We need filmi & illmi music, enjoyable yet immersive: Kailash Kher

Neha Saini

Tribune news service

Amritsar, June 22

Kailash Kher needs no introduction, yet there was a time when the Padma Shri singer-composer was desperate to find work.

It was an era, when pop-indie music wave in India was being led by commercially hit and talented singers such as Shaan, Sonu Nigam and Shankar Mahadevan. “It was a time, when English speaking, metropolitan culture was getting popular and music was being marketed. I was just trying to make a living as a musician, but I was rejected and told to do something else so many times that I started believing that I don’t deserve to be a musician,” he said.

Getting candid in a web session hosted by Ehsaas- women of Amritsar, Kher shared his journey and his thought process behind making music. Talking to Shinjini Kulkarni, he said breaking barriers in music was not really what he had in mind, when he started. “We need both — filmi and illmi music, songs that make us learn something, It can be enjoyable and immersive. Even when I was struggling, I did many odd jobs while training as a student for noted musicians. I never really understood the concept of selling music as a product. But then artistes who come from poor backgrounds do not really get many opportunities. So, I kept singing with my heart,” he said.

From his first live concert in Delhi, where he performed with a harmonium, to collaborating with Grammy winning South African musician Wouter Kellerman, Kher has come a long way.

“My worth as singer got noticed with ‘Teri Deewani’ and I am grateful for that. I believe that when you are untrained and new in the trade, you do not have much to lose and so your performance is fearless. It’s the mind that limits us to defined constraints and I am a person of heart.”

Speaking about his latest song ‘Gratitude’ released on International Day of Yoga this year, Kher said he collaborated with six celebrated musicians from across the globe and top names from India, including Sonu Nigam, Shaan, Shankar Mahadevan, Chitra and Daler Mehendi. “The song is about bringing positivity and hope after the tumultuous times we have all been through during the pandemic. It has received a good response and even the PM tweeted about it,” he said.

As far as music is concerned, he believes there is no bigger unifying power. “After the last two years, I think we must think about how big a role music can play in uniting the world that is divided already in so many ways.”