Singer Shaan Discusses Bollywood and His Latest Album!!

A close look at mainstream entertainment in India, and you will soon find Bollywood and Music to be almost synonymous. It is rather compulsory for a typical Bollywood blockbuster to have the latest combination of sounds and lyrics that appeal most to the public. And though it is the heroes and heroines, who eventually present the musical extravaganza on the silver screen, the power to create such magic with sounds, lies in the hands of music composers, lyricists and the playback singers who lend melody and meaning to an otherwise dry ensemble.

Shaan, a veteran Bollywood playback singer, who has lent his voice to big stars like Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Salmaan Khan and Saif Ali Khan, shares his views on the music industry of Bollywood and its ever transient nature.

“It’s actually been quite a while now, that I haven’t been singing for big-banner movies. I don’t know why that’s happening, but I’m not complaining,” says Shaan surprisingly. “Luckily, with about 7 or 8 years, and you’ve had a good run of songs, you’ve made yourself a repertoire, so there isn’t much to worry about,” he adds.

So, what’s the typical Bollywood music been like lately?

“At this moment, the Bollywood music industry is very sound driven. It’s all about novelty in the songs. A lot of new voices are getting a chance to showcase their talents in the bargain, which is a good thing, I think. But, you can hardly hear any of the regular playback voices that used to dominate the playback music market at one time. It’s a new trend, so let’s see how it goes on,” says Shaan.

Then isn’t it a good time to get a pop album going?

“I am actually working on an album. It should be out in September,” confirms Shaan.

Is it new music, with new sounds or are you going to buck the trend?

“I was never a sound person,” admits Shaan. “A good song is a song you can actually take home; hum with it, without having to worry that if that rhythm rift is not playing, I can’t remember the song. I don’t like to use gimmicks or oddities, or some strange sounds or a big voice or some repetitive lyrical jugglery. You know, you do whatever you are comfortable doing, after that whether it works or whether people like it, is a different story. But, if you try to cater too much to what the market is after, then it’s not really a piece of you. I’d like to make the album a reflection of what I think is music. For me, music is a great song. If the lyrics, words, mood, everything’s together and you can hum it, then it’s great! I think great music is just about writing sweet and nice songs, so it’s gotta be in those same lines. I’ve compiled some very nice songs in my new album, and every song has its special place. So, there is no repetition of thought. And since I write the songs myself, I can make sure that that does not happen.”

Shaan’s debut album ‘Tanha Dil’, followed by ‘Bhool Ja’, reflected these very perceptions of music, that seem to have remained unchanged even as his music matured with time.

“I actually had two albums after that. The first album, ‘Aksar’, was drowned in the whirlwind of the whole remix thing that was going on at the time. It was the only original album in the middle of non-stop remixes. The second one was released along on the ‘Aap Ka Suroor’; so ‘Tishnagi’ remained “tishnagi”. But, you can’t control the external forces. I’d like to think that if I have built a base of dedicated listeners, I wouldn’t try to alienate them by trying to do something different. I would rather want to hold on to the people who care for me rather than try and grab new people, and hopefully, yeah, new people, will come along, too.”

What’s your thought on reuniting with your sister for another album?

“Sagarika’s moved to London. It’s been almost 2 years now. And also, she’s has always had her own musical sensibilities. She’s more into doing world music, fusion and that sort of thing. She’s working with a band at the moment. Almost starting anew, afresh; new sounds, new feel.

How do you see the pop music industry evolving in India? What do you think will be the next big thing?

“There’s nothing as pop-music in India at the moment. There are very few, who are releasing their albums. There’s no belief in it from the music companies. And I wouldn’t blame them, because they don’t sell the kind of units like they should. But, having said that, even Bollywood music doesn’t sell that much. But, then what happens is, Bollywood music, since it’s a part of the whole mood of a film, it gets pushed by the film producers, too. For producers, it works as an incentive, since the music companies will be playing those songs as promos, so a lot of them don’t actually have to pay them for that software.”

With the dynamics of the Bollywood music industry in a constant state of flux, it has become almost impossible to imagine a return of the golden era when the voices of Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar were on the lips of every heroine or hero who took to the silver screen. Nevertheless, Bollywood music has been more popular around the globe than ever before!! And hey, no one’s complaining!!