Khatija Rahman, award-winning musician AR Rahman’s daughter, has released a new song titled Farishtha, making her debut as a singer. The song, a pleasant melody, has been composed and produced by AR Rahman with the Tamil lyrics penned by Mashook Rahman and the Hindi lines by Munna Shaokath Ali.
Khatija’s heavenly voice transports the listener to the fairy-tale like land seen in the animation music video. In the note accompanying the song, Khatija shares that the character ‘Amal’ dressed in a vibrant purple burkha in the video was created based on her experiences and “the longing to explore the unknown”.
In the video, Amal undertakes a journey to reach Madina, a major Islamic pilgrimage site located in Saudi Arabia. On her way, she helps people and experiences divine moments. The video ends with the message – “The treasure of unity is found by those who look within”.
Khatija thanks many people who have helped and shaped her journey so far, including her family members and teachers. “Special thanks to Lata Mangeshkar Ji who has been my inspiration to sing,” she adds.
On her Instagram page, Khatija shared a short clip of her being awarded the Trend Setter Award for the year 2020 at the Inspirational Global Women Awards. “As women it is important that we respect other people’s choices. I don’t want to talk about my journey but I just want to share the message that it’s not easy for me to be here. I’m here because of my parents supporting me. They gave me my own rights to make my own choices, despite being from this background. In this era of women putting down women, I’m more happy this event is conducted. As women, most importantly we should uplift other women and not put each other down. I see a lot of it happening. I thought I should convey it during this event (sic),” she said.
Earlier this year, Khatija, who was caught in a social media scrutiny over her choice of clothing, made bold statements defending her freedom. Responding to Bangladeshi-Swedish writer Taslima Nasrin’s comments on her attire, Khatija said she felt “proud and empowered” about what she stood for.
Listen to Khatija's song here: