‘I have faced rejections in the film industry’

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Sreeram Chaulia [1]

Think of Kailash Kher and the first thing you recall is his raw earthy voice that stands out among other singers in the industry. Kher agrees that his unique voice has helped him be noticed but admits he has faced a fair amount of rejection too. The singer says, “I thank God for all he has given me.

I am the only singer in the industry who also writes and composes songs. My rise to fame has been quite quick, and it amazes people at times. Although, the truth is I have faced rejections too and at that time, I used to be confused about whether I am in the right field. I was in the export business before I got into singing and that went downhill after initial success, so I was dejected.”
The singer goes on to tell us that people still recall Allah Ke Bande, the song with which he shot to fame. Kailash says its success was a stroke of luck as he wasn’t sure it would work. He says, “In a time when people used so many fancy instruments and had big choruses, all Allah Ke Bande had was my voice and a guitar. The song turned out to be a dark horse and is now termed as revolutionary and a cult number. That song turned so many lives around, including mine. I went on to work with A.R. Rahman for Mangal Pandey and Swades.”
When asked about music today being easy available on the internet and the concept of purchasing CDs disappearing, the singer says he isn’t against this trend. He says, “I agree CDs and cassettes are vanishing but you can stop new trends from emerging. Previously you had to sell at least ten songs in a CD, now you can release singles. However, there are still people who will purchase a CD, if nothing else at least a souvenir, before they disappear totally.”
Kailash says no matter how busy he is in Bollywood, it is his band Kailasa that he is always excited about. “Recording songs for films take an hour and half and post that all my time is spent on Kailasa. We go on tours, record and compose songs,” he says with a smile.
The time that isn’t spent with Kailasa is totally reserved for the singer’s three-year-old son, Kabir.
Kailash says he had decided he won’t push Kabir into music. He says, “Neither my wife nor I want to force our opinion on him. Let him grow up and decide for himself what he wants to do. I would encourage him if he decides to take up some other profession.”