In an exclusive interview with The Pioneer, Legendary Padmashri Hariharan Anantha, who has sung over 15,000 notable songs in 10 languages, discusses his music, ghazals, and more.
SHIKHA DUGGAL
Hariharan Anantha Subramani, known for his playback, bhajans, and ghazals and who predominantly sings in Tamil, Hindi, and Telugu, is bringing monsoons here in Hyderabad with his own ghazals.
In a quick chat with him, the one who has sung over 15,000 notable songs in ten languages, we wanted to know how we could expect a relaxing, beautiful ghazal to be one of the simplest expressions of a beautiful life for him! He says, “I was a very low-profile student during my childhood. I never got into any trouble! Just to give you a background, I hail from Thiruvananthapuram and, as everyone knows, was born into a musical family already. Notes and strains are in my blood! It was my parents who I learned these tones from, and then I got in touch with Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan.”
There was a time in his musical career when, for almost two years, he had nothing to do. But now with all the musical touts, including the one in Hyderabad, he is feeling very electrifying! He claims that his best songs were always with A. R. Rahman; his compositions did wonders for him. He also feels that he really sings from his heart, because that’s the same heart that has never changed, even though the generations have changed.
Since he is a musician, we had to touch on the hard-hitting notes about the youngsters and their way of presenting music to the world, to which he responds, “All these remixes are done only to give a twist. But where is the soul of the original song? I don’t want any of my songs to be revamped. Nevertheless, there is no discrimination in our industry. There can be similarities! I started with Carnatic music. Now, when ghazal comes into play, it was Ustaad Mehandi Hasan who piqued that interest in me! He was the legendary trendsetter in it, and I got so influenced by him that I tapped my feet into the ghazal areas also.”
Songs were being played in his house 24×7 from the time he was born. So he didn’t realise when learning music actually became an osmosis process for him! All of a sudden he used to pick up certain notes, and that’s when his mother could also feel that he could sing. When he was growing up, he opened up about how, at one given point in time, he became a rebel, and that’s why it started to get difficult for him to sing the way he wanted to because his mother had different aspirations for him, or precisely different instructions to give! He didn’t understand the classical piece of Carnatic music back then, but today he is known to be the master of it.
Vivid Arts and Viviktha Entertainers are actually bringing Maahir, a bouquet of soulful ghazals, with Hariharan to Hyderabad, and he said, “This music industry, including celebrities, is my family. All of them love me like an elderly figure! There is mutual respect. I am not at all insecure about my current position; in fact, I want to make more space for the upcoming generation of singers. My career graph was very long; now, for whichever film I sign, I do it by choice! I have so many songs for the Telugu film industry, and many more tracks are coming up. But voice modulation always needs a lot of practise, even if you are a legendary singer, and you have to continue with your musical explorations. Like when I receive national awards, they become my morale boosters!”
Talking a little about the band he once formed with an international musician, he recalls, “Lewis is still a friend and an acquaintance who converted so many opportunities into brotherhood for me. We have recently done a show together! And whenever I come for such shows to Hyderabad, I just love visiting Taj Falaknuma Palace — enjoying a drink over there with the dawning moon.” So, more than a genre, whatever he sings is a feeling for him, which transports all of us into a mystical world.
