Hariharan | |
|---|---|
 Hariharan in February 2014 | |
| Born | Hariharan Anantha Subramani (1955-04-03)3 April 1955 (age 70) |
| Occupation | Playback singer |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Honours | Padma Shri (2004) Kalaimamani (2005) |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals,harmonium |
Musical artist | |
Hariharan Anantha Subramani (born 3 April 1955) is anIndianplayback,bhajan andghazal singer who predominantly sings inTamil,Malayalam,Hindi,Kannada andTelugu languages. He has also sung over 15,000 notable songs in 10+ languages includingMarathi,Sinhala,Maithili,Bhojpuri,Odia,Bengali,Sanskrit,Gujarati andEnglish. He is an established ghazal singer and one of the pioneers of Indian fusion music. Hariharan is widely regarded as one of the greatest playback singers in Indian cinema.
In 2004, he was honoured with thePadma Shri by theGovernment of India[2] and is a two-timeNational Award winner. Hariharan, associating withLesle Lewis, formed the duoColonial Cousins. They have cut many private music albums and also scored music for few feature films in Tamil and Hindi. In 1992, Hariharan and lateGulshan Kumar'sHanuman Chalisa recorded under the label ofT-Series crossed the 3-billion views mark onYouTube,[3] making it the first devotional song in the world to do so.[4]
Hariharan was born in a Trivandrum Tamil family to classical musicians H. A. S. Mani andAlamelu Mani. H. A. S. Mani – he was affectionately called Chellamani – groomed many Carnatic singers in Mumbai where he died in his early 40s due to cardiac arrest in 1963.[5] His mother Alamelu Mani (born 1935) has had a long career as Carnatic vocalist and a distinguished teacher and was honoured with the title Sangeeta Pracharya in 2019.[6]
Hariharan did his schooling atDon Bosco High School, Matunga.[7] He then graduated fromSIES College of Arts, Science & Commerce,Mumbai.[8] Thereafter he pursued his studies at theSt. Xavier's College, Mumbai.[9]
At the start of his career, Hariharan did the concert circuit and also performed on TV. He sang for many TV serials (e.g.,Junoon). His debut song "Ajeeb Sa Neha Mujh Par Guzar Gaya Yaaron" won him an Uttar Pradesh State Film Award and aNational Award nomination.[10]
Hariharan entered the world ofTamil films in 1992 introduced by debutant music directorA. R. Rahman with the patriotic song "Thamizha Thamizha" inManiratnam's filmRoja.[11] He was judged best male playback singer in the 1995Tamil Nadu State Government Film Awards for his soulful rendition of the song "Uyire Uyire" also by music director A. R. Rahman in Maniratnam'sBombay (Hariharan sang the song withK. S. Chithra). Hariharan has been one of the most trusted singers of Rahman and has sung many songs for him in long list of movies that includesMuthu,Minsara Kanavu,Jeans,Indian,Mudhalvan,Taal,Rangeela,Indira,Iruvar,Anbe Aaruyire,Kangalal Kaithu Sei,Sivaji,Alai Payuthey,Kannathil Muthamittal,Guru,Enthiran etc. He composed music for the Indo Polish FilmNo Means No. In 1998, Hariharan won the national award for the best playback singer for the soulful rendition of the song "Mere Dushman Mere Bhai" from the Hindi movieBorder, composed byAnu Malik. Hariharan got another National Award for theMarathi song "Jiv Rangla" fromJogwa.[12]
He has sung more than 500 Tamil songs and nearly 200 Hindi songs. He has also sung hundreds of songs inMalayalam,Telugu,Kannada,Marathi,Bengali andOdia languages. Hariharan has acted in a Tamil film withKhushbu,Power of Women (2005), and played cameo roles in the Tamil filmBoys and the Malayalam filmMillennium Stars.[citation needed]
Hariharan is one of the foremost Indianghazal singers and composers with more than thirty albums to his credit.[13] In his early career, he cut several successfulghazal albums, writing most of the scores himself. One of Hariharan's first ghazal albums wasAabshar-e-Ghazal withAsha Bhosle, which went gold in sales.[13]
Another outstandingghazal album wasGulfam, which not only hit double platinum in sales but also fetched Hariharan the Diva Award for the Best Album of the Year in 1995.[13]
The other ghazal albums from him Hazir (1992),Jashn (1996),Halka Nasha (1996),Paigham (1997),Kaash (2000), andLahore Ke Rang Hari Ke Sang (2005).[13] His live concert recordings,Hariharan in Concert (1990),Saptarishi (1996) andSwar Utsav (2001). His latest ghazal album isLafzz... (2008).[13]
The albumLahore Ke Rang Hari Ke Sang won rave reviews and critical acclaim inside and outside India.A. R. Rahman was an avid listener of his ghazals way before roping him in to sing his first song in Tamil film music, "Thamizha Thamizha", for the filmRoja.
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The year 1996 was a career milestone; he formed the bandColonial Cousins withMumbai-based composer and singerLesle Lewis.[14] Their first album,Colonial Cousins was a fusion album and was the first Indian act to be featured onMTV Unplugged.[15] It won a string of awards including the MTV Indian Viewers' Choice award and Billboard Award for the Best Asian Music Group.[13][15]
The next albums by this band wereThe Way We Do It (1998) andAatma (2001). Colonial Cousins released their fourth studio album "Once More" on 29 October 2012 under the label Universal. The 2009 Tamil filmModhi Vilayadu had score and soundtrack composed by Colonial Cousins.[16] They also scored the 2010 Tamil filmChikku Bukku.
In 2004, he was awarded thePadma Shri andYesudas Award for his outstanding performance in music.[17][18]
Hariharan collaborated withPakistan based bandStrings for a track called "Bolo Bolo".[19] He released an album calledDestiny with Punjabi/bhangra artistDaler Mehndi.[20]
He coined the terminology "Urdu Blues" with his fairly successful albumKaash which featured musicians likeAnandan Sivamani the percussion maestro, Ustad Rashid Mustafa ontabla, Ustad Rais Khan onsitar andUstad Sultan Khan onsarangi.[citation needed]
He also performed the Swagatham song in the2010 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony held in New Delhi on 3 October.[21]
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During 2010–2011, he appeared in a music show inJaya TV namedHariyudan Naan which was aired every Thursday, Friday and Saturday.[22]
Hariharan collaborated with Sarangan Sriranganathan for "Sruthi" at the Sydney Hill Centre and the Melbourne Robert Blackwood Hall Australia in 2011.[23] He unofficially released ghazal singerAdithya Srinivasan's first international single 'Gham e Duniya' at the Gateway Hotel, Bangalore.[24] In an interview in 2012, he said that he was no longer receiving offers to sing for Bollywood as music composers wanted to experiment with singers from the younger generation.[25][check quotation syntax] He was selected as a judge for Asianet Star Singer Season 6 programme, a very popular music contest television show for upcoming singers in Malayalam. Hariharan was a part of the 'Royal Stag Barrel Select MTV Unplugged', aired in December 2015.[26]
| Year | Title | channel | language |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Seniors (Season 3) | Zee Tamil | Tamil |
| 2019 | Surya super singer | Surya TV | Malayalam |
| 2017 | Super Star junior 5 | Amrita TV | Malayalam |
| 2014 | Saregamapa | Zee Bangla | Bengali |
| 2011 | Super Star 2 | Amrita TV | Malayalam |
| 2010–11 | Hariyudan Naan | Jaya TV | Tamil |
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Albums by Colonial Cousins
Hariharan has debuted as an actor in the Malayalam movie Dhaya Bharati released on 25 October 2024.[29]
He also acted in a lead role in the movie below:
Name: Power of Women (2005), Language: Tamil
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