An Instant Connect

By Lakshmi Ajay, "‘Gujarat music mein dooba hua hai’" - The Times Of India - India
Saturday, November 8, 2008

Singer, performer, a lyricist and a music composer, seldom has an artist had such a wide trajectory of success as Kailash Kher

Having stormed the music scene with Allah Ke Bande he managed to capture the collective imagination of music lovers in the country with his famed sufiana style of singing.

Six years later the singer is donning more hats by the day and experimenting with what he knows best about, his music! We caught up with him during his recent trip to the city to perform for the Times Ahmedabad Festival 2008.

Seeming kicked about his first innings as a music producer with friends Naresh and Paresh Kamath in upcoming films like Dasvidanya and Chandni Chowk to China, he says, “I think after Shankar-Jaikishan, there’s a similar talent pool in us. Making music in both films have been interesting. The treatment of each film is so diverse that making music for them was like traversing a wide spectrum.”

Constantly involved in writing lyrics, making music, singing and performing, does the singer want to try his hand at acting as well? “Although I have done appearances in my songs I don’t think I am inclined towards acting. You have to be committed and give lots of time for the same.”

Having been a participant in Mission Ustaad, Kailash returns as a judge on Indian Idol 4 and seems visibly excited, “The contestants that we have chosen from different cities this time are immensely talented. There have been interesting format changes in the show.”

What about the famous face-offs and the war of words between the judges, almost a compulsory thing with most talent based reality shows? “I have come to know Sonali Bendre only during the show but have worked with Anu Malek and Javed saab before. So no chance of ego clashes there. Hum log bade maze se kaam karte hain !” he says.

Having garnered a huge fan following for his band Kailasa’s two albums Kailasa and the recent Kailasa jhoomo , he says, “We have gathered a motley mix of fan following where we have some fans who identify with classical music and some who like rock music.”

With a musical collaboration with DJ Paul Oakenfield in place, he is all set to take sufi music places. “The youth mostly connect with sufi style because these songs have lyrics that speak of values associated with our culture, yet the sound is contemporary. I have observed that there is an instant connect to Sufi music anywhere in the world,” says the singer who also pens his own lyrics.

Performing in Gujarat of course is a pleasure for this soft-spoken singer. “Gujarat music main dooba hua hai. And one thing is for sure that there is lots of khana and gana here that one can indulge in,” he grins.