When Kailash Kher moved to Mumbai in 2001, he didn’t know where he was headed. Now, in 2013, after having made a name for himself in Bollywood, international concerts and Indian pop rock, Kailash feels he was born to create music.
Famous for his powerful and high-pitched voice in playback singing, he turned music composer with Dasvidaniya, after which he went on to compose music for movies like 'Chandni Chowk To China', 'Sacred Evil' and 'Sangini'. Kailash is bringing diversity into his work by composing an item song for the first time. “I was excited at the idea of composing an item number. However, unlike any other composition, it is going to be classy, with no shallow words,” explains Kailash.
The way soulful compositions are a trademark of his music, poetry forms an integral part of Kailash’s songs. “Poetry is as essential as soul in my songs. It keeps my songs different from others. Take for example "Tauba Tauba", though the words were symbolic of greed, they hinted at beauty. That is poetry to me — something that generates excitement, madness and gives me a force and drive to create good music,” he says.
By now, Kailash has sung in 18 Indian languages. He has recorded more than 500 radio and television advertising jingles besides doing nearly 1,000 concerts worldwide and four private albums. And each time he managed to come up with something new. “I keep evolving. I can’t repeat what I had done earlier. I know if I keep singing similar songs, I would stop being a part of people’s library after some time. So I restrict myself as a singer. I believe in doing less work, but good work,” he says.
He also reiterates that he is not a part of the “fame hungry” crop of singers who are dominating music industry. “They sing one hit number and then go on to copy similar numbers hoping for another hit. Take for example the Sufi trend. One song became a hit and there are people everywhere claiming to be accomplished Sufi singers. But until you create something out of the box, you can’t excel in your form,” he adds.
Probably this is the reason why Kailash looks for fresh collaborations when he creates music for his band Kailasa. “For my next album, I have collaborated with Padma Shri Prahlad Singh Tipaniya. There are endless things to be inspired from and create. This is music to me,” he ends.
