Singer Hariharan has been a part of the Hindi film industry for over four decades. But unlike many senior musicians who don’t speak highly of today’s film music, the Padma Shri recipient says he relates to today’s music. “I compose even now and like to experiment. A lot of beautiful songs are made these days. But, I wouldn’t deny that many mediocre ones are made, too. Whenever a good song comes, it’s embraced naturally and it has a recall value. There are great music directors, lyricists and singers even now,” says the Sikandar (Kaamyaab; 2020) singer, who performed some of his iconic film songs at a concert, called Rehmatein, in the city, on Thursday.

The 67-year-old agrees that most of the songs that release these days have a short shelf life. “Compared to the past, so many films are being made nowadays. There are so many OTT projects, too. Also, a lot of people are showcasing their work on social media and YouTube. So there’s a surge in the amount of songs being put out there for the audience to consume. There’s a clutter of songs today, hence their shelf life suffers. But I believe good writing and songs do stand out,” he explains, adding that only those songs that have a “chehra” manage to have a recall value.

“If a track sounds like someone is reading a letter, it becomes difficult for the listeners to remember it,” Hariharan ends.