Shri Hariharan - Page 2

THE HINDU ONLINE
Friday, June 26, 1998
SECTION: Entertainment

'Melody still has a place in film music'

Date: 26-06-1998 From ghazals to pop music, Hariharan has come a long way. V.Gangadhar speaks to the singer, who won the National Award this year. Everyone is humming his popular numbers 'Ye Lamhe Ye Pal' (''Lamhe''), 'Hai Rama' (''Rangeela''), 'Chappa Chappa' (''Maachis''), 'I Love My India' (''Pardes''), 'Chandare Chandare....' (''Sapaney''), 'Jaise Dil Hai Dhadkan Hai' (''Dil To Pagal Hai''). The songs also dominate the 'countdown' shows on television channels. His ghazal albums are chart-busters. And his emotional song from ''Border'', 'Mere Dushman... Mere Bhai.... Mere Hum Sayye' fetched him the coveted National Award for 1997. Yes, singer Hariharan is flying high these days. Composing music for his 'ghazals', experimenting with a fusion of Western and Indian music, recordings and live shows all over the world. In the midst of such a hectic schedule, he found time to grant an exclusive, 90-minutes interview to 'TheHindu' at his spacious Matunga flat. Excerpts: Music, I guess, runs in the family. Yes, it does, My grandfather came to Bombay during the 1930's to make a living from music. He was a famous harmonist. My father was in the first batch of graduates in music from the Travancore Music College. Later he was the Principal of the Music faculty, Shanmukhananda Sabha in Bombay. My mother Alamelu Mani, is again, a wellknown singer having performed all over the country, including music sabhas in Chennai. She won the President's Gold medal for her AIR music programmes. We lived in a world of music, provided by such giants as M. D. Ramanathan, Brinda amma, T. R. Mahalingam and Rajaratram Pillai, the 'nadaswaram' vidwan. I presume you also began with Carnatic music. To a certain extent, yes. My roots were in Carnatic music, but I never reached the 'cutcheri' levels. I was interested in North Indian classical music and studied under Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan. I liked collage and the techniques involved in North Indian vocal music. When did you enter the world of ghazals? I guess from 1977 onwards. I admired the Pakistani ghazal singer, Mehdi Hasan who came to India during those days. That was the turning point in my life. Yes, there are certain similarities. The soft tunes, romantic lyrics and low-key orchestration. That is the gist of singing ghazals. It is the conversation with one's beloved. The singing has to be in a 'conversational form' to establish rapport with the audiences. Of course, ghazals had been in vogue from the days of Amir Khusro, but the form had changed a lot with the passage of time (humming a Talat Mahmood number set to music by Madan Mohan). That was lovely ghazal. Talat saab was a great exponent of the form. I note you compose the music yourself for all your ghazals. Yes, I had been doing it from the beginning. It is a totally creative process. I composed the music for some of my best songs in just ten minutes. The nucleus gets formed and then it is not difficult to elaborate from there. Orchestration had to be minimal, only an interlude, The ghazals cannot put up with cacophony. Your diction is impeccable, that too for someone from the South. I studied Urdu for more than three years to improve my diction. The romantic lyrics had to be pronounced properly and diction is very important. Urdu is a complex language and one had to work hard to master the nuances. Your 'Colonial Cousins' album was a smash hit. How did it come about? I had done a pop album with Kavita Krishnamurthy which clicked. I used to sing jingles for Leslie Louis, my co-artiste in 'Colonial Cousins'. He hummed some pop tunes, I went along and everything fell into a pattern. We formed a two-member band and 'Colonial Cousins' emerged. Music has so many diversities and we should not hesitate to experiment. Fans from six to 60 applauded the album which won several awards. We are now working on Colonial Cousins II and the album should be out within the next few months. What kind of music shows you hold abroad? Oh, I sing all kinds of songs. Tamil film songs, Hindi film songs, ghazals and Colonial Cousin numbers. This type of variety is appreciated by the audiences. You had come a long way in Hindi and Tamil film playback singing, since the time of your debut n ''Gaman'' in 1978. I have sung more than 150 songs in Tamil films. Recently, I won the Tamil Nadu State award for my singing in the film ''Asai''. It is wonderful to work with music directors like Ilayaraja, A. R. Rehman, Deva and Vidyasagar. Tamil film music had not yet gone completely commercial. There is still some scope for melody. You seem to reserve your best for A. R. Rehman. He listens to my ghazals and appreciates my style. So we get along well. I admire his innovativeness. Rehman also offers a bit of variety in his tunes. This is satisfying to a singer. Are you choosy about your music directors? Initially, I could not afford to be choosy. Of course, I do prefer to work for certain music directors than others. I also study their tunes, the lyrics and then decide if we could work together. Will you sing songs with inane lyrics? Why not? It all depends on the situation. If the film is a slap- stick comedy and such songs are needed for certain situations, I don't mind. Of course, the lyrics should not be crude. Fortunately, I do not get many such songs. The music directors, perhaps, think, they are not my kind. Lata Mangheshkar, recently, deplored the declining standards of Hindi film music. She felt most of the present music directors had strayed away from melody. She has a point. The producers are mainly responsible for this. You see, the focus these days is on action-oriented films which offer very little scope for lilting tunes and romantic lyrics. The music has to be loud and vigorous. Singers from the South like yourself, Balasubramaniam and Yesudas, mostly sing, soft, romantic numbers in Hindi films. Not the 'Yahoo' kind of songs rendered by Mohamad Rafi. I guess we represent a different culture. The 'yahoo' songs represent the more vigorous Punjabi culture. Are you happy with what you had achieved so far? What are your future plans?

Well, I am quite happy with what I have done so far. But then, one has to be improving and setting higher goals all the time. I am now working on Colonial Cousins II', more ghazal albums and singing in quite a few prestigious Hindi and Tamil films. Mind you, melody has a place, even in today's film music.

Originally posted by: uknaik99

Thanks for the article..He is a very talented singer..

I need one clarification here

I love this Duet - Hum Tum se na Kuch Keha Paye.. don't remmber movie but I know it was picturised on Sunny n Raveena... Was it sang by Hariharan???? ❓

yes Hariharan sang that song ....its from movie ziddi

LOVE'S REFRAIN

HARIHARAN and LALITA have seen their marriage through rough times and have emerged on top, with their love and friendship intact PIALI BANERJEE

SHE is as hyperactive as they come. His lethargy is the family joke. She likes to work from nine to five. He is a nightbird with his work often starting at nine p. m. and ending at five am. She is practical, goes through life with a great deal of common sense. Most often, he lives in his own world of make-believe. She is the competent manager of his concerts. He is a true blue singer. She is Lalita. He is Hariharan. A couple who have held hands bravely through the lowest ebb of his career and come out winners after 13 long years... When you walk into the Hariharan household on one of their rare, leisurely Sunday afternoons, you find them at peace together, enjoying their paan and listening to Mehdi Hasan ghazals. But it hasn't always been sunny days for them. When they first met in 1984, Hariharan was struggling to make it as a singer in Mumbai for eight years and had gotten nowhere, leaving him frustrated with almost no peace of mind. And theirs being an arranged marriage, things weren't exactly easy. "I noticed Hari for the first time, singing old songs on television for a programme, Mortal Men, Immortal Melodies. Actually, I noticed him only because he shares my father's name!" recalls Lalita. "But I liked his voice enough to remember to watch out for his concert the next time he came to Calcutta. However, I guess destiny had other things in mind, for within a couple of months, I heard that Hari's family and mine were exchanging our horoscopes, and were organising a meeting for us."

here is the link to that song

Originally posted by: sreejan

here is the link to that song

You are simply wonderful that was really great can please help me with more links please.

Originally posted by: Qwest

You are simply wonderful that was really great can please help me with more links please.

thats one of my fav songs of hariharn ......just cpy pasted it from musicindiaonline😊.....btw thankyou for all the articles...👏

some of my fav songs of Hariharan

Thanks Qwest Bhai 👏
Hariharan is my favorite contemporary singer!

SCREEN MAGAZINE

THE SOUTH HAS
PUT ME ON A PEDESTAL

What do you think about the pop music scene in the South?
It's just in the beginning stages. If you consider the pop market in India, it is only 20 per cent of the total music scene, and in South, it narrows down further. A lot of music directors use pop music and Western harmony for film songs, which clicks well with the listeners. Tamil pop will also pick up in due course of time, but it has to be different from film music. Here, the major problem is low financial viability. That's why the hesitation to go in for pop albums. What is the difference when you sing for Hindi and Tamil films?
The music culture is totally different in both places. In Hindi films, they stick to a certain format of singing. In the South, you have more scope for variation. The film industry is very disciplined here and time is valued. You have sung for Illayaraja, AR Rahman, Deva and almost all the music directors. How is your rapport with them?
I vibe very well with AR Rahman. In fact, I started my career in South with him, with Roja and Bombay. He understands me very well and we have a good tuning. He gives me a free hand and singing for him is always a pleasant experience. While recording, there are minimum people, only four of us — director, lyricist, Rahman and me, and the peaceful atmosphere makes my work easy. And Rahman is the guy who showcased my voice commercially. For Illayaraja I had sung the song Thalattu in the film Kadalukku Mariyadai. I usually improvise while singing, but with Illayaraja there is not much flexibility. But the song I sung for him was quite melodious. Deva is open to ideas. I have sung just a few songs for him. I have recorded a very interesting song in Telugu for the film Yamaha Nagri for music director Mani. Who are your favourite singers?
Pakistani singer Mehdi Hassan is my all-time favourite. In India, I like Yesudas and SP Balasubramaniam (SPB). They are so different from others. Yesudas' songs have a ghazal base, and inspire me a lot. I would like to share an incident with SPB. In 1970 I had done a programme of ghazals for Mumbai Doordarshan. SPB happened to see it. After six months, when we met at Mehboob Studios, he came up to me and said, 'Hariharan you have done a great job. Keep it up'. It was a great moment for budding singer like me. There is a general feeling among the
Tamil producers that you charge quite high. Comment.
It's the producers and music directors from the South who have put me on a pedestal, and I thank them for it. I will definitley give my best to the South. To date, I have sung more than 150 songs in the last three years. I stay in Mumbai and have to come down to Chennai for recording a song, so I want to be choosy with my songs. I want to sing only good songs. I think music is a very important part of the Indian film market, and if we are contributing to it, then why not charge for it. I feel I charge reasonable rates. In these days, with crores being spent in the production of a film, the money I am paid is only peanuts.

What are your future plans in the South?
I have finished work on an album titled Kaadal Vedam for Magnasound. Vairamuthu has written the lyrics and there are three duets with Sujatha. As the name suggests, it's a romantic album. I am thinking of doing a folk fusion album. It will be a fusion of South Indian folk songs with Western music. Music with a rustic South flavour usually clicks, since people identify with it. As far as films are concerned, I have sung for Jeans and Engineer, both for AR Rahman.

Colonial Cousins

From Mirror magazine, Sunday Times (Sri Lanka), 15 June 1997

------------------------------------------------------------ -----

Sharmila Kamat gets onto the fusion wagon with the Colonial
Cousins - Hariharan and Leslie Lewis

THEY'VE got the world and her husband (and the kids too!)
grooving to the beat of 'Sa ni dha pa'. They've waltzed to the
top of the music charts, clad in their trademark black
'bandgallas', chains and ponytails, and staggered off the dance
floor, laden with an armful of trophies.

Between the two, there's not an inch of musical territory left
uncharted. 'Ghazals', 'bhajans', fusion, remixes - you name the
style, they've cut a disc around it.

In the 50th year of India's Independence, they crisscross the
country bearing a label that harks back to the country's colonial
past.

THEY are Hariharan and Leslie (Lezz) Lewis, better known as the
Colonial Cousins. Relatives in rhythm who have taken Indian sound
waves and tuned them to their own wavelength.

In a freewheeling chat, the Cousins launched into a different
kind of 'jugalbandi' - of views expressed, feelings articulated
and beliefs held. Trying to fathom the reason why that certain
something in the way they sing has got the country swinging to
their tunes...

A jingle and remix specialist joins voice with a 'ghazal' and
playback singer. A strange kind of 'milan' this:

Lezz: There's more to our music than just the oft-trotted
'ghazal'-jingleremix tale. My dad was a dance director in Hindi
films. Every time he choreographed a dance, film music resounded
through our house. See this? (Pointing to a scar below his eye.)
That's me doing the Shammi Kapoor routine in the 'Yahoo' song in
'Junglee'. I jumped off the bed and collided headon with the
cupboard.

Dad was also a 'tabla' player - so, like it or not, I listened to
a lot of classical music. While boarding at St. Mary's, Mount
Abu, I was influenced by all kinds of musical styles, thanks to
my fellow boarders' tastes in music. So, it's not just jingles or
remixes - it's a mixture of so many diverse elements.

Hari: My parents are classical musicians and I've been trained in
classical music. I've done 'ghazals', film songs, pop songs,
jingles and, now, Colonial Cousins.

How did the two come together?

Hari: We were taking a break while doing a jingle for some
commercial. Lezz started strumming a guitar, I piped in with some
vocals. Pausing to listen to ourselves, we realised we shared lot
of musical vibes. We could make magic together.

And how did the cousins become related - colonially?

Lezz: We were looking out for an ethnic name that would personify
our music - English with just that dash of Indian flavour. Unlike
common perception, we don't sing in Hindi. Our songs are in
English because our album was originally designed for a release
in the West. But no title seemed to be ring a bell. Until...

Hari: While in London, I met an Indian friend who asked me, "Do
you know what my British friends and I call each other? Colonial
Cousins!" That sounded just right for us. We liked the sound.

So what is the sound of the Cousins?

Lezz: What do you feel when you hear a Colonial track? Good,
peaceful, relaxed? That's us, that's our music. That's the sound
of the Cousins.

Hari: We don't focus exlusively on the music or the lyrics - it's
a bit of both. The music is a fusion of classical rhythms and
pop. But, more importantly, it is good.

Lezz: We're the next sound of India. We're not bragging; we're
just lucky to have made it. Each generation has its own idols.
For me, first it was Deep Purple. Later on, Guns-n-Roses grabbed
the collective imagination. Today, it is the Colonial Cousins who
have become the idols for the kids.

Hari: We have fans from four to 60. It's amazing the way the kids
have responded to 'Sa ni dha pa'. I have three-year-olds running
up to me, to meet 'Sa ni dha pa' uncle! The secret why the song
clicked? If only we knew! Then we'd churn out one success after
another.

How is the work divided between the Cousins?

Lezz: We don't know who's doing what at any time. Yes, I
generally write the lyrics because they're in English. But it's
mostly a sharing of ideas. He suggests a word, I weave a line
around it.

Hari: It's a joint effort. And I think it should stay that way.
When you say I'm doing this part and you're doing that, you only
look at the parts. We'd like to look at the whole.

Have the Cousins spawned a whole family of fusion musicians?

Lezz: The beauty of the album is that we have started a wave of
fusion music. We've introduced a sound that has caught the
country's imagination, even of the world's!

Hari: During the 'ghazal' craze, everybody was singing 'ghazals'
- clad in shawls, even in summer! How many of those are left now?
Today, everyone is into fusion. A few years down the line, only
the good guys will remain.

As a 'ghazal' singer feels naked without a shawl, does a pop
singer feel undressed without long hair?

Hari:To a certain extent, the external persona is important for
a singer. Thanks to the influence of music channels and music
videos, a singer can no more afford to look repulsive. The long
hair, however, dates back to the pre-Colonial days. I had it when
I sang 'ghazals', only then, I used to tie it into a ponytail.

Lezz: If you see our earlier pictures, you'll realise that we
didn't have such long hair then. We just felt the need to grow
it. Tomorrow, if we feel the need, we'll cut it. For a good
artiste, what's important is the voice. The looks can, at most,
add to make the right balance.

But a lot of today's music videos have make-up scoring over
quality of voice. And lip-syncing only helps deceive the
listeners.

Hari: It's a fact that, in-between, some record companies assumed
that a good figure, looks and scanty clothes sold. But then,
there's market for good music as well. Else for two fat guys to
start Colonial Cousins and make it a success would just not have
been possible.

Lezz: Those who lip-sync at live shows aren't singers; they are
music artistes. Yes, sometimes lip-syncing is necessary - for a
line, at the most, a verse. But lip-syncing for an entire show is
just NOT ON. With advanced electronics entering the music
industry, a lot of non-musicians have become musicians, and a lot
of non singers, singers. Technology now allows you to sing just
one line or one word at a time, which is then pieced together in
the studio. So, while technology can be used to enhance the
quality of music, it can also be used for a detrimental purpose.

How does it feel riding the wave of success - winning a clutch of
awards from music channels and being the first Asian act to
feature on MTV Unplugged?

Hari: Good, great, but a little pressured. You know you're good.
Now the world agrees with you.

Lezz: Maybe that's why we grew the ponytails. (Grinning) "Sunte
nahin the!" (They didn't listen). So now, at least they look at
me and listen to me because I'm good. Seriously though, it's a
great feeling.

Between the two, they have tried different styles in music. Any
personal favourites?

Hari: No favourites. Just good music, period.

Lezz: When we sing abroad, people come up to say, "We like your
music - it is contemporary, different, fresh." In India, people
are interested in dissecting the music - is it English or
'Carnatic'? Pop or 'ghazal'? What's important is not the
compartmentalisation of music. What's important is, "Is it good
music?" and "Am I enjoying it?" Then, it's my favourite.


Lezz has done a remix album with Asha Bhosle. What are the
reactions to the protests made by some artistes (who feel that
old tunes should be left alone) against remixes?

Lezz: I agree that the original track has its own aura, its own
fanfollowing. But when we do the remix, it's for the younger
generation, to introduce the youth to a bygone melody. Else, old
tunes will be forgotten. Ideally, the same artiste should do the
remix, as was the case with Asha Bhosle. But if it is not
possible, let another artiste sing it and allow the song-writer,
composer and the rest to be remembered - let the song get a new
lease of life.

A remix merely carries the melody forward. Tomorrow, when we are
no longer here, we wouldn't like a Colonial track to die with us.

What does music mean to you?

Hari: Life. Music is always in my head, whatever I do. I probably
think more about music than anyone or anything else in the world.

Lezz: It is basically spiritual. Good music should give you peace
of mind.

When do we hear the next stanza in the song of fusion?

Hari: We now have the music video for the song 'Krishna'. Then,
it's off to London to mix the CD of the live show we did for MTV
Unplugged. Our next album will, hopefully, be out at the end of
the year.

We're the next sound of India. We're not bragging, we're just
lucky to have made it.