His soulful has stirred many hearts into submission. Despite living in another country - Pakistan - Sufi singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan has managed to feature in a string of Bollywood songs for films like Haider, Dolly Ki Doli and Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Bombay Times caught up with him for an interview on a trip to Mumbai. Excerpts:

How did Zindagi Kuch Toh Bata and Dum Ghutta Hai happen?
I was approached by the composers for both songs. They told me the story and gave me a brief about what they are about. Pritam is great to work with. He has his finger on the pulse of what works and what doesn't. His composition Zindagi Kuch Toh Bata is simple and melodious, and quite different from what we are used to hearing from him. I was in Lahore when they called me for Salman bhai's song. Salman wanted me to sing it, and I happily obliged. Vishal Bhardwaj has a mind blowing andaaz. He came to Pakistan specially with his entire team to record a song that he was composing with me. He knows all the nuances of his score and how to get the best out of his singers. He does his homework well, especially with folk sounds. I lost out on an opportunity to be a part of his wonderful score for Haider. His music of the film was out of the world. I was on a world tour at that time. It is a missed opportunity I will always think of.

You've sung both songs with Rekha Bhardwaj. In fact, Dum Ghutta Hai is composed by Vishal Bhardwaj himself.
With the advances in technology, I didn't really get to sing with Rekhaji in the same studio. I sung my parts in Pakistan while hers were recorded here. She is a phenomenal singer and a lovely human being. Her voice is so unique that it can be spotted in any genre she is singing in. Both these songs are suited to her style and I am happy with the way they shaped up.

Your track Zaroori Tha was featured in the soundtrack of Hamari Adhuri Kahani.
The song is a part of my album Back 2 Love, which was released in 2014. The song was composed by Sahir Ali Bagga while the lyrics have been written by Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar. I still remember the day we locked on the song for the album, it was a last minute decision but one I will be proud of. The song had stayed in the archives for three years before it was unearthed for the album. I sang it for the film on a different scale. It was all possible because of Mahesh Bhatt. I started off in Bollywood with his daughter Pooja Bhatt's film Paap. I sang Mann Ki Lagan for the film, and since then we have had a great relationship. In the Indian film industry, a good song has a huge platform, and thanks to him, it got more credit after being included in the film. It fits perfectly with the setting somehow, despite having been written as a love song with a different storyline. Such is the truth about the universality of love songs - they relate to different people in love, who have their own unique stories. It got a fresh lease of life with the movie.

Who are your friends in the Bollywood music industry?
Composers like Pritam, Sajid-Wajid, Salim-Sulaiman and of course, Vishal are people I have worked with and consider dear friends. Shreya Ghoshal and Rekhaji are fellow singers I consider friends. One person I would love to sing for is A R Rahman.

What are you looking forward to on this visit?
My team and I have been gorging on masala dosa, idlis and karele ki sabzi, which we don't find back home. I love Indian food and am planning to introduce them to more variants of dosas, if I can find any this time.

What's next for you?
There is a new album coming out at the end of this year. We are doing the listing of the album's tracks right now. It will have mostly Punjabi songs and the rest will be in Hindi, on the lines of my song Main Tenu Samjhawan Ki. We haven't decided on a name yet. India is like second home to me so I will keep coming back to this glorious country. Music has no boundaries and I would like to tell my fans in India and elsewhere not to follow what the politicians say about art and artistes. They are both different worlds and it is better to keep them that way.