Khatija Rahman (A. R. Rahman’s Daughter)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Khatija Rahman

• Khatija Rahman is an Indian musician, music director, and singer. She is famous for being the elder daughter of Indian music maestro A. R. Rahman.

• Khatija Rahman was born and brought up in a Muslim family in Chennai, India. She developed a keen interest in music and singing while growing up listening to her father’s music.

  

• Khatija made her singing debut at the age of 14. She sang her debut song ‘Pudhiya Manidha’ for the Tamil-language science fiction action film ‘Enthiran’ (Robot). The song was released in three different languages. The film featured Rajinikanth, Aishwarya Rai, Danny Denzongpa, Santhanam and Karunas in lead roles.

• Khatija got recognised globally for her music after she collaborated with the popular Irish band ‘U2’ for a song titled ‘AHIMSA.’ She has also been privileged to work with the Grammy award winner Ricky Kej for a song on air pollution.

• Khatija Rahman is always spotted wearing a burqa and hijab.

• Apart from being a musician, Khatija Rahman is also an active philanthropist. She is associated with different non-profit organisations to support various environmental causes like women empowerment and child education. In 2013, Khatija started with doing a five months internship at the CANCER INSTITUTE (W.L.A.) in Chennai, and later in 2014, she again did a four months internship with them. By this time she realised that she definitely wants to work for the social causes and help the people in need, and in order to move in that direction she started taking up more and more internships.

• In 2014, Khatija did a one-month internship at the Little Flower Convent School for helping blind children. In July 2016, she joined one of India’s largest independent youth volunteer non-profit organisations ‘Bhumi’ as a  management trainee and her key responsibilities while volunteering there included managing finance for events, managing the monthly donations of individual donors, management of Interns for the project, communication with corporates for my project, and much more.

• According to Khatija Rahman, ‘Bhumi’ has largely helped her in her overall personality development, talking about which she said,
  

  My communication skills went from not being understood by most people to a crisp level of clarity today when conveyed. The smallest of things, right from using a debit card to couriering were learnt in Bhumi. Over time, I was given a place in Bhumi where I made key decisions and was encouraged to take complete ownership of it. One such experience was the project ‘Joy to the World’. This was a national level opportunity and it completely changed my perspective on me achieving large scale projects. We as a team helped achieve 7000+ wishes of children through corporate funding. It was the highest target ever achieved in Bhumi.”

  Adding to this, she said,

  Today I see myself as a confident person who has managed to overcome the fear of taking risks and have become an inquisitive person to learn things to the best of my abilities. Not to mention all the people who made my journey wonderful in Bhumi.”

• Some other organisations with which Khatija Rahman has been associated in her past include Kathir Social Ventures and Sethu Foundation. Kathir Social Ventures is an organisation that support women affected by various social causes in skill-building and helps them to manufacture and sell their products, whereas Sethu Foundation is a charitable trust based in Goa that helps children get the best out of their lives as they grow and develop.

• Khatija Rahman has been the director and trustee for the A R Rahman foundation since 2016. The organisation was co-founded by the legendary music composer A R Rahman and his mother Kareema Begum in 2006. The moto for running the organisation was to create an active global forum, bridging the differences between races, caste, class, and communities. It also focused on financial aiding for the medical and educational needs of the poor, supporting retired musicians, marriages of women, agriculture, and entrepreneurial goals for the deserving members of the society.

• In September 2020, Khatija Rahman was trolled by Bangladeshi-Swedish writer and activist Taslima Nasrin for wearing a burqa and hijab. Taslima took to Twitter to write,
  

  I absolutely love A R Rahman’s music. But whenever I see his dear daughter, I feel suffocated. It is really depressing to learn that even educated women in a cultural family can get brainwashed very easily!”

  To which Khatija Rahman replied by saying,

  Don’t ever mistake my silence for ignorance, my calmness for acceptance, or my kindness for weakness – Carson Kolhoff, To my dearest folks who seem suffocated. Please go and get some fresh air.”

• Khatija Rahman has been trolled more than once for her choice of wearing a hijab. Talking about her choice of clothing, she said,
  

  I will not be weak or regret the choices I’ve made in life. I am happy and proud of what I do and thanks to those who have accepted me the way I am. My work will speak, God willing.. I don’t wish to say any further. To those of you who feel why I’m even bringing this up and explaining myself, sadly it so happens and one has to speak for oneself, that’s why I’m doing it.”

• Khatija Rahman, in October 2020, released her music single ‘Farishton’ on her own YouTube channel ‘Khatija Rahman.’ The song featured an animated music video that focused on spreading the message of empathy, women empowerment, and unity in diversity. The music video and the message both were highly appreciated by the audience, and the song was recognized in music festivals and won awards and accolades.

• In 2021, Khatija Rahman came to the limelight after she shared the news of her engagement with Riyasdeen Shaik Mohamed, an aspiring entrepreneur and audio engineer. The engagement ceremony took place in the presence of some close family members on 29 December 2021.