Harish Raghavendra is an Indian vocalist and actor from Chennai, India. He is the son of photographer P.V Raghavendran. Harish is best known for his songs like Hey Azhagiya Theeyee from Minnale, Nirpadhuve Nadapadhuve from Barathi, Devathayai Kanden from Kadhal Kondein, Sakkarai Nilave from Youth, Melliname Melliname from Shahjahan and Anbe Enn Anbe from Dhaam Dhoom. He has also acted in a few Tamil movies. He debuted as an actor in Vikadan directed by Arun Pandiyan in which he played the lead role. He also played a brother-role for Ajith Kumar in Thirupathi, which was written and directed by Perarasu.
Career
Harish officially made his debut into the music industry as a singer at the age of 18. His first song was a Telugu song for the movie Panjaram and he subsequently sung 'Vaa Saghi' for the movie Arasiyal. He was in his final year of college at the time. After that, he was not really active in the music industry. In the meantime, he graduated from Vivekananda College with a degree in commerce and masters in mass communication and journalism. He took up software engineering as well. Software engineering would have been his main career if not for music. Being a police officer was also one of his ambitions when he was studying. He re-entered the music industry through the well known classical song Nirpadhuve Nadapathuve from the movie Bharathi. The music was composed by Ilaiyaraja. The song became a massive hit back in the year 2000 and it brought him fame along with Tamil Nadu State award. This was the time he changed his name from Harish to Harish Raghavendra, per Ilaiyaraja's recommendation. Before he could even join the software industry, Ye Azhagiye Theeye from Minnale scored a roaring success back to back. Since then, he has sung over 3000 songs in various Indian language movies, predominantly Tamil. He has worked for most of the well known music composers that include Yuvan Shankar Raja, Vidyasagar, D. Imman, Vijay Antony, Harris Jayaraj & many others. His charming sharp voice has always been a point of attraction for many music directors, so he managed to sing in various languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam & Hindi. He has sung some devotional songs as well. After 'Panjaram', he sang for the Telugu filmNeetho under Vidyasagar's baton. Since then he has sung many more songs in Telugu, including films like 'Cheli', 'Priyadarshini' and Ghajini. Harish's latest project include a song about Mahakavi Bharathi – Engal Tamizhe and the translation, composition and rendition of the Tamil classic Thirukkural Having sung many classic hits for the major music directors, Harish is considered to be one of the leading professional singers in Tamil Music Industry. He has also judged many reality shows along with few other famous singers. Harish has also done a number of live concerts in various countries as well. Lately, he also grabbed a Diploma in Yoga in Krishnamacharya style. His words about Ilayaraja: "Illaiyaraja is a hard taskmaster and a perfectionist. It's really tough singing for him, because he does not let go till he gets the result he wants. It's like a training ground for any singer, and singing for him".
