Actor Lisa Ray says she wants to be free of her "association" with iconic Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan song "Afreen Afreen".
A mix between indie pop and fusion music, the 1996 ghazal track was sung and composed by Khan with lyrics by Javed Akhtar.
Ray, who was a model when she featured in the music video, said she "inwardly" cringes whenever the song is played as part of her introduction at public events.
"I have to confess I have felt uncomfortable sharing or celebrating the #Afreen Afreen breakthrough video of the 90s and iconic song by maestro #nusratfatehalikhan because I was so strongly identified with it," the 51-year-old said in an Instagram.
"Today, as great troubadours I listened to in my youth are passing into the light, I recognise the power of a song to evoke an emotional response in the audience that is tied to who you once were - to a moment in time that is often defined by hope, wonder and the optimism of youth," she added.
Hearing "Afreen Afreen" today is no longer about a personal association but represents a universal rite of passage, Ray said.
"... In the same timbre of falling in love for the first time, writing your first poem, reflexively planning your future- a pitch, a note, a video that reminds us of a world of beauty and possibility and innocence that once was.
"But truly, what would be a revelation today is others also comprehending this truth and freeing me from an association with the song, for the reasons and more above (I'm just walking around in the desert after all)," she added.
