Hariharan: I am more like a friend to my sons

"I have worked with my sons before but the motivation of this song was different. We were excited to collaborate with various artistes. I have worked with Akshay earlier, where I composed and he arranges the music. I am more like a friend to them than the father and I would like to keep the relationship that way. My younger son Karan is a bodybuilder. So he focuses on my fitness, he pushes me to exercise. I have a coach to train me on staying fit at!" said Hariharan.

He added: "Since both of them are different professionally, they have a distinct personality. I can talk about music endlessly with Akshay. In fact, I see my reflection in him. He looks like me when I was young. His way of talking, thinking are quite similar to mine."

"Karan is different. He is rough and tough. He really is fitness freak!" Hariharan mentioned.

Starting his career in 1977, Hariharan not only lent his voice to playback singing in Bollywood and South Indian films, he also released ghazal albums and formed a pop band Colonial Cousins with Lesle Lewis.

Away from music, Hariharan says the lockdown has goven him a great scope to spend quality time with his sons.

"When they were small, I never had the time to spend with them. I was recording; touring, and busy with my live gigs. I was quite occupied with my music. Now I enjoy their company more," he said.

So, how is he coping up with the present the lockdown? Hariharan said: "Staying positive is a feeling that comes from within, It is not really an external element. But it is also true that when you see migrant workers dying on the road, people losing lives due to a virus, and losing jobs and the economy going down - staying positive is the hardest thing to do. But it is the right thing to do. This is the time when we have to be thankful for the smallest things that we have, and start every day with the hope that if there is a tomorrow, it is a better day. Aapna time phir aayega," he said.

His tip to stay happy during the lockdown: "Try to help people. Even if it is not a huge charity, helping one person every day with a meal could also be a help. We must not forget that we have a huge, really a huge, population and the discrepancy between the rich and the poor is too much! So, we have to be compassionate and practical at the same time."

Hariharan's new song song "Phir tera time aayega" is written by Vinod Nair and composed by the singer, along with son Akshay Hariharan and Immanuel Berlin. Led by Hariharan, the band calls themselves The SurViralists. The video is directed by his younger son Karan.