Kailash Kher Interview: A voice for all seasons and political parties

People in colonies and mohallahs across North India are awakened by the powerful voice of Kailash Kher, which resonates through the garbage trucks of municipalities and communities, urging them to keep their surroundings clean. Kher describes the popular anthem of cleanliness, “Swachh Bharat Ka Irada”, as a “pleasant and successful” way of combining music with something as prosaic as garbage disposal. “Often, where lectures do not work, two or three meaningful lines set to music change the mind and the heart. A line like “humse niklegi swachchta ki ek nadi, swachhta ki jyot ghar ghar jalayenge” conveys the larger purpose behind the mission. The song automatically brings my voice into homes that otherwise wouldn’t have heard me.”

Kher says he heard the song, written by Prasoon Joshi, being sung by schoolchildren in Ratnagiri in Maharashtra during the school assembly. The need for an anthem for the cleanliness campaign came to Kher when Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed him as one of the Navratnas for the Swachh Bharat Mission. “Initially, I also posed with a broom and took over a ghat, but later I thought my real contribution could be made through music.”

Across party lines

Over the years, Kher has established himself as a sought-after singer for party songs, not for pubs and nightclubs, but for political parties fighting election campaigns. Interestingly, in every election, Kher’s voice remains the link between warring political parties. This Lok Sabha election was no different, as his voice could be heard at rallies and door-to-door campaigning to promote the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party with songs recorded at different times.

Analyzing his demand of political parties, Kher says that every time a proposal comes up, he discloses that he has sung for the opposing party, but people still insist. “I guess in my honest voice, their half-truths and untruths sound pure and convincing,” he laughs. Kher says that his voice and music are “sincere and provocative” and can thus generate “mass support for a party or government project.”

Kher, who claims to be impartial, says that for him, humanity is the biggest party. “When you go to the hospital, you don’t see people boasting about their ideology and political affiliation,” he muses. Kher reminds us that he was the first to compose and sing for Anna Hazare’s India Against Corruption movement. “‘Ambar Tak Yahi Naad Goonjega’ became so popular that it was later used to promote the Aam Aadmi Party as well.”

However, his electrifying number “Sita Nahin Milegi Kaise, Ek Ram Chahiye” from the Bhojpuri film Gadar is often used on social media to promote bahubali politicians in the hinterland. “When I remember a song in the form of reels in a new context, I can only laugh. You can’t take yourself too seriously and invoke copyright for a 30-second reel. It all balances out. My Baahubali The number ‘Jay Jaykara’ is often played before Prime Minister Modi’s foreign broadcasts.”

From ‘Allah Ke Bande’ (Waisa Bhi Hota Hai) and ‘Subhanallah’ (Fanaa) to ‘Ram Dhun’ in Main Atal HoonKher has covered a wide spectrum of spirituality and romance with his music. “For me, Dharma is more about duty than rituals. When COVID-19 cases started declining, I came up with a song called ‘Anadi Ananta’ and released it on YouTube. The enthusiasm it generated among the audience reinforced my belief in the healing power of music.”

Southern Reefs

Kher has sung in 22 languages, but his association with AR Rahman since his formative years in the music industry is not often mentioned. Kher attributes his ability to record songs in South Indian languages ​​to his mastery of Sanskrit. “When I learned Sanskrit in an ashram in Rishikesh, it was considered old-fashioned, but it helped me a lot to sing songs in regional languages. I am proud of my Filmfare (South) Award for the Telugu song ‘Pandagala Digivacchavu’ (Mirchi).”

He says he has a spiritual connection with Rahman. “Whether it’s Amir Khursau, Bulleh Shah, Sant Raidas or Baba Gorakhnath, we both love the music of great saints and are driven by it.” Rahman was touched by the hardships Kher had to go through in his early years. “Rahman’s mother liked me. After a recording in Chennai, she asked me to stay with him and gradually I became like a family member. I made him shed his serious side.”

Thanks to technological advancements, Kher no longer needs to visit Rahman’s studio in Chennai. “These days, I record my part in my studio in Mumbai and he listens to it in real time in Los Angeles and works on it.” The two recently collaborated on Chamkila where they sang the striking duet “Bol Mohabbat”. “Rahman is constantly experimenting and that’s what keeps his music fresh. The difference in our tonality and texture makes it an exciting experiment. I think it’s cute that Rahman sings in Punjabi,” says Kher, before giving a demonstration of Rahman’s singing.

Kher also compares his music to “desi (pure) ghee” where the purity of language, meaning of words and quality of lyrics are supreme. To mark his 50th birthday, Kher, whose band Kailasa remains one of the biggest attractions even outside the film fraternity, has released “Ishq Hai”, a new romantic number that captures the essence of love in a satirical tone. “I believe imagination knows no age. We have seen Gulzar Sahib writing romantic numbers at a mature age.”

However, he is losing hope in film music because he feels that most producers and composers are looking for a hit from the past when making an album. “It can give you instant gratification, but it doesn’t take you into new territory.”

Meanwhile, his innovative format of a music-based reality show based on folk songs continues to enjoy popularity on Doordarshan. “It is a show that draws from the sea of ​​Indian folk music and stands out from the foreign formats on Indian television. We spend 12 to 18 months with the contestants before sending them on air,” says Kher, who produced the show and is one of the judges.