Don't regret it: Kailash Kher on missing college life (IANS Interview)

Delhi University has started its new academic session and award-winning singer Kailash Kher, who couldn't be a regular college student of the university, doesn't regret the fact that he could only do a correspondence course.

The "Teri deewani" hitmaker, now 42, says when he spent time in the capital, he had too many things in his kitty and so couldn't focus on just studies. It made him conscious at first, but now, he doesn't look back at his teen days as something to regret about.

"I used to feel a bit awkward earlier because I didn't study properly. Now, its ok. I have met so many people...degree holders, but they are not necessarily great human beings," Kher, who received the Yash Bharti Award from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav earlier this year, told IANS.

The singer, who hails from Meerut, says that earlier he used to "have a complex".

But after getting invited by prestigious institutes like the Indian Institute of Management and the Indian Institute of Technology to give motivational speeches, he realised that a 'literal degree' doesn't matter.

"A real degree is about your character. I don't regret at all (not studying in a college). God has given me something bigger to enlighten the world now. So, instead of regretting, I am thankful," he said.

Would he like to go back to college?

"At that time, money wasn't the only concern. There was time constraint too. I was looking after my parents, trying to earn money to survive... you know how students try to do things for pocket money and I was also trying to learn music. So, I couldn't concentrate on one thing. Now also, I don't have time, unfortunately," he said.

As of now, he is enjoying the love showered by his fans for crooning songs like "Jal rahin hain" and "Kaun hain voh" for S.S. Rajamouli's magnum opus "Baahubali: The Beginning".

" 'Baahubali' is not like any other project for me. I was honoured, amazed, and overwhelmed to be a part of it before the film got released and became a superhit.

"We always believe that music heals people. In this particular film, I have also sung 'Shiv tandav stotram'. There is a scientific connect to it. If you listen to the tune and production of the sound, it has a wave which connects with each one of us...in our breathing, hormone and senses," said Kher.

So, is this the best work of the singer, who has given hit Bollywood songs like "Allah ke bande" and "Mangal Mangal"?

"I definitely loved it the most... after 'Mangal Pandey: The Rising', the kind of music that gave me goosebumps while singing ..., he said.

He is also all praise for "Baahubali" as it doesn't show India in bad light, something that most films based on India do.

"Movies that have won Oscar so far with India as a subject haven't glorified our tradition and culture. Most of them show our country's poverty or helplessness. So this way, India's image has become that of a third world country where only poor people stay," he said.

He believes that "Baahubali" deserves "all the awards in the world" as it's not just the music but also the storytelling that is worth lauding for.

"It's a piece of art," said the singer, who is working on an untitled album with his band Kailasa.

(Natalia Ningthoujam can be contacted at natalia.n@ians.in)