Kailash Kher (born 7 July 1973) is an Indian singer and composer whose high, powerful voice and style rooted in Indian folk and Sufi music made him one of the most distinctive voices of the 2000s. He became famous with “Allah Ke Bande” in 2003 and followed it with “Teri Deewani” and “Saiyyan”, recorded with his band Kailasa. He has sung in more than twenty languages for films and received the Padma Shri in 2017.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Kailash Kher |
| Born | 7 July 1973, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Age | 53 |
| Occupation | Singer, composer |
| Genres | Sufi, Indian folk, film music |
| Band | Kailasa (formed 2004) |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Spouse | Sheetal Bhan (m. 2009) |
| Children | 1 (Kabir) |
| Honour | Padma Shri (2017) |
Early Life
Kher was born in Meerut into a Kashmiri Pandit family and grew up in Delhi. His father, Mehar Singh Kher, was a priest and an amateur folk singer, and Kailash grew up listening to devotional and folk songs. At 14 he left home to look for a music teacher. He gave music lessons to children to support himself and studied by correspondence from Delhi University. A handicrafts export business he started in his twenties failed, leaving him so low that he went to Rishikesh for a time and considered becoming a priest.
Career
Kher moved to Mumbai in 2001 with little money and lived in cheap lodgings. A friend introduced him to the composer Ram Sampath, who gave him an advertising jingle. He went on to sing hundreds of jingles. In 2003 he sang “Allah Ke Bande” for the film Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II. The film went unnoticed, but the song became a hit and changed his life.
With the brothers Paresh and Naresh Kamath he formed the band Kailasa. Their first album, Kailasa (2006), included “Teri Deewani” and “Tauba Tauba”, and the second, Jhoomo Re (2007), had “Saiyyan”. The songs, which Kher wrote and composed himself, mixed folk melodies with rock and became staples of Indian pop.
His film hits include “O Sikander” (Corporate), “Chand Sifarish” (Fanaa), “Ya Rabba” (Salaam-e-Ishq), “Yun Hi Chala Chal” (Swades) with Udit Narayan and Hariharan, and “Kaun Hain Voh” and “Jay Jaykara” in the Baahubali films. He sang the anthem of the Swachh Bharat cleanliness campaign and has been a judge on television singing contests.
Personal Life
Kher married Sheetal Bhan in 2009, and they have a son, Kabir. He runs the Kailash Kher Academy for Learning Art in Mumbai and celebrates his birthday each year by introducing new, unknown singers.
Awards and Honours
Popular Songs
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Kailash Kher born?
Kailash Kher was born on 7 July 1973 in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India and is 53 years old.
What is Kailash Kher’s occupation?
Occupation: Singer, composer.
Featured image: Kailash Kher (centre) with an artist who presented his work to him, September 2018. Photo by Dheeraj Kolla, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
