Rahat Fateh Ali Khan responds to criticism over viral video beating ‘student’: ‘I did apologise to him’

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan received significant social media criticism for a viral video showing him hitting a man, Naveed Hasnain, with a shoe. The Pakistani singer addressed the incident, revealing he apologized to Naveed, whom he considers his protege.

Talking to Adeel Asif on his podcast about the incident, Rahat said, ‘I did apologise to him. He started crying and said, ‘Ustaad ji (Sir) why are you doing this?’

He said, ‘Baap ka jaise role hota hai. Shagird ki baap hone ki jarurat hai. Humne woh role hi adaa kia hai (I am his teacher. I have played the role of his father).’

In the viral video, he was seen using his shoe on the employee over a 'bottle,' later clarified as 'pir sahab ka dum ka paani' (holy water). The incident faced criticism and trolling.

Reacting to the trolling, the Pakistani singer said, ‘He is my protege and I accepted that I scolded and trashed him. Later I apologised. Till this point, it was fine but people are making fun of it. But the truth is he had my holy water with him. People are not understanding the intensity of the situation. It’s a very serious matter for me as it involves my spiritual guide.’

Rahat clarification on the matter

After the video went viral, Rahat called the incident an ‘internal matter’ between a master and his employee.

‘Whatever you have seen in these videos is about an internal matter between an ustaad (master) and a shagird (protege). When a protege does a good job, we shower a lot of them and when they make a mistake, we punish them as well... I had apologised to him at the same time...,’ he clarified in a separate video, which also featured Hasnain and his father.

The ‘O Re Piya’ fame singer also said that the person who recorded the video was trying to tarnish his image.

Also Watch | 'Heeramandi' 1st look: Series featuring Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha promises journey to a bygone era