Padm Shri awarded singer says Sonu Niigaam is a genuine musician

Gunidas Sammelan is among the few such events in the city which have preserved and promoted the true and rare art of Hindustani classical music. As the 33rd sammelan takes place in the city, After Hrs caught up with Ustad Rashid Khan, who performs at the festival and belongs to the Rampur-Sahaswan Gharana. He was awarded the Padma Shri, as well as the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2006. Even Pandit Bhimsen Joshi is believed to have said once that Rashid Khan holds the true potential and promise for the future of Indian vocal music

Khan likes to concentrate purely on the classical style of music and is not really tempted to run the rat race of the Hindi film industry.

"Classical music is the ultimate. You may feel that the younger generation doesn't listen to classical music, but actually there are hundreds of amazing classical songs present today, existing either with fusion music or pure, which are really loved by the younger generation," he says.

Khan's Aao ge jab song in the film Jab We Met is a classic example. This classical song has a slow melodious and romantic tone and is considered among the best songs from the movie. "Classical music will continue to exist forever," he says. However, Khan is not happy with the general state of music that is being produced in the industry. "I feel that there is less of 'gaana' and more of 'bajaana' in most of the music you hear today. It doesn't mean that I am criticising anybody but there are certain really random songs you hear in movies today which have no head or tail," he remarks.

But he holds musicians and singers such as AR Rahman, Shankar Mahadevan, Sonu Niigaam, Jagjit Singh and Hariharan in high regard. He says, "All of these musicians have learnt classical music since inception. They really know the value of good music."