By Firdaus Ali in Toronto
After Houston, it’s Toronto’s turn!
To jump and catch a naughty beat at the exclusive musical mashup, courtesy Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.
Come tomorrow, Toronto’s Meridian Hall will come alive with the sound of music. And this is no ordinary sound. It promises to be a milieu of high-energy, high voltage popular Bollywood music that will send the pulse racing and the heart pumping many rapid beats.
Kal Ho Na Ho, the musical show presented by Small World Music and TO Live, doing its last leg of the US-Canada tour, promises to catch the iconic Bollywood musical composer trio at their very best musical moments!
With 30 years of making music, and experimenting with all styles of music, ranging from country, electronic, jazz, metal, and the blues — the trio promise to rock the house with intoxicating numbers like “Kajrare,” “Tere naina,” “Gallan Goodiyan,” “Mitwa,” “Kesariya” and more.
“When it’s a Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy show, you know its going to be extremely entertaining with high energy and peppy dance numbers,” said an excited Shankar Mahadeven from Houston. His son Shivam Mahadevan will also be performing at the show.
Arguably India’s most successful and popular musical trio, SEL as they are fondly called, became a nationwide sensation after they composed the music for the 2001 movie Dil Chahta Hai. There has been no looking back for them since.
The music received widespread critical acclaim and is now considered a milestone in the history of Bollywood film music. Together they have now composed music for over 75 Bollywood films across five languages: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, and English.
At a time when mediocrity rules the roost, SEL are swimming against the tide and trying to keep the idea of melody, lyrics, and rendition alive. Their contribution to Bollywood include popular scores for films like Lakshya, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Rock On!! and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Bunty Aur Babli, Raazi, Taare Zameen Par, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, My Name Is Khan, Dil Dhadakne Do and The Archies.
Pivotal to this successful partnership is the musical genius that is Padmashri Shankar Mahadevan. For him, its all about blending the classical with the contemporary. Gearing up from Houston for a live concert, Mahadevan enjoys live public concerts and feels musical shows, “are great fun and all about giving good music in a traditional public performance.”
Born into a Tamil Iyer family, he worked as software engineer before venturing into music. Today, he is considered among the greatest Indian vocalists alive, having risen to fame in Mumbai’s fabled Bollywood film industry as a composer, playback singer, and member of the famed SEL composing team.
Mahadeven, who has sung over 7,000 songs in multiple languages like Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada considers music to be his best friend. “When you have music in your life, you can never be lonely,” he rightly points out.
While growing up, he was influenced by all forms of good music. “Bollywood music is just a part of it, but yes, I was influenced by songs composed by musical maestros like S D Burman, R D Burman, Salil Chowdhury, Madan Mohan, and singers like Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, and Asha Bhosle. I was also inspired by ghazals sung by Ghulam Ali,” admits Mahadeven.
He received early fame as an Indi popstar with his fusion of Carnatic, Hindustani and Jazz. He studied music under Pandit Shrinivas Khale and T.R. Balamani. In 1998, his non-film album, Breathless topped the Indian music charts and there has been no looking back for the musical genius. He initially rose to fame through A. R. Rahman compositions and eventually recorded many hundreds of songs for composers.
He sang from his earliest days, but then diverted into a career as a software engineer. He has won many prestigious awards, including National Film Awards, Filmfare Awards, and International Indian Film Academy Awards.
While Mahadeven is known for fast, racy numbers, he has also given us soulful renditions like “Dilbaro” from the film Raazi and ““Maa” from the film Taare Zameen Par, which leaves one teary eyed every time it plays.
Mahadevan took a break from the US-Canada tour to perform divine mantras for the lavish US $600 million Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant Big, Fat, Indian wedding held in Mumbai recently. “The Ambanis are close friends, and I was happy to perform at their divine function,” says Mahadeven.
Having trained since boyhood in the Carnatic classical tradition, Mahadevan today ranks among India’s top tier of young musicians. His blockbuster song, “Breathless,” was a four-minute melody sung seemingly in a single breath.
Besides his work as a playback singer, his role in the Indo-jazz group Shakti, with guitarist John McLaughlin and tabla maestro Zakir Hussain is quite remarkable and his latest Shakti album, This Moment, won this year’s Grammy award for Best Global Music Album.
While titles and awards don’t take away from Mahadevan’s simplicity and modesty, he feels that “the Grammy award is recognition of Indian classical music on the world stage, telling you that Indian music has truly arrived,” he says with pride.
A risktaker who experimented with different forms of music, Mahadeven truly believes that there are no short cuts to success. “Excellence, perfection, and adaptability are mantras for success. Not all musicians are successful, and not all musicians who find success are good. You need to work hard to train yourself with knowledge. Success will follow,” he says.
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Often seen on Indian television, judging children and youth-focused music shows, he feels the future of Indian music is in good hands. “Today’s generation is so knowledgeable, so hard working. Young kids are singing like maestros, and we need to encourage their talent and spirit,” adds the maverick.
And for those critical of his use of technology in music, Mahadeven says, “Kuch to log kahenge, logon ka kaam hai kehna…” but on a more serious note adds, “Technology is a great enabler. However, you need to ensure that you create your own music first and use technology only to enhance it. Don’t make the mistake of replacing creativity with technology,” he wisely adds.
And for the future, Mahadevan looks forward to each new day with a smile on his face and musical notes in his armour. “For any thinking musician, every new day is filled with new ideas, new collaborations, new creativity and new aspirations,” he adds.
And, whether Kal Ho Na Ho, we do know that the SEL magic and Mahadevan’s ingenuity is a legacy that will live on for a very long time!
