Hariharan interview: ‘Independent music is becoming stronger than film music’
· Scroll
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The renowned singer Hariharan has had a prolific, genre-crossing career, but the ghazal remains his heartbeat. His recently released album, Jaan Meri, comprises five ghazals with poetry by Farhat Shahzad. The tracks includes Baat Se Baat, which punches bossa nova into the ghazal.
Hariharan began performing ghazals in the mid-1970s for the Doordarshan programme Shaam-e-Ghazal. He made his playback debut shortly after with the Jaidev-composed Ajeeb Saneha Mujhpar Guzar Gaya from Muzaffar Ali’s Gaman. Hariharan’s brush with wider pop stardom happened in the 1990s, beginning with AR Rahman’s debut movie soundtrack Roja, followed by the Hindipop group Colonial Cousins, featuring Leslee Lewis.
Hariharan’s mastery over the ghazal is evident in the songs Hum Bhool Gaye from Aks (2001), Jaaniya Ve from Dus (2005) and Ay Hairathe from Guru (2007). The ghazal’s popularity isn’t dictated by films, Hariharan told Scroll: “Films today don’t have space for ghazals because they are shorter, the stories don’t require them, and ghazals need to be performed live, but the songs are used as score, not lip-synced anymore.”
What is a ghazal?
Ghazal is a conversation with your beloved. It’s a form of poetry. Not music, like jazz. The words come first. The couplets rhyme, ending with a constant radif, preceded by a qafiya. The first couplet is called a matla, where both lines end with the radif. The second line in each of the following...