Hariharan, on his ongoing musical journey and classical musicians getting fewer opportunities in Bollywood, in recent years
Srishti Ghosh Shinde (BOMBAY TIMES; March 7, 2014)

By most accounts, one of the most prominent faces of Carnatic music in India, Hariharan has contributed to the classical, fusion and ghazal genres. He’s dabbled in singing in several languages over the years and most recently, in Marathi. From someone so entrenched in Bollywood music to not being “approached for a long time now”, the singer and musician we grew up listening to, has lost none of his charm. We caught up him recently. Excerpts from that conversation...

You recently released a non-film album.
Yes. It's called Hazir 2, a collaborative work with Ustad Zakir Hussain that includes the work of contemporary poets with a different kind of composition. It’s a mix of classical music like Raagdhari, as well as Urdu blues, ghazals and romantic songs. It is a very special album, the first part of which was released 21 years back. It’s a collection of eight ghazals, all unique in character and style. It is a mix of masters and contemporary moods in the form of ghazals. We’ve included raag based, ballet as well as qawwali styles as well. One of my personal favourites is Koi Gila Koi Shikva which is an Urdu Blues style of ghazal, another one being Bekhayali Mein. Jolly Mukherjee has arranged the music for the album, while my son Akshay has arranged the song Koi Gila Koi Shikva. The album lasts for an hour, but gives you a feel of just 15 minutes (talk about relativity of time!). So much so, you feel it’s over too fast and would want to hear it again.

Bollywood-wise, why aren’t we hearing more of you?
My last Bollywood song was Ae Hairat E Aashiqui for Guru. I would love to sing for Bollywood films even today, but I haven't been approached for a long time now. And times have drastically changed. Music, now, has a different feel altogether and people enjoy this kind of music. With every new generation, come new singers and there are songs that suit their voices better. But I would love to sing for Bollywood films, let’s just leave 
it there.

But you’re singing for other film industries...
I sing in a lot of Tamil films and one of my songs had been topping charts until a fort night back.

Marathi songs, too, from what we hear...
I’ve ventured into the Marathi film industry recently and it is a very nice place to be. The people here are simple and create nice melodies. After Jogwa, I’ve been doing quite a lot of work with them, my son too has sung a song for the film Kokanasthaand we are doing a lot of work here. There is still a ‘want’ for Hariharan in the Marathi film industry.

Why doesn’t classical music find more of a space in Bollywood these days?
These days, films are more about the script and the story and not about songs. Most Bollywood films today have no soul-searching characters; hence the need for soulful songs doesn't arise. It’s an era of light-hearted films, where classical music doesn’t fit in.

You perform quite regularly. What’s the live music scene like?
It’s great! The number of concerts in India have gone up three-fold. If you happen to visit the airport on a Friday, you’ll find so many artistes flying to perform at places. Singing today has gained mass awareness; it’s no more a class phenomenon, where only a particular section of people enjoyed a certain kind of music. Moreover, the advent of Sufi poetic compositions has changed the face of Hindi film music.

Is classical music dying a slow death?
Not really, there’s a still a lot of classical music happening. I have several classical music concerts lined up, and a lot of community organisations and institutions promote this music. In fact, NRIs love to listen to classical music. However, it needs to be promoted well; especially the government should do something to revive it. Classical music should be played on radios when people are awake. If there are ten rock concerts in the city, there should be at least one classical music concert happening, otherwise there’s no way to promote this genre. In cities, the music culture is modernised, however classical music still holds sway in rural areas.

Looking back at your musical journey, what are your thoughts on past, present and the future?
I have had a very multi-faceted career, I created my own music, I sung for films, released my own albums and did shows and still do a lot of live shows. I think it’s now time to promote alternative music.