Hariharan stays in what is known as the Beverly Hills of Bollywood-Powai, unlike most of his counterparts who prefer to dwell in Lokhandwala Complex. Welcoming me warmly with a hug, Ravi, as his close friends call him fondly, offers me a hot tumbler of steaming South Indian coffee and starts talking about himself and his career.
Hariharan stays in what is known as the Beverly Hills of Bollywood-Powai, unlike most of his counterparts who prefer to dwell in Lokhandwala Complex. Welcoming me warmly with a hug, Ravi, as his close friends call him fondly, offers me a hot tumbler of steaming South Indian coffee and starts talking about himself and his career.
I first broach the topic of how he manages to avoid being typecast as a singer. “As a singer I have achieved whatever I wanted till today, though I still believe that I have a long way to go still. I never wanted to be type- cast as a singer. No one will say Hariharan can sing only this way if I open my mouth. That is my USP sub consciously. People can type-cast me but I have done enough work. If at all any one feels that I am type- cast, it will be because of narrowness of his or her musical knowledge.”
Hariharan says that his USP is that he has a lot of flavors of singing. “I have not become a monster by making the same kind of music. I have always wanted to overstretch myself. I have plans for Bolywood now. I will compose music soon. I have put up a studio for production of music. It is a world compatible studio. A R Rahman has been a fan of mine much before Roja. He has this taste to like things which are not common and has made a USP of that. May be he saw that in me too. The dynamics of my voice is totally opposite to that of many other singers. I feel singing is an extension of your conversation. Singing has always was a part of my personality. I got Leslie Lewis and A.R. Rahman at the right time”.
Hariharan says that he had always wanted to be a singer, who could sing any song and he is quite happy about it and admits that acting in films came all of a sudden. “Producer Jayadevi came and triggered me to act in a Tamil film as the leading man. It was quite a decent film but she was a small time producer who could not release it. I will be acting in a film soon. I realized after doing Jayadevi’s movie that to get the right script is very important. I experiment with life as well as music”.
Hariharan ventured into having a farm house early in life, when he was very young. Hari guffaws, “Now every one has got a farm house. I have seven acres and farm a lot of coconuts, mangoes, chikkoos,bananas etc. I also have an amphitheatre there. After Roja things have changed in my favor, though I confess I used to struggle before that. I experimented with Colonial Cousins, though people warned me that I would be finished. My gamble paid off and people liked the album.”
Hariharan likes changing the things in his house, if he stays put there for four days, at a stretch. Like him, his affable wife Lalita is also keen on experimenting with the looks of the house. “I go a day before to a new place to soak in the culture there and keep myself busy in shopping and sightseeing. Though I have visited almost every country in the world, I have not been to Russia, Japan and South America”.
Hariharan admits that it is boom time for singers though worldwide there has been a recession and asserts that wherever Tamils are there, whether from India or Srilanka, Indian music is loved. “I walk music, think music. It is a way of life for me”
Hari who feels that more than the judges it is a competition between the judges, has not accepted any offer to be a part of reality shows in Mumbai though he did the reality show Hariyudan Naan for Jaya TV. “I told them that I am searching for good singers per se and not playback singers. I teach the wannabes how to approach the subject called music through the show I teach what the philosophy of music through the show. The production house short listed the singers. I go for one day and shoot for the entire week’s shows. I like imparting knowledge.”
Hariharan has put in thirty seven years as a singer in the tough business. “In today’s world if you are not extra ordinary you cannot last. Playback singing is just one aspect of music. Don’t get glamour- struck because of that. Just by being a playback singer you can’t have a 30 year career, if you are mediocre”.
With changing times, Hariharan also believes in changing his style and reinventing himself. “We all change with times. When I visited Kerala, I was astonished to see that not even one person in the Press Club there had worn dhoti. Though it is hip hop burger culture abroad, I am glad that way India has not changed at all”
Hari recalls the golden period of singing in India. “From 1992 to 2002 there was an amazing period and I was spearheading that period with Ilayaraja and A.R. Rahman. I got cream de la compositions. What makes a singer popular are the songs that he gets to sing. You may be a great singer but you are zero if you do not get the right songs. It is very rarely that a singer gets a period for himself. I have always been in the North but it is down South where I got my real recognition, as a singer. The reason I could not consolidate my position as a singer in Bollywood is that in the 90’s I was busy with promoting Colonial Cousins all over the world and was not here to consolidate myself after Roja in Bombay.”
Hari concedes that high pitch songs are more popular in the last 5 years. “A lot of people are doing good work in Bollywood. Reality shows are good but you cannot say that the media is bad. What a singer could achieve in 10 years earlier, today he can in just a year. Khan saab used to say pehle sar to banao baad mein topi ki talaash karo. Media cannot make you. Only if you have it in you, will the media present you. If you do not practice the basic form of music, you cannot listen to your soul. Like Carnatic, folk, Hindustani music etc, you should also do the basic sadhakam. The kids realized what their voice is after three months of taking part in my show Hariyudan Naan and started singing in their own voice.”
Hari goes on a flash-back mode. “I was not taken seriously for a long time. I learnt from my mother Alamelu and was Ghulam’s shagird. I come from a classical background. Mumbai is a melting pot. It helped me. I was singing Beatles at Don Bosco. I was listening to Vividh Bharathi and Hindi film songs. I come from a middle class Tamil Iyer family in Matunga. When my mother used to tell folks that her son was singing, she had a tough time to explain what he did for a living. It took me years to actually understand what singing was. Jaidevji was a great influence on me.”
Hari continues. “I heard Mehdi Haasan in 1978 and took up singing ghazals. My career was never planned. Today I am known because of my ghazal albums. When a voice becomes popular, it depends upon how much repertoire people listen. I recharge my batteries when I am in Mumbai. I get up only after 9 am but I do my riyaaz whenever I can. I do not sing songs for riyaaz I do only paltaas and sargams to keep my voice in shape or else a ‘belly’ will come in my vocal chords or my octave will drop”
Hariharan does work outs to keep his body in shape. “I do weights too. No yoga for me. But of late I have put on weight because I have been touring for three months. I do relax and meditate though I feel music itself is medication. Riyaaz is also meditation, because when I meditate, I do not think of anyone else. You get into a trance and do not realize where you are. I am quite spiritual. I do pujas on auspicious days at the temple at home though I do not believe in going to the temple every week. I do not linger in yesterday and it is always tomorrow for me. I am planning to take up music direction in films.”
Hari is a normal eater who likes good food. “I am a vegetarian at home but eat non vegetarian outside. I avoid oily food because it can lead to acidity. If I am in USA, I eat a burger for three days in a month. It will be either a vegetarian or a chicken burger. Today there are Saravanabava and Gujarati restaurants everywhere including in USA. My mum is a vegetarian. In USA, once when she asked for vegetarian soup, I checked it up and was shocked to know that it was chicken soup”.
Years back, Asha Bhosle told Hariharan that yeh nahi khaaoonga who nahi is just natak. Khanese kuch nahi hota, riyaaz karte raho. “I sleep for ten hours sometimes. If there is an evening concert I have to sleep for two hours in the noon. It gives you energy and helps you keep your voice fresh. I watch any stupid movie for a lark. I buy antiques. I go to a khabaad khana and spend hours there. When I was in Kochi sometimes back, in 8 hours I selected just one item. I have the knack of picking up amazing stuff”.
Hariharan likes to make fashion statements. “Fashion is a natural thing with me. People have made it into a statement. (Laughs) I think differently. I like to wear fashionable kurtas. I am a little erratic and am not shy to try anything. In 80’s I sported a pony tail. Now for the last two years I am growing my hair.. I have a farm house in Karjat. As an investor, I feel that property flats and land are the best forms of investment. Put your money in nationalized banks. If you go in for shares, you should be ready to take a risk. I do not go in for shares though I may gamble in Los Vegas. In shares you make money at somebody’s expense. We buy jewellery on occasions. I love watches but do not treat them as an investment. Though I have gone in for bad investments and got ripped off too in property. I have become wiser now. I have studied for Science as well as Law and hence I can think logically. Your education does not go waste. No one can take you for a ride. I love watches too. In school I used to collect stamps but I have lost my stamp album. We had a lot of time at our disposal then because there was no idiot box.”
Hari says proudly that Tamil Nadu is a place where everyone is accepted. “They are not stuck to any thinking process. They love experiments. A Sukhwinder Singh or an Udit Narayan is also accepted with open arms in Tamil films when they sing. Raja synchronized music in 70’s. Rahman was more hip hop and trance. Raja was way ahead of time. Why should we compartmentalize people as Tamils, Marathi, Hindi etc.”
Starkness. according to Hariharan, is the USP of today’s songs, especially as far as the voice and emotions are concerned. “I have been for 40 years but I have to identify with the youth of today if I have to move on. Shreya, Shankar etc are amazing. Sonu, Shaan are very good with their own styles. They are all originals. I am waiting for a different voice. When I entered people thought I was singing like Mannada, because I sang Naach na Jaane Aangan Teda, which sounded like Mannada. Even today Kishoreda comes out subtly when I sing, because I grew up watching his shows at Shanmukhananda Hall. I like Amit Trivedi, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Shantanu Mitra etc. With Anu Malik, I got my first national award for Yaadein. I have sung for Prem Agan too for him.”
Seeing me off after a sumptuous South Indian meal, Hariharan confesses that he socializes very less and does not go to parties, because he wants to avoid late nights.
