Popular music composer, singer and doting dad to two musical talents, Shankar Mahadevan was recently conferred with a third doctorate by a technical university, for his contribution to music. TMS couldn’t miss a chance to speak with him.
Excerpts from our chat:
First the Grammy Award, and now the third doctorate. What do three doctorate degrees mean to you?
I feel privileged and humbled. But it’s not just about the accolade, rather it’s the kind of people along with whom I am receiving the doctorate. When you look at their work, you realise how great an achievement this is. I shared the stage with Gulzar, Shabana Azmi, and Leander Paes among many others, making this a special one.
How do you keep yourself so grounded?
Accolades and success shouldn’t get to your head. It shouldn’t be something that triggers your ego. Treat the awards and accolades as things that help you work better. After you celebrate it, you need to come back to reality and tell yourself to buckle up and start working again. These are milestones that would help you focus and work better.
From being an engineer to a composer-singer, how has the journey been?
Never in my dream, with my academic marks, I would have imagined receiving three doctorates (laughs). I have been a musician from a young age. Of course, education helps you deal with things in a more sophisticated manner, and it brings a kind of awareness in your life. Musically, I have been very lucky to have worked with all the greats of this country, from all over the world, and to have composed and sung for almost all actors, directors and producers.
I got into music even before I knew that it was my dream. Music came into my life when I was just three-and-a-half-years-old. Even though I was a successful engineer, I had to take a call. It was like now or never. I didn’t want to reach the age of 50 and regret.
How has working in Bollywood been different than working in the South Indian industries?
Primarily it’s all the same but the work culture is different. South industries are silent, more understated, and do a lot of work. In the north, it is louder and more flamboyant. Also, the difference lies in the music influences. Down south, it is Carnatic classical, while in the north, it is Hindustani classical, and I am one of those lucky people who has been influenced by both.
You have been a part of our growing up in the ’90s. How do you make sure to keep your music relevant to the times?
Millennials are the most intelligent generation. Give them a melody and they will observe. The style of today’s musicians is minimalistic. They are strumming a guitar, and that’s it. I have been told that ‘Oh! This song is not youthful enough’. But it is them who absorb the melody. And they listen to music a lot more than we do. So many forms of music are getting released, except for such types of music.
You are a master of improvisations on a live stage? How do you do that?
I don’t know how to articulate that, it’s like having a piece of paper and starting to write even before you start thinking. You can do the same thing in music, you can sing even before you start thinking. I have this strange characteristic of taking the risk of doing something. These improvisations too are impulsive actions. Secondly, I can see music because of my Carnatic music influences.
I can decode notes very easily and I know if I connect two random notes, it would be an interesting journey. But this happens in a fraction of a second.
Also, I get too bored of singing the same notes. If someone wants to listen to it, they can go back and listen to the original MP3.
How do you maintain the thin line between being a co-performer and father when you jam together with your sons? Are you the father-guru?
Never. I am rather on the receiving end. Both of my kids are like my friends. We are like a team. I am so busy running around, that I am not aware of so many new music genres, new singers and new ways with which we can approach a particular song. When I create something, they tell me ‘No Dad, this is not happening’, or ‘Can we try it this way?’, and vice versa. They give an opinion and it’s nice to have that.
Any upcoming projects?
We are launching a new digital platform called Gunguna Lo, which is the biggest, non-film, individual, independent platform for artistes. So all the leading artistes, about 40 of us, like Sonu Nigam, Arijit Singh, Shreya Ghoshal,
Sunidhi Chauhan, Vishal-Shekhar, Javed Akhtar, Prasoon Joshi and I have invested in this platform and it will be launched soon.
Furthermore, I am working on a beautiful film with Aamir Khan which is called Sitaare Zameen Par, about a basketball coach and his team of 11 specially-abled players. I also have films like Don 3, Rudra and a Marathi film called Manapman, a musical, in the pipeline.
