It all began with a call from Hariharan. He had called me to say that there was a [good] singer from Delhi, and asked if he could send him to me. I told him to do so. This young boy had a great persona and voice, and was in awe of me. He’d often say that he dreamt about the fact that I would make his debut album. I would tell him [it was impossible] as I was busy doing jingles at the time, and albums then were not [given importance]. Soon, I started to call him [to record] the jingles I was working on. That’s how people heard of KK.

One day, I collated his jingles and took them to Sony, [suggesting] that they consider signing him on. They liked his voice, and asked me to compose his album. Initially, I refused, but they said that if I wouldn’t [compose] it, they were not sure of getting him on board. So, I decided to go ahead, and that’s how Pal (1999) was made.

I loved the way he sang. I knew his voice, and hence, was able to compose something that would make him sound great. It was my job to compose a piece that he could sing effortlessly, and make him shine. He would come home, and I’d tell him how to render the song so as to evoke the right emotions. He owned the song, and how!

KK was a complete package — a young guy with a lovely smile, long hair, and great voice. More than anything, he had passion. He stuck around for so long, even though his album wasn’t getting made. 

I remember, once a smaller label offered him the chance to cut an album, and he sought my advice. When I told him to hold on, he took my word for it. He had that kind of faith in me. If he had signed a smaller label, we would definitely not have had Pal and Yaaron Dosti. When the album [was released], he reminded me, ‘It was my dream to have you compose my first album.’ I saw him dream that dream, and fulfill it. 

He would often promise me that he’d feed me dosa, because that’s something he prided himself on. He never kept that promise. Maybe one day, I’ll meet him and we’ll have that dosa.

I was his mentor, so when he’d come over, we used to talk about life. He was easy to get on with. He was famous for his voice, not his marketing skills. He was called [for recordings] because he sounded good. I’d expose him to things he didn’t know about. He eventually became busy, but our equation never changed. He had become popular in the commercial world, but he always respected me, and considered me his mentor. I find it ironic that he made his debut with Pal. That was the song that brought him to you, and also the song that took him away from you, because it’s the last one he sang at that show.

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KK was a phenomenal singer. He was the sweetest and most humble guy. You wouldn’t find him jumping around. He was always at home, chilling, doing things he loved. He was never a public man.

I still remember how our first album Pal came together in 1999. He had come to me saying, ‘I always wanted my album to be made by you.’ I said, ‘Theek hai, but you are young. If not an album, we will do something else.’ He hung around, so I called him for jingles. He then got singing offers from smaller companies and asked me what he should do. I told him to not do it: ‘You will get lost in the mix, keep waiting.’

So he waited for a long time. When I took his jingles to a big label and said they should cut an album with him, they said, ‘Wow, okay you compose it.’ I told them I am working on Asha (Bhosle) ji’s album and I didn’t have time. They said if I didn’t do it, they won’t make the album. I wanted to help KK, as he was a great guy and amazing singer. That’s how Pal happened. I still remember him rehearsing the lines, Hum rahein ya na rahein kal.

We stayed in touch over the years, but it had been quite some time since we spoke. We bumped into each other at a store [a few months ago]. He didn’t receive many awards [in his career], but I don’t think he was award centric. He just wanted to sing and get his songs out there.