KAILASH KHER,Mumbai, Maharashtra

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’ Pandit Kumar Gandharva, Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, and the Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

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

Early life and struggle
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.

Kailash Kher Academy for Learning Art, P. L. (KKALA DHAM, JP Rd, opp. Dariya Mahal, near Gurudwara, Aram Nagar, Seven Bunglow, Versova, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400061

Awards and nominations
Film awards and other honours