Tributes pour in
It’s been a great journey,” KK said with a smile when we sat down for an interview in 2016. The singer opened up about his journey and career aspirations. Excerpts:
You’ve done film music for so long. Tell us about your way forward.
When you sing other musicians’ tunes for 20 years, you tend to get lost as a musician. Now, I feel like exploring myself more as an independent artiste. When you have done a lot of good work, there comes a point when you want to utilise the experience
AR Rahman: Dear KK... What’s the hurry buddy. Gifted singers and artists like you made this life more bearable.
Vishal Dadlani: This cannot be real. KK, nothing will be the same without you. Nothing. My heart is in tatters. The voice of purity itself, of kindness of decency, of a true heart of gold. Gone. The tears won’t stop. What a guy he was. What a voice, what a heart, what a human being. Pritam: In utter shock. Just heard about KK. Someone please tell me it’s not true
Shreya Ghoshal: I am unable to wrap my head around this news. This is too hard to accept. Heart is shattered in pieces. Shekhar Ravjiani: Still processing the grief… The loss of a divine human being… Love you my brother… You made this world a better place with your infectious smile, your divine voice and your beautiful spirit. Kya yaar… chodke chala gaya tu… Sonu Nigam: KK, mere bhai, not done.
Mohit Chauhan: KK... not fair man. Not your time to go. This was the last time we were together to announce a tour together. How can you just go? In shock. In grief. A dear friend, a brother is gone. RIP KK. Love you.
(All responses are from
social media) you have garnered to better yourself and your music.
While you’ve been nominated for several awards, you’ve only won a few. Does that bother you?
Winning or not winning an award doesn’t affect me. As a singer, I haven’t felt any lesser by not getting awards. I just like to do my work in the best possible manner. I am happy getting good songs.
You’ve not been singing for Hindi films that often...
I’ve always taken playback easy. I don’t believe in doing something just for the heck of it. I feel kaam aayega toh kar lenge. But, I really enjoy working with the newer
Bollywood composers.
In the past, it was believed that it’s difficult to sustain in the industry if a musician doesn’t get enough work. But these days, even reality show artistes manage to do shows and have a good life. Has survival in the industry become easier?
I feel the younger talent getting fame has helped. If you talk about reality show artistes, they start performing at corporate shows and gigs at lower costs and earn more over the years. So no one runs out of work. Talking about survival, it’s subjective. If you’ve come here only to perform and have a good life, it’s fine. But if you want to make a mark as a playback singer, not getting work might become depressing.