‘I’ll keep singing till I’m happy about my singing’

National award-winning singer Hariharan has had a long career and he can’t stop thanking his fans enough for supporting him for more than 40 years. But he says that he would give up singing if he is unhappy about his singing.

The veteran, who calls Mumbai his home, has received honours like the Padma Shri, Kerala State Film Award, Tamil Nadu State Film Award and Filmfare Award, apart from bagging the National Award twice.

“I have had a long career. I will keep singing till I am happy about my singing. I love my fans. I would like to thank my fans for supporting me. They have made Hariharan. When you sing, they give you so much love. That gives you more strength to go on and on,” says the singer.

So are there no plans of retiring anytime soon? “When I feel like, I will say ‘That’s it’,” says the singer. But what would he do after giving up music? “I have a tea estate. Maybe I will go and look after that,” he says.

Asked about the best phase of his career, and he shares, “Every day. [After each stage show] I know what I have performed and how fans react to me. That’s important. Today is important, tomorrow is important.”

As for future plans, Hariharan has more music coming up, including a single with his Colonial Cousins band member Lesle Lewis. In the 1990s, they delivered a number of hit songs such as Krishna and Sa Ni Dha Pa.

“We are planning to come out with a single. Doing an album is not... an immediate plan but we are definitely doing a single. It is still in the working stage,” informs Hariharan.

Praising Bollywood’s current favourite singer Arijit Singh, Hariharan shares, “Everybody has a high point in their career, and Arijit is a very good singer. I wish him all the best. He is very popular.”