MIFHCM '26: Ustad Shujaat Khan (Sitar)

Join us for the final and headliner event of the 2026 Melbourne International Festival of Hindustani Classical Music with Ustad Shujaat Khan (Sitar).

Artist bio:

Ustad Shujaat Husain Khan (born 19 May, 1960 in Kolkata) is one of the most celebrated sitar players of his generation. He belongs to the Imdadkhani gharana (also known as Etawah gharana), and is the son and disciple of the legendary sitar maestro Ustad Vilayat Khan. His musical lineage traces back seven generations to the earliest sitar exponents of his family.

Shujaat Khan’s journey with music began early - he started practising on a specially made miniature sitar at age three, and by six he had become a child prodigy and was performing publicly. Known for his distinctive style, he plays the sitar in the ‘gayaki ang’ - a vocal-style approach that seeks to mimic the subtle inflections and expressivity of the human voice.

Over his long career, Khan has recorded over 100 albums and toured internationally, performing at prestigious venues such as Royal Albert Hall in London, Carnegie Hall in New York, and with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. He was a key member of the Indo-Persian ensemble Ghazal, whose album The Rain was nominated for a Grammy in 2004.

Despite the weight of tradition and his family’s storied reputation, Shujaat Khan has always emphasised forging his own musical identity: “My biggest achievement is that I have been able to establish my own identity… they enjoy me for what I am.” Today, he is widely regarded as a torchbearer of his gharana - bridging classical rigor with a fluid, expressive style that resonates with audiences worldwide.