Indian composer defends Pakistani singer's Bollywood song

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's voice will be retained in the song Ishtehar from the film Welcome to New York.

Amid controversy surrounding Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's song Ishtehar, Khaleej Times has learnt that his voice will be retained in the song, part of the film Welcome To New York, releasing on Thursday in Dubai. 
Singer-turned-politician and Union Minister Babul Supriyo on February 22 called for a temporary ban on Pakistani artists in Bollywood considering the tension between the two neighbours.  
We reached out to Shamir Tandon, one of the music composers of Welcome to New York for a comment.

Tandon defends his choice of recording with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan saying, "Pakistani artists like Rahat Sahab, Ghulam Ali are gifted and all of us in India love their voice. It's sad that we may have to stop working with artists across the border despite our respect for them as vocalists and knowing them individually as good human beings and friends."
The composer confirmed that the song will be part of the film. Talking about the proposed temporary ban, Tandon says, "For us, the nation comes first so we will stop working with Pakistan artists to respect the sentiments in India. And I would also like to add that I have the greatest respect for Rahat Sahab. This is in no way to say we are against Pakistani artists at all."
Released on February 5, Ishtehaar has clocked in 813,713 views on YouTube.  
This isn't the first time Tandon and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan have come together to collaborate. Their last song Zaroori Tha in 2014 was well received and garnered over 338 million views on YouTube.