How does one keep the passion for their art alive over a 26-year singing career? With riyaaz, dedication, and the knowledge that the craft is almost like a lover you can’t stay away from, chuckles Shaan. In a free-wheeling chat with mid-day, the singer — who voiced Bam Bam Bhole in Sikandar and is looking forward to his upcoming song from Farhan Akhtar’s 120 Bahadur — opens up about holding on to the magic of one’s voice despite ageing, and his secret to sounding young, year on year.
Excerpts from the interview.
Is it tough to keep a 26-year relationship with music alive?
Love happens first, and then it turns into a profession. What comes first will stay till the end. Obviously, there will be a point when the voice may not be how it should be. But in terms of appreciating and having an ear for music, that will always stay. For me and any singer, it can be frustrating [to be at a point] when we’re alive and not able to sing. It’s like being estranged from your lover. We have a crazy, ek tarfa pyaar with our voice.
Sikandar and 120 Bahadur
With love comes commitment that an artiste has to their craft. After all these years, is it difficult to be disciplined and adhere to your riyaaz?
Honestly, my riyaaz has increased because after a certain point, the voice gets delicate. I started doing more riyaaz after my 40s. Until I met my guruji, my riyaaz was erratic. Sitting down, practising a bandish or doing a sargam — all that started only after 30. But by the time I got to 40, I could see a slight [change in my voice]. I could also see a lot of my seniors sounding older. I wouldn’t want that to happen with my voice. So, the only way I could postpone it was by doing riyaaz.
What do you feel is the key to your voice sounding young?
I feel young. Whenever I sing, I imagine an 18- or 20-year-old singing. Also, I often get youthful songs. If I were told that I would be singing for a mature, aged person, I would modulate my voice that way. But mostly, our romantic heroes are young. Even if they’re in their 50s or 60s, it’s important to sound young for them (laughs).
As a ’90s kid, I grew up listening to you, Sonu Nigam and many other voices, each of which was distinct. Today, it gets difficult to differentiate one singer from another, except Arijit Singh. Is it the demand today that voices sound similar?
It’s the Arijit effect; everyone wants to sound like him. Arijit is an intelligent singer. So, sometimes he surprises you with a different tonality. His voice is so popular with the [decision makers] in the industry that they think, ‘If we can’t get Arijit, at least let us get someone who sounds like him’. A singer doesn’t have much choice.
Also, aspiring singers, who have been listening to Arijit and Atif [Aslam] for 10-15 years, will think that if they sound like them, they will probably get a job. I had a similar situation when I started out. They would ask me, ‘Are you Kishore Kumar or Mohammed Rafi?’ They were two strong schools of singing. Udit ji [Narayan] had a touch of Rafi saab’s style of singing, and [Kumar] Sanu da was from the Kishore Kumar school.
So, what did you do?
I came from Hindi pop and there was no precedent to it. There was no one who was doing pop for me to copy. So, I was an original voice.
