Hariharan

The ghazal singer Hariharan is widely recognised as an Indian-fusion trailblazer—thanks to his innovative “Urdu Blues”, his albums with Lesle Lewis as the pop-raga duo Colonial Cousins and his hold on the dizzying array of languages that make up Indian cinema. • He broke into playback singing for cinema after his performances on TV serials caught the attention of Bollywood music directors in the late ‘70s. • Hariharan’s debut film performance in 1978’s Gaman was a musical hit in its own right, and the young singer was awarded a National Award nomination for “Ajeeb Saaneha Mujh Par Guzar Gaya”. • He eventually won two National Awards—for the 1998 Hindi movie Border and the 2009 Marathi film Jogwa. • Though he has predominantly sung for Hindi and Tamil films, he has also recorded in Telegu, Marathi, Kannada and more. • Aside from his contribution to cinema, Hariharan is best known as one of the country’s most established singers of ghazals. Much of the singer’s prolific discography are national favourites, including 1994’s Gulfam. • He also performs in the critically acclaimed group Colonial Cousins, which fuse Western pop sounds like jazz and funk with traditional ragas. • For his lifelong contribution to Indian music, the singer was awarded the Padma Shree, one of the highest national civilian honours, in 2004.