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Shaan on a roll

Shaan has a lot on his plate — from the title track of Farhan Akhtar's Don to a single with sister Sagarika

NOTES OF SUCCESS Shaan, out of the rat race PHOTO: R.V. MOORTHY

A few months ago, when Shaan began working on his album Tishnagi, he wanted to go all out and make it a commercial success. "I told a friend of mine that I had enough of creating sensitive albums like Aksar (his previous album that received lukewarm response). I just wanted a chartbuster. My friend stopped me and said if I'm working to make music just to top the charts and not for the sake of music, there's no point. That stopped me from joining the rat race," says singer Shaan.

Out of the clutter

Now, his latest album Tishnagi is eliciting good response. So are his songs from the films Fanaa and 36 China Town. Shaan belongs to the clan of original Indipop singers trying to balance between playback singing and maintaining their own identity as independent singers.

"Bollywood has given me a lot of recognition. But I'd prefer to be known as an Indipop singer. Indipop started off well and then succumbed to the remix wave. Tanha Dil was a big hit but Aksar got lost in the remix clutter. I never sell my music through videos that have scantily clad models. And music has become fast food. I'm not interested in making it like Cerelac and spoon feeding it to listeners," he says matter-of-factly.

Shaan admits that working on albums isn't easy. "Since I write for my albums, it takes time to put things together. But I enjoy it," he says. He is proud of his sister Sagarika's album as well. "Despite the slump in Indipop, she hasn't given up. She does what she believes in. That's Sagarika." The brother-sister duo plan to release a single some time soon.

Actors should croon

Ask him if the competition is stiff from music directors like Himmesh Reshamayya and actors like Aamir Khan and Abhishek Bachchan who've given hits as singers, and Shaan says, "A composer can always sing much better than a playback singer because he knows the song best. Composers like R.D. Burman and Bappi Lahiri too have sung very well. As for actors, I welcome their attempt at singing. In the West, those like Nicole Kidman sing for musicals."

Shaan goes on to say that songs aren't imperative for a film. "When I saw Apaharan and Sarkar, I didn't miss the songs. The story should not be punctuated by needless songs. I also liked the way Rohan Sippy used the songs in Bluffmaster. The songs carried the story forward. Some songs were used as montage pieces and for the credits."

As a playback singer, Shaan looks forward to Farhan Akhtar's Don, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Saawariya and Karan Johar's Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. "Don bears no similarity with Amitabh Bachchan's original film. The title track is very western, like something out of a James Bond movie."

His roster is choc-a-block with playback singing, music videos for Tishnagi and gauging the response to Take My Heart Away, for which he has collaborated with Michael Learns to Rock.

SANGEETHA DEVI. K

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