One Piece singer Hiroshi Kitadani shares Japan's love for 'Dancing Maharaja' Rajinikanth, talks India trip | Exclusive

Japanese singer Hiroshi Kitadani, best known for We Are!, the chartbuster from ONE PIECE, talks to Hindustan Times about his anime, India, and more.

To call singer Hiroshi Kitadani an icon is almost an understatement. In the world of J-pop (Japanese pop music), he is a legend. And his fame and following is compounded by the fact that he is behind some of the most recognisable songs from the anime world, notably We Are!, the theme song of the global phenomenon, ONE PIECE. The 62-year-old was recently in India to perform We Are! in front of an Indian crowd for the first time. On the sidelines, Kitadani sat down to talk to Hindustan Times about his India trip, ONE PIECE, and his love for Indian films.

Anime icon and J-pop icon Hiroshi Kitadani talks music, ONE PIECE, and Indian cinema. (Image: Toei Animation)

Getting We Are! is like winning the lottery

Kitadani has said that We Are! saved his life. The song came to him at the lowest time in his career. “It was truly my lowest point after my debut. The offer for We Are! came when things weren't going well at all, so it was unexpected. It was like an unexpected Cinderella story, but I felt glad I had kept singing. Being needed for my singing...being wanted was what made me happy. I thought it was great that there was someone who recognised my voice and that I could return to my life through my singing voice,” he tells us.

But the singer never imagined We Are! or ONE PIECE would become the global phenomenon they have. “It’s truly an unbelievable event. It’s like winning the lottery. I think I was really, really lucky in my life,” he says with a smile. Over the years, he has found fans in far-off places like the UK, China, and the Netherlands. “In China, people were originally just sitting and watching quietly, but as the performance went on, everyone got excited and stood up. Seeing scenes like that makes me think the power of song is truly amazing,” he shares.

Hiroshi Kitadani performing We ARE live on stage at the Mumbai Comic Con.

Kitadani admits that foreign travel feels special to him because it is proof that his song has travelled across borders. “It was after I started being invited to many different foreign countries that I realised ONE PIECE is so big,” he shares.

Love for Indian films

But it’s not music that draws him to India, but the films. “When I think of India, it's definitely movies. They are famous,” says the singer, with a twinkle in his eye. Ask him to name his favourite Indian films, and he adds, “ A movie that has been a hot topic in Japan for a long time is RRR. Recently, that's the one. But I like movies, and one I found interesting was Padman, and also Madam in New York (English Vinglish’s Japanese title). Also, maybe it’s not strictly an Indian movie, but there is one based on a true story, Hotel Mumbai. It's about the (26/11) terrorist attack. That was also quite interesting.”

Hiroshi Kitadani poses for the camera ahead of his maiden performance in India. (Image: Toei Animation)

Rajinikanth has been India’s most popular star in Japan since the release and success of his film Muthu there over two decades ago. But Kitadani does not know the film as Muthu. When asked about the film, he appeared confused until someone in his team pointed out that we were talking about The Dancing Maharaja (Muthu’s Japanese title). The singer exclaimed, “Ah, I know the Dancing Maharaja. He is famous!”

Muthu released in Japan after a Japanese film critic discovered it in Singapore in 1996. Two years later, it hit the screens there as Muthu Odoru Maharaja (Muthu – The Dancing Maharaja). It broke all box office records, becoming the ‘Titanic of art theatres’. It ran for 23 weeks in Japan, grossing ¥400 million, a record only broken by RRR 25 years later.

Kitadani was brought to India by Crunchyroll for the Mumbai Comic Con last weekend, where he performed We Are! to a packed crowd at the Jio Convention Centre on Saturday.