New Delhi: Exponent of classical music Ustad Rashid Khan breathed his last in Kolkata today. Known for a huge repertoire of songs, among which are 'Aoge Jab Tum' (Jab We Met), 'Jheeni Re Jheeni' (Issaq), 'Bol Ke Lab Azad Hai' (Manto), Ustad-ji fought a brave battle with cancer. Among his last-known works is Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee's recently released film, Shastry Viruddh Shastry. 


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Talking about working with him, Shiboprosad recalled, "It’s a huge honour for us that Ustad Rashid Khan agreed to record a song for Nandita Roy and my debut Hindi film, Shastry Viruddh Shastry. We connected through this gem called Lagi Lagan. The situation in the film was that of a grandfather performing with his grandson at a school function. The maestro recorded it around five times as he was performing with a child artiste (Ekorshi Sengupta). He could have sung just once, but he wanted the two voices to complement each other organically."


"It showed his immense dedication as an artiste, where he wanted the song to be perfect with the blending of the two voices in equal measure. Anyone who has not heard his singing, has probably not loved Indian classical music. Till the time Indian classical music exists, he will continue to exist. We will forever remain grateful to him for gifting us this soulful song. The world will not be the same again without him," they added.  


Music maestro Ustad Rashid Khan, who was undergoing treatment at a Kolkata-based hospital for prostate cancer, died at a Kolkata hospital this afternoon, officials said. The classical singer was 55. He is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.