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Kailash Kher

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Instruments
  
Vocalist, harmonium

Role
  
Singer · kailashkher.com

Years active
  
2003–present

Spouse
  
Sheetal Kher (m. 2009)

Website
  
www.kailashkher.com

Children
  
Kabir Kher

Name
  
Kailash Kher


Kailash Kher happyhappybandweeblycomuploads315731574823

Native name
  
Kashmiri: کیلاش کھیرHindi: कैलाश खेर

Born
  
7 July 1973 (age 50) New Delhi, India (
1973-07-07
)

Genres
  
Indie, Bollywood, Pop Rock, playback singing, Sufi, folk

Occupation(s)
  
Singer, songwriter, music composer.

Parents
  
Pt.Mehar Singh Kher, Chandrakanta Mehar Singh Kher

Albums
  
Kailasa, Chaandan Mein, Beyond Rhythmscape, Kailasa Jhoomo Re, Yatra (Nomadic Souls)

Profiles

Singer kailash kher enthralls all at sap center california prior to pm visit


Kailash Kher is an Indian pop-rock and Bollywood playback singer with a music style influenced by Indian folk music and Sufi music. He is a prominent singer in Hindi, Nepali, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Odia and Urdu languages. Though his professional prowess encompasses most of the Indian languages, his contribution to Indian music lies way beyond that. He is a prime candidate amongst the contemporary Sufi singers. He has sung more than 700 songs in movies apart from 5 hugely popular and successful private albums. He was inspired by the classical musician Pandit Kumar Gandharva, Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, and the Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Contents

Kailash Kher Kailash Kher composes an item number for Desi Kattey

He has been honored with the Padma Shri award in 2017 by the Government of India. He is the recipient of two trophies of Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer from the Bollywood movie Fanaa (2006), and Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer - Telugu from the Telugu film Mirchi (2013), with several other nominations.

Kailash Kher KailashKher1jpg

Kher is known for his unique and powerful voice, style and music. He has established himself as one of the most successful and popular playback singers of India.

Kailash Kher kailashkherWallpapersjpg

Jal rahin hain baahubali the beginning maahishmati anthem singer kailash kher


Early life and struggle

Kher was born in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh on 7 July 1973 in a Kashmiri Pandit family. His father Mehar Chand Kher and his mother Chandrakanta were from Meerut. Kher's father was an amateur musician whose performances of traditional folk songs were a regular household event. Kher's first brush with music hence, came in his childhood. Brought up in a musical atmosphere, from his school days, he was enchanted and fascinated by music and used to listen to his father's Indian folks songs all day. Even as a four-year-old, Kher revealed a natural musical talent and he would often impress friends and family by belting out songs with his prematurely powerful voice.

At the age of 14, Kher left home in search of a guru or an institution to further his musical training, and he embarked on years of classical and folk music study. According to him, "It was because I wanted to pursue my passion for music. It required me to stay in isolation". He also attended music classes and would teach the same to students for just Rs. 150 per session to maintain himself, taking care of all his personal expenses from lodging to food, plus his education and music expenses.

Although he couldn’t find the right guru or a school, he started learning music by listening to it. He listened to Indian classical singers like Pandit Kumar Gandharv, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Pandit Gokulotsav Maharaj and later even Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Lata Mangeshkar and their contemporaries

He then experimented with a family friend's Indian handicraft export business till 1999. His depression phase started and he even attempted to suicide once, in the beginning of the year 1999, when his business collapsed. He went to Singapore and Thailand, and stayed there for six months.

Later, after he relocated to Delhi with his family, he graduated from Delhi University through the correspondence program

In 2001, Kher left New Delhi for Mumbai, the epicenter of India's highly competitive music industry, to seek his fortunes as a professional singer. For a while, Kher struggled, living in cheap residence, hostels and eking out whatever musical work he could find to make ends meet.

Jingles

He moved to Mumbai in the year 2001, where he began his foray into the music industry.

When he moved to Mumbai, he already had a few friends in Mumbai who were connected to the film industry. His name was recommended to musician Ram Sampath, who was then looking for a different voice for a jingle for Nakshatra diamonds. Kher later reminisced the jingle as an one which did not bring instant recognition but fetched him Rs.5000 ($100) which he needed desperately at that time "just to survive".

His foray continued by singing jingles for TV and radio commercials, receiving critical acclaim for his unique style of singing. Some of the brands that he sang commercials for are Coca-Cola, Citibank, Pepsi, IPL and Honda Motor Cycles.

Playback singing and regional singing

Kailash had to struggle to get a chance in Bollywood. He got opportunity to sing a song for the movie Andaaz. In this movie his song "Rabba Ishq Na Hove" became much popular. His song "Allah ke Bande" from the obscure movie Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II became very popular and this song made him a popular singing star in Bollywood.

He sang a number of the songs in the Bollywood film Mangal Pandey: The Rising, in which he had a cameo appearance. His another famous song is "O Sikander" from Corporate. 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.

A. R. Rahman commented-

I remember how I first heard of him. I had asked Mehboob, our lyricist, for a new voice that is earthy and strong, and he said, I have just the person for you. That voice can only be that of Kailash!' And he sent Kailash to meet me. The moment I heard him, I knew that here was a voice that was so wonderful, and which had its own unique space.... I want to say that Kailash Kher's voice has something that had been lacking a lot – it had pure soul! Allah Ke Bande is one of my all time favorite songs.

Vocals and music style

Kher has a rarely raw, soulful, fresh, high-pitched and sharp voice. Unlike others, 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, Hridaynath Mangeshkar and Pandit Bhimsen Joshi etc.

He can sing from high-pitched songs to even low-pitched songs, being breathless and comfortable. His most of the songs has been famous for its unique, soulful music and classical lyrics. Kher is the only singer in india, who often includes a classical lyrics and folk language in his solo albums and films. His most of the filmy or non-filmy albums includes a romantic tracks with the touch of classical music, lyrics and traditional languages.

Commercial Music

He has given music score's for numerous movies like Chandni Chowk To China, Dasvidaniya, Sacred Evil, Sangini, Desi Kattey etc. He has also penned lyrics in few movies like Chandni Chowk To China, Dasvidaniya, Kaal and Traffic signal .

By 2014, he had sung in more than 20 Indian languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Oriya, Bengali, Sindhi, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, Konkani, Rajasthani etc. for Indian films and more than 500 songs for the Hindi film industry and recorded more than one thousand radio and television advertising jingles.

He has also 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 has composed and sung 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.

Kailasa

He formed Kailasa in Mumbai in 2004, with Mumbai-based musician brothers, Paresh Kamath and Naresh Kamath, whom he met in Mumbai.

The band's first album, Kailasa, released in March 2006, went on to revive the Indian pop music market. The album was an immediate smash hit.

Their second album, Jhoomo Re, released in May 2007, went on to be an equally smash hit. With songs like "Saiyaan" and "Agad Bamm" touching the right chords with Indian as well as international audiences.

Kailasa's third album, Chaandan mein released in June 2009, was yet another smash hit! He made his first international album on the acclaimed independent record label Cumbancha.

He released his fourth album, Rangeele, which was released by his owned company Kailasa Records in January 2012. This album was widely acclaimed amongst the fans of Kailasa, and was critically acclaimed worldwide.

Kher has also sung a non-filmy Nepali pop song such as "Phool Ko Thunga" and "Bolnai parcha bhanne K cha ra" from the album called Only Love in 2011.

2016 marks the return of Kailash Kher with his brand-new melodies, Ishq Anokha. This album, sel-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 had to be launched thrice, in 3 different metropolitan cities, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

Performances and international concerts

Kailash Kher and his band Kailasa has performed over 1000 concerts across the globe.

He has not only performed for the south east 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).

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. Kailash Kher performed at the closing ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

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.

Television and reality shows

He has appeared in various television shows, including Saregamapa Li'l Champs (Zee TV), Mission Ustaad (9X), Indian Idol 4 (Sony), IPL Rockstar (Colors) and Rock On (MTV). 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.

In 15 March 2014, Kher appeared in the celebrity talk show Comedy Nights with Kapil, at the special occasion of holi celebrations.

Personal life

Kher got married to Mumbai-based film student Sheetal Bhan, a Kashmiri Pandit, on 14 February 2009, and they have a 6-year-old son Kabir. According to Kher, the marriage was arranged.

Music for social causes

He lend his voice to the Clean India Mission theme song, ' Swachha Bharat Ka Irada Kar Liya Humne', which is lyriced Prasoon Joshi. Taking forward the Clean India Mission, Mr. Kher visited several places in PM's parliamentary constituency drawing praise from Narendra Modi.

"Bravo @kailashkher! I congratulate you for joining Swachh Bharat Mission in Varanasi. Admirable effort," the Prime Minister tweeted."

Kailash was also invited by the PM to accompany him in his first USA tour, where they performed in the SAP center community reception at San Jose, California on 27 September'15.

He also composed the song "Ambar Tak Yehi Naam Gunjega" for Anna Hazare anti corruption movement, and sang it in Ramlila Maidan during Anna Hazare protest.

References

Kailash Kher Wikipedia