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Kailash Kher
Indian pop-rock singer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Kailash Kher (born 7 July 1973) is an Indian playback singer, live performer, and composer. His music draws deeply from Indian folk and Sufi traditions, blended with pop‑rock and spiritual nirgun influences. He was inspired by the classical musicians Kumar Gandharva, Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Bhimsen Joshi, and the qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.[1]
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Kailash Kher received the Padma Shri[2] award in 2017 from the Government of India. He has also received two Filmfare Awards: Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer for the Hindi film Fanaa (2006) and Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer – Telugu for the Telugu film Mirchi (2013), among other accolades.[3] He received the Sur Jyotsna National Music Award in 2021 for his contribution to Indian music.[4] In recent years, Kher has actively promoted Indian folk culture. He launched the Kailash Kher Academy for Learning Arts (KKALA) and the reality series Bharat Ka Amrit Kalash in 2024 to showcase traditional music from all states and Union Territories of India.[5]
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Early life and struggle
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Kher was born on 7 July 1973 in Mayur Vihar, Delhi to a meerut based family family.[6][7] His father, Mehar Singh Kher, was a traditional folk singer.[8]
Kher's musical interest began during his childhood.[9] At the age of 14, Kher left home in search of a guru, or an institution to further his musical training, and he began studying classical and folk music. According to him: "I left because I wanted to pursue my passion for music. It required me to stay in isolation".[10]
He also attended music classes and would teach students for just ₹150 per session to maintain himself, taking care of all his personal expenses from lodging to food, plus his education and musical expenses.[11] Although he couldn't find the right guru or a school, Kher started learning music by listening to it. He listened to Indian classical singers like Pandit Gokulotsav Ji Maharaj, Pandit Kumar Gandharv, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, and later even Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Lata Mangeshkar, and their contemporaries.[12]
He then experimented with a family friend's Indian handicraft export business until 1999.[13] However, when the business collapsed, he became depressed and even attempted suicide in early 1999.[14] Later on, he went to Singapore and Thailand and stayed there for six months.
After relocating to Delhi with his family, he subsequently graduated from Delhi University through the correspondence program.[15][16]
In 2001, Kher left Delhi for Mumbai - the center of India's highly-competitive music industry - aiming to become a professional singer. For a while, Kher struggled, living in cheap hostels and doing whatever musical work he could find to make ends meet.[17]
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Career beginnings
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Jingles
He moved to Mumbai in the year of 2001, where he began his foray into the music industry.[18]
When he moved to Mumbai, he already had a few friends there who were connected to the film industry. He was recommended to musician Ram Sampath, who was looking for a new voice for a jingle for Nakshatra diamonds. Kher would later recall the jingle as one which did not bring instant recognition but fetched him ₹5000, which he needed desperately at the time "just to survive".[19]
Kher's foray continued with him singing jingles for TV and radio commercials, receiving recognition for his style of singing. He sang in commercials for big brands such as Coca-Cola, Citibank, Pepsi, IPL and Honda Motorcycles.[20]
Playback singing and regional singing
It is believed that Kher underwent significant struggles to enter Bollywood. He got an opportunity to sing a song for the movie Andaaz. In this movie, his song "Rabba Ishq Na Hove" became popular. His song "Allah ke Bande" from the obscure movie Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II was also very successful and increased his popularity in Bollywood.[21]
He sang a number of the songs in the Bollywood film Mangal Pandey: The Rising, in which he had a cameo appearance. His other famous song is "O Sikander" from Corporate.[21] The song "Teri Deewani" from the album of the same name by his band Kailasa and the song "Ya Rabba" from the movie Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute to Love had record sales. He landed the opportunity to sing for the film Baahubali 2: The Conclusion. In the film his song "Jay Jay Kara" and "Jal rahi hai chita" became popular.[22]
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Vocals and music style
Kher's voice has been described as raw, soulful, fresh, high-pitched, and sharp. Unlike others,[citation needed] he mainly sings Ghazal, Sufi, Qawwali, folk and other devotional songs. He has been greatly influenced by the classical singers including Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Lata Mangeshkar, Pandit Kumar Gandharva, Bal Gandharva, Hridaynath Mangeshkar, and Pandit Bhimsen Joshi.
He can sing in a wide vocal range from high to low-pitched songs. His songs have been famous for their unique, soulful music and classical lyrics. Most of his film or non-film albums include romantic tracks with a touch of classical music, lyrics and traditional languages.[citation needed]
Commercial music
He has given music scores for numerous movies like Chandni Chowk To China, Dasvidaniya, Sacred Evil, Sangini, Desi Kattey etc. He has also penned lyrics in few movies like Kaal and Traffic Signal.[23]
By 2014, he had sung in more than 20 Indian languages, including Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Oriya, Bengali, Sindhi, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, Konkani, and Rajasthani, for Indian films. He had also recorded over 500 songs for the Hindi film industry and more than 1,000 radio and television advertising jingles.[24][25]
He ventured into the Kannada film industry. His hits from Kannada films include the songs "Hale Patre" from the movie Junglee and "Ekka Raaja Raani" from the movie Jackie.
He composed and sang the title track of Star Plus's serial Diya Aur Baati Hum along with Shubha Mudgal. He has also sung the title track of Colors serial "Udaan" along with the anthem for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the national campaign for cleaning India.
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Non-film work
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Kailasa
Kher formed a band named Kailasa in Mumbai in 2004, with Mumbai-based musician brothers, Paresh Kamath and Naresh Kamath.[26]
The band's first album, Kailasa, was released in March 2006.[citation needed]
Their second album, Jhoomo Re, was released in May 2007.[citation needed]
Kailasa's third album, Chaandan mein released in June 2009. He made his first international album on the independent record label Cumbancha.[27]
He released his fourth album, Rangeele, through his own company Kailasa Records in January 2012.
Kher has also sung a few non-filmy Nepali pop songs including "Phool Ko Thunga" and "Bolnai parcha bhanne K cha ra" from the album called Only Love in 2011.
2016 marks the return of Kher with his brand-new melodies, Ishq Anokha. This album, self-produced and distributed by SaReGaMa was a chart buster shortly after its launch. Ishq Anokha comprises eight fresh numbers as 'Ishq Anokha', 'O Jogi', 'Meharbani Teri', 'Berukhiyaan', 'Vaari Vaari', 'Guru Ghantal', 'Turiya Turiya' and an electro version of the track 'Vaari Vaari'. The album was launched 3 times, in 3 different cities: Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
Performances and international concerts
He not only performed for the Southeast Asian diaspora, but also for international audiences in festivals and venues such as GlobalFest at New York's Webster Hall, Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), Stern Grove Festival (San Francisco), Celebrate Brooklyn, Santa Monica Pier Festival (LA), Fillmore Center (San Francisco), Hollywood Bowl (LA), Hammersmith Apollo (London), Symphony Hall (Birmingham), Massey Hall (Toronto).[28]
In 2007, he participated in a concert tour in North America entitled "The Incredibles", also starring Asha Bhosle, Sonu Nigam and Kunal Ganjawala. In March 2011, Kailasa performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as part of the Maximum India festival.[29] Kher performed at the closing ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.[30]
In 2012, as part of Kailasa's third Nepal tour, Kher performed at Dhaka in Bangladesh, Nairobi in Kenya, Zimbabwe and Congo, Karachi in Pakistan and Muscat in Oman.[31]
Television and reality shows
He has appeared in various television shows, including Wind of Change (Bangladesh) (Gaan Bangla),[32] Saregamapa Li'l Champs (Zee TV), Mission Ustaad (9X), Indian Idol 4 (Sony), IPL Rockstar (Colors) and Rock On (MTV).[33][34] In 2009, Kher appeared in Indian Idol 4 as a judge along with Javed Akhtar, Sonali Bendre and Anu Malik.
In 2013, Kher collaborated with singer Shreya Ghoshal for the first time for a mission titled 'The Project Resound: Upgrade your Ears', in which Kher wrote, composed, and invited Shreya to sing along a song named "Naina Chaar". This online initiative by Sony Music India, aimed to make people aware of the rising technological advancement in the field of music, which may make it difficult to distinguish between noise and music. The project also promoted the use of Sony headphones.[35][36]
On 15 March 2014, Kher appeared in the celebrity talk show Comedy Nights with Kapil, at the special occasion of holi celebrations.
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Personal life
Kher married Sheetal Bhan in February 2009, and their son Kabir was born in December 2009.[37][38]
Kher was accused of inappropriate behaviour and harassment by multiple women during the Indian Me Too movement in 2018.[39][40] Kher, however, denied the allegations, stating, "Accusing without a formal complaint isn't authentic."[41] He then went on to make a public apology for the unintentional behaviour on his part that may have made the complainants uncomfortable.[42]
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Music for social causes
In 2011, Kher composed a song called "Ambar Tak Yehi Naad Goonjega" for the anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare which is popularly known as the "India Against Corruption Movement". Kailash didn't charge a professional fee for singing this song.[43]
Kher was featured in the Clean India Mission theme song, 'Swachha Bharat Ka Irada Kar Liya Humne',[44] which is written by Prasoon Joshi. To promote the Clean India Mission, Kher visited several places in PM's parliamentary constituency.
Kher did a viral video campaign called #KyaKisikoPadiHai along with Jose Covaco as a part of Swachh Bharat Mission. The campaign was directed by Harnish Ambaliya.[45]
Kher was invited by the PM to accompany him in his first US tour, where they performed in the SAP center community reception at San Jose, California on 27 September 2015.[46]
In 2019, Kher sang song called "Bol Re Dilli Bol" which was again based on the contemporary political events in Delhi. "Bol Re Dilli Bol" is part of the 7-episodes web series titled "Transparency: Pardarshita".[47][48]
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Awards and nominations
Film awards and other honours
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Discography/Filmography
See also
References
External links
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