Kailash Kher

Kailash Kher (born 7 July 1973) is an Indian music composer and singer.

He sings songs with a music style influenced by Indian folk music and Sufi music.

He was inspired by the classical musicians Kumar Gandharva, Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Bhimsen Joshi, and the Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Kher was born on 7 July 1973 in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India in a Kashmiri family.

His father Mehar Singh Kher was a traditional folk singer.

Kher's first brush with music came in his childhood.

Brought up in a musical atmosphere, from his school days, he was enchanted and fascinated by music and used to listen to his father's Indian folks songs all day.

Even as a four-year-old, Kher displayed natural musical talent and would often impress friends and family by belting out songs with his prematurely powerful voice.

At the age of 14, Kher left home in search of a guru or an institution to further his musical training, and he embarked on years of classical and folk music study.

According to him, "it was because I wanted to pursue my passion for music. It required me to stay in isolation".

He also attended music classes and would teach students for just ₹150 per session to maintain himself, taking care of all his personal expenses from lodging to food, plus his education and musical expenses.

Although he couldn't find the right guru or a school, Kher started learning music by listening to it.

He listened to Indian classical singers like Pandit Gokulotsav Ji Maharaj, Pandit Kumar Gandharv, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, and later even Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Lata Mangeshkar, and their contemporaries.

He then experimented with a family friend's Indian handicraft export business until 1999.

However, when the business collapsed, he became depressed and even attempted suicide in early 1999.

He went to Singapore and Thailand and stayed there for six months.

Later, after relocating to Delhi with his family, he graduated from Delhi University through the correspondence program.

In 2001, Kher left Delhi for Mumbai, the center of India's highly competitive music industry, as a professional singer.

For a while, Kher struggled, living in cheap hostels and doing whatever musical work he could find to make ends meet.

He moved to Mumbai in the year of 2001, where he began his foray into the music industry.

When he moved to Mumbai, he already had a few friends there who were connected to the film industry.

He was recommended to musician Ram Sampath, who was looking for a new voice for a jingle for Nakshatra diamonds.

Kher would later recall the jingle as one which did not bring instant recognition but fetched him ₹5000, which he needed desperately at the time "just to survive".

Kher's foray continued with him singing jingles for TV and radio commercials, receiving critical acclaim for his unique style of singing.

He sang in commercials for big brands such as Coca-Cola, Citibank, Pepsi, IPL and Honda Motor Cycles.

Kher had to struggle to get a chance in Bollywood.

He got an opportunity to sing a song for the movie Andaaz.

In this movie, his song "Rabba Ishq Na Hove" became popular.

His song "Allah ke Bande" from the obscure movie Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II became very popular and this song made him a popular singing star in Bollywood.

He sang a number of the songs in the Bollywood film Mangal Pandey: The Rising, in which he had a cameo appearance.

His another famous song is "O Sikander" from Corporate.

The song "Teri Deewani" from the album of the same name by his band Kailasa and the song "Ya Rabba" from the movie Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute to Love had record sales.

He got opportunity to sing for the film Baahubali 2: The Conclusion.

In the film his song "Jay Jay Kara" and "Jal rahi hai chita" became much popular.

A. R. Rahman commented,"Kher has a uniquely soulful, raw and high-pitched voice. I remember how I first heard of him. I had asked Mehboob, our lyricist, for a new voice that is earthy and strong, and he said, I have just the person for you. That voice can only be that of Kailash! And he sent Kailash to meet me. The moment I heard him, I knew that here was a voice that was so wonderful, and which had its own unique space.... I want to say that Kailash Kher's voice has something that had been lacking a lot – it had pure soul! Allah Ke Bande is one of my all-time favorite songs."

Kher has a raw, soulful, fresh, high-pitched and sharp voice.

Unlike others, he mainly sings Ghazal, Sufi, Qawwali, folk and other devotional songs.

He has also received two Filmfare Awards for Best Male Playback Singer: one for the Hindi film Fanaa (2006) and one for the Telugu film Mirchi (2013), along with several other nominations.

With his powerful voice and his unique style of music, Kher has established himself as one of the most popular playback singers of India.

Kailash Kher received the Padma Shri award in 2017 from the Indian government.