Sanam Marvi, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan to collaborate on naat album
LAHORE: Every year, Mian Yousaf Salauddin unites renowned singers with budding artists to release an album of naats during Ramazan. This year will see release of Ya Mustafa, the fifth album of its kind, come out around the 20th of the holy month.
“I’ve been composing naat albums for the last five years for my programme Virsa; I release one every Ramazan,” Salauddin told The Express Tribune. “Previous instalments, such as Madinah Madinah and Ya Nabi received a great response, both locally and internationally. Ya Mustafa is special because I have paid tribute to the brilliant poet and scholar Hafeez Taib. Last year, it was Behzaad Lakhnavi. I try to pay tribute to great poets so that the younger generation gets to know about its heritage.”
Salauddin is also known to promote new artists through Virsa and other platforms. “Each year, we introduce fresh talent. This time, we have Zahra Faraz Butt – the granddaughter of Azam Chisty, who is one of the greatest naat writers, composers and singers of his time. Another talented newcomer is Haleema Yousaf, a young and upcoming naat khawan from Lahore and Mahrukh Malik,” he revealed. “We also have Amanat Ali reciting for us for the first time, along with Hassan Nasrullah and Hina Nasrullah. But my core team is Sanam Marvi, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Sahir Ali Bagga. We have done many successful episodes of Virsa together.”
Salauddin considers composer Bagga an integral part of his project. “He is not just a great singer but a great sound engineer too, who gives his best. In our last album, Rahat recited a naat called Ek Khawab Sunawa which was hugely appreciated and has already the crossed Rs10 million mark in terms of sales.”
Khan confessed he feels very lucky to be part of Ya Mustafa. “I’m honoured to be associated with Mian Yousaf Salauddin in this journey every year. We’ve done wonders together and will hopefully, continue to do so,” he said. “We’ve been doing this for five years already! I would really like to thank my audience for giving such a warm response to Ek Khwab Sunawa, which became very successful. I’m grateful to Mian Saab for making such a beautiful composition and SM Sadiq for the lyrics.” The Tere Mast Mast Do Nain hitmaker also implored the media to support Islamic and religious content as much as it can.
Coke Studio star Sanam Marvi also had nothing but praises for her team. “Yousaf Salahuddin is the one who introduced me through Virsa in 2009 and since then, he has been promoting me on various platforms, including Coke Studio,” she shared. “I am where ever I am today because of him and so, I had to be part of this album. The track I have done is a beautiful kalam called Marhaba. The lyrics are magical and I had one of my best experiences singing it.”
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