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The Shankar Mahadevan Chat

'My plan was to first do an album that would give me popularity'

Shankar Mahadevan's chat was a revelation. Not many knew he was a qualified computer engineer who once worked at Oracle. Nor did he know that the Net could be so much fun, as he chatted with old chums now based in the US and new fans. The transcript is full of inside jokes and Shankar's insights into the current music scenario.

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:25 IST)
Hi guys and gals, I'm here.

Satya Rao (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:25 IST)
Neither of you can be Shankar. One has the lyrics wrong and the other has mis-spelt the last name.

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:26 IST)
Hi Satya, is that you Satya Narayan Rao Jairao from RAIT? :-)

Hari (Tue Jul 6 1999 5:51 IST)
Hi, Shankar! It's great to be able to finally chat with you, mate. Tell me what do you enjoy more? Singing or composing?

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:27 IST)
Hari: Both equally, and I enjoy singing my compositions the most *grin*

Sher (Tue Jul 6 1999 5:53 IST)
Shankar, if Mukul Anand had released Dus, not just the music but the film, how different would things have been today for you, Loy and Ehsaan?

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:28 IST)
Sher: It would have made a major difference. The producers had great faith in the music and released it even though they knew that the film would not be released. Even then, the music is flying. So you can imagine what would have happened if that film, with its mindblowing visuals, had been released.

mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:28 IST)
You are said to have been Pandit Jasraj's favourite pupil. So how come you veered to pop from classical? Did you complete your classical training?

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:31 IST)
Mahadevan: First of all, I am an ardent follower of Pandit Jasrajji and a very close family friend, but could not find the oppurtunity to ACTUALLY sit and learn under him. Though he accepts me as one of his pupils and in my heart he is my guru, I could not take formal training under him. I have learnt Carnatic classical under MRS T R BALAMANI and I consider this as a very strong foundation for whatever form of music I do, ranging from jingles to a classical concert.

kvk (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:31 IST)
Hi Shankar, this is Krishnan, we worked together at Lotus. How are you? 'Breathless' was superb. I miss the good food at Sayba.

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:34 IST)
Krishnan*KVK* How are you doing? It's great to hear from you after a long long time. Infact, Sayba has just renovated and been fitted an A/C *lol* three days back. So I'm looking forward to a wonderful lunch there. I'll eat some on your behalf too hahhaha ;-)

kvk (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:37 IST)
Shankar, please do eat there on my behalf. My mother met your mother during their trip to Rajasthan. I finally know somebody who has become famous (besides me). Good luck with your work. I will try and contact you the next time I am in India.

Indian (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:32 IST)
Shankar Mahadevan: (repeat Q) Namaskaarams! Welcome to Rediff Chat. I wanted to ask you a question regarding the 'Breathless' song. Was it spliced together to give us an illusion of being sung in one breath? In fact I am reminded of a song by SPB sung in Tamizh that did the same thing, but in that case he DID actually sing the whole thing in one breath (meaning the whole stanza -- not the whole song). Did that inspire you to do this one? (Please do not misconstrue my question. I absolutely LOVED the 'Breathless' song)

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:38 IST)
Indian: First of all I am a human being so it's impossible to hold my breath for three minutes or else I would have been a dead man :) The song is a concept song and we have executed it perfectly. For your information, SPB has also not sung that entire para in one breath which he admitted openly. And NO, I was not influenced by that song.

Indian (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:38 IST)
Uh oh .. Thanks for opening my eyes!!

Indian (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:39 IST)
Shankar Mahadevan: As you said, the song is executed 100% perfectly!

Mudit (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:37 IST)
Namaste Shankar Mahadevan: How are you doing?? Don't you think that the harmonium is not being used too much in music albums? Why??

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:41 IST)
Mudit: It depends on the type of song first of all. And if it is a song which requires a harmonium sound, like a qawwali or a bhajan or a folk song, then definitely it is used because it has a character of its own.

ismail (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:39 IST)
Hi Shankar Bhai, I really enjoyed your Breathless. How was it working with Javed Akhtar? Are you planning another album with Javed Akthar?

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:43 IST)
Ismail: It was a lifetime experience working with Javedji as I was already a fan of his from the Sholay, Zanjeer and Deewar days. I have seen these films at least 20 times each. Moreover, when I actually met the person, I discovered what a friend, philosopher and guide he can be. I'll be definitely working in many of my forthcoming albums with him.

mog (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:30 IST)
Could you please try and put this to music: Starkle, starkle, little twink, Who the hell are you I think, I'm not under what you call, the alcofluence of incohol, I'm just a little short of sheep, I'm yet not drunk like thinkle-peep, I don't know who is me as yet, But the drunker I stand here the longer I get, So just give me one more fink to drill my cup, Cause i got all day sober to Sunday up!

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:45 IST)
Hi Mog, that sure is a tongue twister and, for all you know, that maybe the introduction to one of my songs in my next album!!!

Satya Rao (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:36 IST)
Shankar, we all know that you are a honours graduate in computer science from the Bombay University. You even took up a job in Oracle. At what point did you decide to pursue music as your career and just quit your promising job?

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:50 IST)
Satya Rao: Music was my first love anyway and, somewhere deep down, even though I was doing well in computers, I knew that I'm gonna sing and compose. Because that is the only way I can enjoy, make people enjoy and earn some money too!!

Indian (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:45 IST)
Shankar Mahadevan: What are your views on the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's SINGING abilities? I have heard numerous accolades that praise his voice sky high. But I have yet to hear a single criticism of his ability to hold a note correctly (abashruthi at his high speed, arohana and avarohanas). Tell me, are my ears deceiving me? Or is it a fact that he composed magnificently, yet could not sing as well as a classically trained singer? (Note: I know that he was a Sufi singer. I am not sure if that qualifies as classical training.)

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:53 IST)
Indian: You are absolutely right. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Sahab's main asset was his rustic voice texture and the soul with which he sang. There may be a few pitching inconsistencies (according to me), but I think when you listen to his product you have to look at the broad picture.

Indian (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:54 IST)
Shankar Mahadevan: *clapping* ... My sentiments precisely! Thank you, thank you so VERY much for answering me!! At least I don't feel like an idiot, all alone in my (dis)ability to find fault.

Satya Rao (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:44 IST)
Shankar, would you say that classical music in India is on the decline and that the youth are focussing more on pop music? Given your talent, do you plan to release any Carnatic classical albums in the future? (BTW, glad you brought up that you learnt your music under Bala Mani. Somehow your guru's name was being lost in the names of other bigwigs in the music industry.)

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:55 IST)
Satya Rao: It is absolutely wrong when people say that our classical music is on the decline because this music is an ocean. It's like removing one bucket of water from the ocean and asking whether the water has reduced. Ours is the only country where we have TWO forms of classical music, which is very, very intense and intricate as compared to any other existing form of music.

mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:39 IST)
Wonderful! You mean you have done classical concerts? When? Where?

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:58 IST)
Mahadevan: I started my performances at the age of 10, doing a Carnatic classical performance. I keep doing a lot of dedicated classical performances and jugalbandis with Hindustani musicians, but it has never becomes very popular because it does not have mass appeal. But I do perform very, very regularly.

windsor (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:55 IST)
Shankar, can u give out some personal details like where were u born, what have u studied?? I hope u don't mind!!!

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:0 IST)
Windsor: I was born in the great city of Bombay in a place called Chembur and I studied in a school named O L P S, and I did engineering in computer science after that.

mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:3 IST)
Great! So you are from Chembur! Why don't you have a classical performance at the Fine Arts Hall? I'll be there

shwetha (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:57 IST)
Hi Shankar! I liked your album Breathless. How did you enter Indypop after a stint of Carnatic classical music?

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:1 IST)
Shweta: Thank you. I always wanted to do an album, but I guess I was waiting for the correct thing to happen at the correct time with the correct person. I just did the music I love and it sure worked.

ismail (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:0 IST)
Shankar Bhai, do you plan on doing any ghazals later on...?

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:2 IST)
Ismail: Definitely. I'm a great fan of Ghulam Ali and I would like to do ghazal album once I know that there'll be more number of people ready to buy my album.

Satya Rao (Tue Jul 6 1999 6:55 IST)
You sang 'Jo vada karte hain, karke nibhate hain, hum peeche hat-te nahin...' What about the 'vada' you made on the back-to-back version of Breathless that you sang at the Miss India programme? Have you mailed the cassette?

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:4 IST)
Satya: Jadya, I'll definitely see to it that I mail it... :-) Give love to Sunita and do we have some good news or no?!!! :-)

shwetha (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:1 IST)
Hi Shankar! Do you propose to do an album in Carnatic classical music? What are your plans for the jawans at Kargil? Do you intend giving a show? Ananth.

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:6 IST)
Shwetha/Ananth: For the last four weeks, I have been doing shows almost every four days dedicated to our jawans and I've got quite a few more lined up in the pipeline because I feel that this is some service I can do for my nation.

mogmog (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:6 IST)
I also think you took the mickey out of Cyrus Broacha on MTV. Great, congrats, the dingbat deserved it . . . thinks he is too shyana, no men??

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:7 IST)
Mogmog: Cyrus is a sweet guy and he really makes the simple dull countdown shows absolutely interesting. And we were just having fun.

Yahoo (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:6 IST)
Indian...Unna onnum kaekaallai

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:9 IST)
Yahoo/Indian: Dei pasangala nan tamiz than da....!!!

Indian (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:10 IST)
Shankar Mahadevan ... lol@pasangala ...

Indian (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:7 IST)
Shankar Mahadevan: Looking at the success of Colonial Cousins, do you have any plans to team up with someone (or many) in a similar manner and attempt some 'fusion' music?

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:11 IST)
Indian: I have been doing fusion music with all the possible top artistes of this country like Louis Banks, Sivamani, Karl Peters, Vikku Vinayakam and Ranjit Barot for the last 15 years, right from the time I was in school.

windsor (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:12 IST)
Shankar anna, unga email address konja kudithinga nakka vasadhiya irrukum unglodha contacts vechirrukka ennaku romba aasai irrukku. lease maruthiruadhinga. idh indha adhiyen odha aasai

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:15 IST)
Windsor: You can write to me at shankarmahadevan@rediffmail.com

alwaysme (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:11 IST)
Shanker Mahadevan, you have worked with A R Rahman. What do u have to say about his music?

mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:9 IST)
Any opinion on Shubha Mudgal's Ab Ke Sawan? Or you prefer to keep mum?! :))

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:18 IST)
Mahadevan: I have just listened to that one song and I find it quite different.

mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:18 IST)
But Shankar, where's the spark, the variety in his music? His last good work was Bombay, thereafter he's been reduced to cloning himself.

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:20 IST)
Mahadevan: Why? What about Dil Se? I think it was an excellent piece of work, I loved it.

Neha M (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:17 IST)
Boss, one answer is all I need... Do we get another video? Please!!!!!!!!!!

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:21 IST)
Neha M: Not one, many more to come. But the right amount of gap should be there between two videos. Just wait patiently.

mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:15 IST)
Hey, Shankar, for the third time, any opinion on Shubha Mudgal's Ab Ke Sawan? Or do we take your silence as evidence of your opinion?! :))

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:24 IST)
Mahadevan: Frankly, I'm not too crazy about that particular style though I love Shubha's singing.

Mudit (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:24 IST)
Sir, Did you know that a whole song can be made these days on the Karoake system??

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:25 IST)
Mudit: What you have seen till now is just the beginning of a beginning.

Satya Rao (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:25 IST)
Shankar, people have heard about your pop, film and Tamil music. But you've had a history of rendering Sriniwas Khale's compositions in Marathi music as well. Any chance of you releasing non-pop or non-film music in the near future ?

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:28 IST)
Satya Rao: My plan of action has been that first I do an album which gives me a little bit of popularity. So, in the future, if I do various other forms of music, at least it will reach out to a larger number of listeners. Otherwise, what is the use if my album just lies in the record store shelf? Had I started my commercial music career with a bhajan or a Carnatic classical album, it would have sold 1/10th the amount it would sell if I do one now.

mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:26 IST)
I don't quite agree. Somehow Rahman's earlier freshness seems to be missing. I am not a musician myself, so I can't put my finger on it, but... anyway, one last question before I rush off: how seriously do you take your riyaaz? Is your ultimate aim to be Shankar Mahadevan the pop star or Shankar Mahadevan the classical maestro?

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:30 IST)
Mahadevan: My aim is to be Shankar Mahedavan the singer and composer, continuing in all these streams of music to my fullest possible extent.

bluuze (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:31 IST)
Hi Shankarji

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:31 IST)
Hi Bluuze

bluuze (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:31 IST)
Is it true that a Ford Escort reminds you of a certain person's face?

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:34 IST)
Bluuze: I heard that you are taking Sun brand umbrella on the 8th morning.

Satya Rao (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:33 IST)
Shankar, your album Breathless was not easily available in the United States. I had to get copies from India.What control does the singer have on the distribution of his/her albums ?

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:35 IST)
Satya: Sometimes we are totally helpless over the situation and we keep cribbing to the company.

bluuze (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:37 IST)
Shankar, the remix is sounding great!!!!!

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:41 IST)
Bluuze: Did you put that voice thing I did in the end?

alwaysme (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:40 IST)
Shankar, sir, please do answer me. Have you any plans of performing in Malaysia?

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:42 IST)
Alwaysme: I'd love to come, provided someone calls me.

alwaysme (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:44 IST)
Shankar sir, we would love to have you here. I am sure someone will call you soon, I hope.

Satya Rao (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:41 IST)
Catch you later OK ???(Angoor style)

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:43 IST)
Satya: I just worked with Gulzarji and he promised to give me a copy of Angoor and I remembered you.

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:43 IST)
Satya: Bahadur tu baap ban gaya!

Spitesh (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:43 IST)
So how does superstardom feel???

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:47 IST)
Spitesh: I'm just trying to reach where you are and I am very happy that I am able to afford Sun brand umbrellas.

Satya Rao (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:44 IST)
Lekin main kya sun raha hoon... ke tu baap ban gaya.

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:48 IST)
Satya: Preetam aan milo

Satya Rao (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:16 IST)
Shankar, I'll sign off now. Will call you later. Give my regards to all at home and my hi to Mani. Good to chat with you. I'll be in India this year end. We'll meet.

Shankar Mahadevan (Tue Jul 6 1999 7:49 IST)
Okay guys and gals, it was nice being with you all and hope we'll be in touch soon. Love and peace and keep listening to good music.