Hariharan So far, so good

He started as a playback singer in 1977. With the (then existing) ghazal trend he too drifted into the world of ghazals. A few albums, and there was another new name added to the list of ghazal singers.

Hariharan today is a well known name in the field of film as well as non-film music. But what was it that made a south Indian take interest in ghazals? "I initially received training in Carnatic music, but I was attracted towards Hindustani music. The ghazal maestro Mehendi Hasan has been my inspiration," says Hari.

In the year 1976, the Sur Sringar Samsad organised a national level contest where Hari along with Suresh Wadkar and Rani Verma emerged as a winner. The contest was judged by various eminent personalities including music director Jaidev, who offered him an opportunity to sing in films. Gaman was the first film, for which did the playback. "When I entered the music scene, there were many singers who were already well established. I found the platform in ghazal singing which gave me recognition.

Hari has presently signed a three year contract with Magnasound during which he is expected to come up with eight albums. "I wanted a stable company label for my albums. Its not that I haven’t worked with other companies. I have earlier recorded songs for Sony music too."

As a singer it has been a long journey so far. Hari’s earlier albums were Ghazal ka Mausam, Aab Shaar-E-Ghazal featuring the legendary Asha Bhosale, Reflections and Horizons, all of which did well. But his album Gulfam came as a turning point, which changed his destiny. It was one of the first ghazal albums with a music video. Around the same time, his song Tu Hi Re from the film Bombay too gained popularity. He has also sung for movies like Maachis, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Taal and many more. He received the National Award for his song Mere Dushman Mere Bhai from the film Border.

He has done playback for a lot of Tamil films, but released only one private album Kadaal Vedam, which is the Tamil version of Halka Nasha. On being asked about this he says, "The non-film music sector has yet to develop there. But very soon I shall be coming up with a pop album in Tamil".

He also joined hands with Leslie Lewis, his long time associate in jingles and this led to the emergence of Colonial Cousins. Both of them having a similar taste in music, got along well. That is how they created a fusion album which earned popularity and even the name Lezz and Hari was a hit among youngsters. His present album Kaash is best described as an amalgamation of Urdu poetry with Indian gayaki accompanied by contemporary sounding instruments.

His compositions seem to have a flavour of Indian classical music but he does not get involved into serious classical while composing. "I’ve always been a lover of classical, but the rigidity is what withholds me from getting into it deeply while composing. As a composer, I need a few liberties and ghazals are the best medium through which I could vent out my creative side."

Lopamudra Bhattacharya