INTERVIEW WITH HARRY ANAND - II

Who : Harry Anand
About : Singer, Music Composer of popular remixes like Kaliyon ka Chaman
Website: None

How it happened : Interview with Harry Anand
Interview Date: July, 2003
Place: Bahrain
Pics:Interview Pics

Nikhil Taneja(NT) : You started your career by being a jeweler. How did you discover your passion for music then ? And how did your first album, ‘Bollywood Remix’ happen ?
Harry Anand(HA) : Actually, from school time, I was very much involved in music. I used to sing in school and I was in the school band as well. After completing my schooling, I had never really thought of coming to Mumbai and being a music director or a singer or doing remixes for that matter.

When I came to Mumbai, I did my remix album, not for the market, just for my pleasure. I did 10 tracks and luckily, they got selected, I got a break and music has been my life ever since. ‘Bollywood Remix’ was a good attempt actually. There were no videos at that time for remixes, because at that time they used to promote only fresh pop albums. But even then, my album did extremely, extremely well and thanks to that, in a span on just 2 years, I had done at least 20-25 remix albums.

NT : You came into Mumbai with your brothers in 1994. How do you look back at your journey almost a decade later ?
HA : Well, if I see my graph today, I have grown steadily. Maybe I am moving very slow, but so far, people have loved whatever I have done, whether it is remixes or songs or whether it is a pop album. At least I have got a good fan following and people have appreciated my music. That is why, thanks to God, my success is growing and let’s just hope it lasts forever.

NT : In 1997, you started composing music too with Nitin Bali’s album, Na Jaane. How did it come about ?
HA : After doing my remix albums, I luckily got a break from Nitin Bali, who had heard my music. He came to be with Basheer of BMG Crescendo, and when they did a sitting with me, in just one day, they chose all my songs. That album also became a huge hit, largely due to the Punjabi song, ‘Sun Soniye’. Its first song had the combination of Ruby Bhatia and Nitin Bali and was inspired by a French composition. This album gave me a break in composing fresh music, and with the grace of God, I haven’t had to look back as yet.

NT : You had also done an album with Vikas Bhalla. Why didn’t that get released ?
HA : Vikas Bhalla’s album was really one of my best works. I don’t know why it wasn’t released. It is still with the music company. Maybe there was some paperwork problem or some financial problem. It still lies with them. Hopefully someday, it will see the light of the day.

NT : In 1999, your first album, Chaahat, was released but your potential was realized with your second album, Ittefaqan Pyar, which generated a lot of kind reviews. What mistakes did you try to rectify in your second album, which you might have found in the first one ?
HA : Actually, my first album Chaahat was my debut album as a singer and it gave me a chance to show my singing potential. Bhushan Kumar, of T-Series, gave me a chance for that album, as a friendly gesture and thanks to him I have reached where I am now. Chaahat did pretty well too; it sold around 5 lakh copies, which is very good for an upcoming singer.

After the good response for Chaahat, I did my next album, Ittefaqan Pyaar. At the time of Chaahat, I wasn’t very mature as a singer, though people did appreciate my compositions.

Ittefaqan Pyaar was a very big budget album; it cost us around one crore and had videos featuring Jas Arora, Aarti Chabbria and other good models. The video was directed by Ahmed Khan and all the songs had high production value. I did live music for it and used violins, group violins, the likes. I think that did the trick and it came out to be a good earner.

NT : You have stressed the use of live music in Ittefaqan Pyar. What is so different about it ?
HA : Live music is something everybody loves, because of the human feel that is there. It is very natural basically. When you play with keyboards, the music doesn’t really touch your heart, at least not as much as live music touches you, because at that time, they are playing the music live according to the song. So, as far as I am concerned, I don’t think there is any comparison to live music.

NT : You started remixes with your younger brother Vipin as a partner. Now though both you and your elder Brother Anand Raj Anand are very much on the scene, why isn’t he involved too much in your works ?
HA : Vipin is assisting my elder brother as an assistant music director. He has assisted my brother in all his films including Kaante, Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hai, Major Saab, etc. Vipin is the right hand to Anand. Actually, we are a very close knit family and even though we are three brothers, we have the same soul, and it doesn’t really matter to us whose name is shown in the credits. Also, we are planning to launch him as a mainstream singer, so we don’t want him to get too much exposure before.

NT : Your remix, Kaliyon Ka Chaman was an instant hit. But it was inspired by addictive, which itself was a remix of the original song by Lata Mangeshkar. Why did you decide to remix Addictive ?
HA : After Koi Sehri Babu of UMI 10’s first part, which was a folk song of sorts, we had to make something to live up to that chart topper. We wanted to make a song which would be a bigger hit than that. So we thought that since Koi Sehri Babu was a medium paced song, we needed a song which had a faster tempo. Well, we made 9 songs for that album and we were looking for a really hot song for the tenth one, and that’s one I happened to see the video of Addictive. It had Lataji’s voice in it. So I thought, if foreigners can use Lataji’s voice to see their songs, why shouldn’t I make aware to the Indian audiences that this song belongs to our country and this is the song. So I recreated this song and highlighted Lataji’s part in it. The song was rewritten by Dev Kohli and I recomposed it. If you listen to the original song, from the film Jyoti, you will realize how difference the remix is.

NT : What was your reaction to Saregama filing a suit against the makers of Addictive ?
HA : I think that was fair enough, since those people used Lataji’s original voice. So they were right at that and I think they won the case at last.

NT : Your latest remix, Kaanta Laga, a big hit too, is under criticism because of the video. Your comments ?
HA : As you’ve already said, the song is a big hit, and somewhere, the critics have also helped it. Because, like it’s written on cigarette packets, that ‘Smoking is injurious to health’, people tend to do it more. In the same way, the critics, by their negative publicity, helped in selling the album even more. It has already sold 10 million copies ! Otherwise, it was just like any other song !

NT : Switching tracks, tell us what was the response to your tours to the US and Holland ?
HA : Excellent. The audiences really seemed to like me. Normally, I don’t sing other’s songs. I would prefer singing my own songs. But if it is a live orchestra, I don’t mind singing any Mohd. Rafi or Kishore Kumar song. We have been listening to these golden melodies since childhood, so it’s an honour singing them. I sang Punjabi, Hindi and even English songs for them and it was a really good experience.

NT : Why is it, that though your first few tracks in Bollywood were appreciated by the audiences, you have not been playback singing too often ?
HA : Actually, even I wonder sometimes, why I didn’t continue playback singing, since both my songs in Bicchoo were pretty well received. But the thing was that when I watched the movie in a theatre and saw my song in it, what I realized, as a musician, and a very honest one at that, was that my voice wasn’t suiting Bobby Deol’s. It wasn’t mature enough.

You know, if you look at the legends of the music industry, right from Kishore Kumar to Sonu Nigam, all of them have hit it big time, only after the age of 30 or so. Kishore Kumar came in the limelight only at 40, Udit Narayan at 35-36, Abhijeet at 35 or so. I am just 31. So I am going to wait for another 2-3 years, and then make a come back.

NT : Your brother Anand Raj Anand has hit it big time with the music of Kaante. What part has he played in your life as a brother and as a mentor ?
HA : He has been a guru to me, and I have learnt everything from him. He has always been a great help to me and I respect him more than anything else in this world. He is more than just a brother to me. I am fully influenced by him.

NT : Do you think his success is going to open new doors for you in Bollywood too ?
HA : Definitely. After his success and my very own three hat trick successes in remixes, I have been getting lots of offers for movies. I am just looking for the right subject now. The moment I get a good subject, I will definitely compose for it. If AR Rahman can get his Roja, which made him get noticed, I am just waiting for my Roja to come.

NT : Which singers do you look up to for inspiration and which music directors would you like to work with, as a singer ?
HA : I would like to work with all the music directors. Every music director has a particular style of composing. So if you sing for that particular music director, it enhances your singing style also. That’s why I would love to work with every music director, right from AR Rahman to Anu Mallik to Rajesh Roshan. Their experience can make me a better singer too.

NT : Lastly, tell us something about your next album and your future plans.
HA : Right now, I am doing three remixes. In fact, I have just completed UMI – 10 Volume-4 and it will be releasing soon. It has got a very good Spice Girls’ remix song, ‘If you wanna be my lover’ and it’s song by Shamshad Begum ji. She is very old and has sung the song with a nasal accent. She used to sing in black and white movies. So this is a good mix of black and white with colour, of Shamshad Begum with Spice Girls(laughs). It is just an experiment. It might just click.

Apart from that, I am also working on DJ Doll Volume-II. And then, I am coming out with my own remix album called Harry-The Remix Don. I haven’t sung remixes till now, so this is going to be a first for me. And of course, I am also working on my own album, which is still in the production stage.

© Nikhil Taneja (nikhiltaneja@gmail.com)