhu kuhu (Suvarna Sundari, 1957), Aapki nazron ne samjha (Anpadh, 1962) and O sajna (Parakh, 1960). “There are a lot of songs that we chose. But then my dad said that I should pick those that work for me. I selected the ones that are close to my heart,” says Khatija. While some pieces are more confidently sung than the others, there is scope for improvement in terms of tiny nuances that make these pieces brilliant to begin with. Khatija says she chose the title song, known to be one of Mangeshkar’s toughest renditions, as she wanted to challenge herself. “These songs are done with so much perfection by Lataji, that anything you do, it doesn’t feel enough. So there was that pressure. But one tries to stay true to the essence of the song and honour the artiste,” says Khatija. Growing up in Kodambakkam — the hub of recording studios in Chennai — with a father whose musical reputation has been extolled internationally, Khatija grew up listening to a lot of opera and qawwalis “or some new voice that dad was exploring for his next song.” She also relished Illayaraja’s numbers and old Hindi film songs. While she was always interested in music, initially she wanted to be a doctor, then a teacher, and finally after a seven-year break for personal reasons, she decided to learn music again, about five years ago. A commerce graduate, she followed it with a course in music business management from Singapore and decided to sing. She also handles the operations of the Chennai-based AR Rahman Foundation. While her music teachers taught her technique and how to perfect a nuance, it’s her father who taught her things that teachers wouldn’t. “His bit was all about connecting with the emotion. You get that kind of teaching from very few people. He’d tell me how to end a line gracefully and the finesse of it all,” says Khatija. She says that she’d always put more pressure on herself due to her privilege, more so in the last few months since she’s handling music for director Halitha Shameem’s upcoming project, Minmini, a film about survivor’s guilt. “I have definitely felt the pressure. Later, I realised how short life is and that I shouldn’t be carrying around so much weight,” says Khatija. Earlier this year, she had an impressive outing on Coke Studio Tamil with Sagavaasi (Co-exist), a song that spoke of living in tandem with the environment and how everything and everyone has a right to co-exist. “I stepped out of my comfort zone and for the first time went outside to jam, collaborate and record. It gave me an opportunity to explore a different side of my voice and range,” says Khatija, who was dressed in her trademark niqab in the song. Choosing to wear the niqab when she was about 13, she has often been trolled for it and was at the centre of a storm after Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen called it “suffocating” on social media in 2020. In response, Khatija had posted: “Dear Taslima Nasreen, I’m sorry you feel suffocated by my attire. Please get some fresh air, because I don't feel suffocated, rather I'm proud and empowered for what I stand for.” After the release of one of the videos from Kuhu Kuhu, her niqab is back in conversation. “The access through social media is so much that people immediately start bashing up the person. It feels like everyone wants to become a celebrity by just commenting on others,” says Khatija, who is currently busy with Minmini and is open to collaborating with other artistes.
