Shantanu Mukherjee, or Shaan as he is known to the world, is a second-generation artiste in the film industry - his father, the late Manas Mukherjee, had been a music director, even as Shaan's sister Sagarika is also well-known as a singer.
But more than the genetic inclination towards music, Shaan's fame today rests on youth appeal and his vocal skills. Viju Shah, who first recorded him in Pyar Ishq Aur Mohabbat, stated then that Shaan is one of the fastest singers on the uptake and makes value-added contributions to a song.
The singer made his debut with 'Musumusu hasi' from Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi in 1999, though it was 'Nikamma kiya iss dil ne' from Kya Dil Ne Kahaa that really got his career going.
The winner of the Hero Honda Star-Screen Award for 'Chand sifarish' from Fanaa is also a family man, with no controversies or affairs to his name. When we meet up at his residence on a Saturday evening, he is squatting on the floor, playing with his kids Soham and Shubh on one of his rare 'off' days. He has to leave at six - his sons have to be taken to a park by daddy - so the interview must be over by then. We quickly move to his music room. Excerpts follow.
It's been nine years in the field. Where do you see yourself?
Earlier, I had never felt that I had missed out on awards, though my first-ever award was from Screen for my album Tanha Dil that released in 2000. But this award has been a turning point in my career. Could you elaborate on that?
Well, I really had not realized how important it was till I was swamped by congratulatory messages from my fraternity. I was used to my songs from films becoming hits, from 'Koi kahen' and 'Woh ladki hai kahaan' from Dil Chahta Hai to 'Dus bahaane' for which KK and I were jointly nominated for the Screen Playback Singer award last year. The song that really got my career moving was 'Nikamma kiya' from Kya Dil Ne Kahaa, which got epidemic popularity and set a new tone for songs in Hindi cinema, but even that did not get me the kind of new respect that 'Chand sifarish' got me. So as a song it really sticks out among my work, and as I said when I was nominated and after I won, everyone had told me that this was not just a great song but the kind that was award-worthy. Who else among the nominees did you yourself rate high, in the sense that though you had hoped to win, you saw a possibility that another singer could have snatched the trophy instead?
I think that all of them were good. But I also feel that the overall impact works more, and that if you justify the calibre of the song you have a higher chance of winning. I think that singing se zyaada the awards are dependent on the song itself. Like Sonu Nigam was nominated for 'Bawari piya ki' - now that is a singer's song because it is a semi-classical number, and I am sure that uss safai ke saath I could not have sung it. Agar mushkil gaana gaane ke liye award diya jaata then Sonu would have won it. But the overall package worked in favour of 'Chand sifarish'. Speaking of this, isn't it true that none of the songs that we hear today are recorded live but are 'assembled' vocals from digital recordings? Would you say that this can be a valid reason for stopping all awards in the Singer category?
I do not think so at all. In that case all actors' awards should also be abolished as they give retakes and only the best shots are retained! I feel that agar mehnat karke koi bhi gaana dil tak pahunchta hai then it deserves a pat. What is the point if someone has worked hard on something that fails to connect with the audience or listener? You said that you were flooded with congratulatory messages. Did you get calls from the other nominees?
Zubeen Garg congratulated me at the show itself. And among the SMS-es there was one that from the language was almost certainly from KK. The trouble is that most people send messages assuming that you will remember their numbers! A name at the end woul help matters!! Have the kind of songs you are now getting improved?
I think that will take some time to happen, it's too soon now after the awards to start getting that result. But I definitely realize that I am on a slightly higher level. For example, I was doing a show in West Bengal last week where the guest of honour was a Member of Parliament. After the show's anchor had finished with my introduction, the MP grabbed the microphone and told the audience that my introduction wasn't complete, and added that I had just won the prestigious Screen award! Has all this increased your desire or any kind of lust for awards from now on?
I think that I completely lack the 'lust' element! Waisi bhook mujh mein kabhi bhi nahi thi. I am just happy that log bulaate hain. I also do my shows and my albums. In 2006, I also had popular songs in Don - the title-track - and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. Even one or two songs in Jaana - Let's Fall In Love were quite well-known. I just hope now that I am called more by big banners too, because then the song is well-promoted. You have been very reticent about hype, PR etc.
Yeah, I am like that. I get so many calls asking me whether they could be my PR managers! But I do not understand why I should do that. I never even call music directors, not even Salim-Sulaiman or Pritam, who are more of friends really. It would be embarrassing for me to say something like, "Mujhe bhi yaad kijiye, sir!" and they would be bound to say "Zaroor yaad karenge" and then not call at all! The message would be embarassingly loud and clear! I think that it is very simple - if they feel the need for me, they will call! How do you see the music scene today?
It is too dynamic - we are moving from trend to trend very rapidly. That makes me realize that a solid song like 'Chand sifarish' will not happen very soon! Are today's music directors under-equipped to give good music or are they good men working under undue pressures?
They are our saving graces, but under undue pressures, definitely. I think that what they are doing today despite the odds is really impressive. The hold of the music companies has increased and trends are driven by business insecurities. Making a regular good song is difficult - every song is gimmicky and in some way targeted at the metro-centric audience because that's where most of the business is. No one is catering to songs for the rest of the country. No songs are situational and the challenge is only to give the next audio hit. Lyrics are not given importance at all. Even the few good lyrics are not given the respect due to them. We even have hook-lines repeated again and again, the way it would happen only with ad jingles so that the product's name would sink in! That is how a song makes a mark today! Does this rankle you?
It does - in different ways. My last two albums are examples: in Tishnagi I gave a soul-searching number in the era of 'item' songs and remixes, and it boomeranged. I gave a soft number in Aksar during the time of pounding beats and that went unnoticed too! I now realize that I did not create the hype by marketing. I did not even buy back my own CDs to show higher sales! As a playback singer, does all this affect you?
It does, because finally I am a playback singer. My thoughts in this respect are a bit old-school - but I think that there must be some logical connection between a voice and an actor! I know that the days when a Shammi Kapoor would want only a Mohammed Rafi or a Rajesh Khanna would insist on Kishore Kumar are gone, but you cannot have a thin voice for a star's baritone, or a deep voice for a thin-voiced actor. These cases would be exceptions before, but now they are happening too frequently! Another sore point is the diction - words are pronounced in a wrong manner and are passed because no one gives importance to Hindi and Urdu diction! You are in a vantage position to be objective - you have a hep, even Western image, but you have interacted with old-timers on your TV show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and observed how old songs are predominant in talent competitions and antaksharis.
Even there the ratio has changed - if you watch today's shows there is a complete swing, and 80% of the songs are new. I do not agree with the observation that all this is a passing phase. I do not see a revival but only the beginning of the end! Today, there are people who have never heard of the giants in music. I have personally been witness to an incident where a fan of mine did not recognize one of our veteran singers who is an institution and condescendingly said that she could pose with me for a keepsake photograph because she saw me and came over to greet me! It was not only terribly insulting but a portent of what is to come - like I said, I see this as the beginning of the end! Maybe the media is responsible as only specific old artistes, composers and songs are being promoted.
That's possible, but the fact remains that these are now being closeted under the label of 'Retro'! I have seen 40-plus NRIs addressing me as 'Bro', touching my feet at the same time (!) and saying that they listen to only new songs! But haven't you been singing old songs on your shows?
I have - and you know what? I find them easier to sing. This is because they have proper gaps for breathing, and a proper beat structure. The programming done today joins phrases that are humanly impossible to reproduce vocally ! What would be the last straw?
I am not sure if it hasn't already come. We have heard of musically-conscious or knowledgeable actors having a say in the songs in the past, like Rajesh Khanna again. Today, music directors talk of actors telling them, "I am tone-deaf, but I don't like the song, give me something else!" |
Bollywood
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
