Mumbai (IANS) Musician Khatija Rahman, who is also the daughter of Grammy and Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman, released her debut album titled ‘Kuhu Kuhu’, on Thursday.
The album is her tribute to the late music luminary Lata Mangeshkar on the latter’s birth anniversary.
The album features five songs ‘Piya Tose Naina Laage Re’, ‘Aapki Nazron Ne Samjha’, ‘Kuhu Kuhu Bole Koyaliya’, ‘Bekas Pe Karam’ and ‘O Sajna’.
Through this release, Khatija also tips her humble hat to the original, legendary composers and arrangers as well as the esteemed lyricists of these classic songs — SD Burman, Madan Mohan, Adi Narayana Rao, Naushad, Salil Chowdhury, Shailendra, Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, Bharat Vyas and Shakeel Badayuni.
Talking about ‘Kuhu Kuhu’, Khatija said: “I began learning music in my teenage years. I had always marvelled at Lata Mangeshkar ji’s artistry, but when my teacher introduced me to ‘Mughal-E-Azam’ and other songs was when I started to actually sing and record myself performing her songs. Since then, I’ve had a beautiful journey with Lata ji’s music and I’ve enjoyed my moments of exploring her catalogue. ‘Kuhu Kuhu’ is my tribute to Lata ji and a way of paying my respects to a musician who changed the world as we know it. Her positive message to me following my first single is what inspired this album.”
The music video for ‘Piya Tose features Khatija with the Firdaus Orchestra, comprising 54 women instrumentalists from 26 nationalities. The music video was filmed at the UAE Pavilion, Expo City, Dubai.
“‘Kuhu Kuhu’ has also been largely possible due to Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy, who has always been supportive of women in the arts. We’ve kept the sound of the album pure, rich and live to capture the essence of the music from the retro years. I hope people find nostalgia, joy and comfort in ‘Kuhu Kuhu’. Music has no cultural, national or gender barriers, and your support means a lot to me,” Khatija added.
‘Kuhu Kuhu’ is an all-acoustic album released with SaReGaMa.