2. Shankar Mahadevan is an Indian
music composer and singer. He is
a part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–
Loy trio team that composes for
Indian films and a playback singer.
He is a four time winner of the
National Award for the Best Male
Playback Singer. He is also the
founder of the Shankar
Mahadevan Academy which
conducts online music lessons in
Indian music for students across
the globe.
3.
4. Early life
Shankar Mahadevan was born and raised
in Chembur, a suburb of Mumbai, to a
Tamil Iyer family from Palakkad, Kerala.
He learned Hindustani classical music
and Carnatic music in his childhood and
started playing the veena at the age of
five. He studied music under the guidance
of Pandit Srinivas Khale, a well known
Marathi music composer. He went to Our
Lady of Perpetual Succour High School in
Chembur. He subsequently attended
SIES College in Sion and completed his
HSC. He graduated in 1988 with a degree
in Computer Science and Software
Engineering from Ramrao Adik Institute of
Technology in Navi Mumbai under the
auspices of Mumbai University. He
worked as a software engineer for Oracle.
5. Career
After working for a while for Leading Edge Systems, Shankar
ventured into the field of music. He earned his first award as a
playback singer in a Tamil movie, collaborating with A. R. Rahman
and winning a National Film Award for his song in Kandukondain
Kandukondain. A prominent star in the Kodambakkam film
industry, he gained further recognition upon the release of his first
music album, Breathless, in 1998. The title track of the album had
been prepared in such a manner that it is sung without any break,
so it appears to be sung in one breath and thus the title
"Breathless". He later got into music direction and became a part
of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio, composing music for Hindi
films.He is also done a role in doordarshan songs related comedy
serial 'Ek Se Badkar Ek'
Before his entire film music sojourn started, Shankar Mahadevan
was part of the Indo-Swedish fusion jazz band Mynta.
6. He has sung in many films for A. R. Rahman, Anu Malik and other
music directors, performing songs like "Urvashi Take It Easy" from
Humse Hai Muqabla (1995), "I Love You" from Auzaar (1997),
"Kay Sera Sera" from Pukar (2000) and many more songs in the
nineties. Most of the songs sung by him in Hindi are composed by
him (as part of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy). He has sung numerous
songs in Tamil for a multitude of composers, ranging from
veterans to newcomers. He has also sung in Telugu, Malayalam,
Kannada, Marathi and other regional languages. In Marathi he
has sung for noted composers like Shridhar Phadke and Ajay-
Atul.
He enjoyed a successful run with the fusion jazz band SILK with
Louis Banks on keyboards, Sivamani on percussion, Sridhar
Parthasarathy on mridangam and Karl Peters on bass guitar.
7. Shankar Mahadevan has also provided vocals for several songs by the band
Remember Shakti, which features musicians including, Musician Zakir Hussain,
Musician Chandan Sharma, Musician John McLaughlin, U. Srinivas and V.
Selvaganesh. He was music director for the famous "School Chale Hum" song
on Doordarshan.
He was a mentor on Zee TV's musical reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge
2009.
He is a team captain, judge, and mentor on Star Plus's musical show Music Ka
Maha Muqqabla for the team Shankar's Rockstars; his team won Music Ka
Maha Muqqabala 2010.
In March 2009 he performed at Ragam 09, an intercollegiate cultural festival
hosted by the National Institute of Technology, Calicut (NITC) in Kerala.
In February 2010 he performed at Kuruksastra 10, an intercollege cultural
festival hosted by the SASTRA University, Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu.
8.
9. In September 2008 and 2010 he performed at PULSE,
India's Second largest Inter-college Festival at All India
Institute of Medical Sciences.
In March 2011 he started the Shankar Mahadevan
Academy. The Academy offers tutorials and virtual vocal
courses in Carnatic and Hindustani classical music,
religious chanting, Indian folk music, and Bollywood
songs.
Shankar was Invited by the UNESCO and the US state
Dept to perform at UN general assembly hall for the
finale of the International Jazz festival held on 30 April
2012.
As of 2012, Shankar is currently mentoring Zee TV's
musical reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2012.
10. In 2013, Shankar, along with Ehsaan, Loy and his team,
performed a 5 hour concert for Lok Biradari Prakalp in
Nagpur. The show was received extremely positively
and the fact that Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy did not accept
money for the concert was greatly appreciated.
On February 07,2013,Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and his
team performed at Day 2 Pro-Show of Riviera 2013
(Inter college Cultural Fest of VIT University).This was
his third performance in the campus receiving a huge
round of applause.
On March 17, 2013 he performed at Ragam 13, the
annual intercollege cultural festival of National Institute
of Technology, Calicut for the second time, his first time
being in Ragam 2009.
11. Awards
National Film Awards
•2000: Best Male Playback Singer - "Yenna Solla Pogirai"
(Kandukondain Kandukondain)
•2004: Best Music Direction - Kal Ho Naa Ho (as part of Shankar–
Ehsaan–Loy)
•2008: Best Male Playback Singer - "Maa" (Taare Zameen Par)
•2012: Best Male Playback Singer - "Bolo Na" (Chittagong)
State Film Awards
•2008: Kerala State Film Award for Best Singer - "Kalyaana
Kacheri" (Madampi)
•2008: Nandi Award for Best Male Playback Singer - Venkatadri
12. Filmfare Awards
•2002: Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent for Dil Chahta Hai (as
part of Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy)
•2003: Best Music Direction for Kal Ho Naa Ho (as part of Shankar–Ehsaan–
Loy)
•2005: Best Music Direction for Bunty Aur Babli (as part of Shankar–Ehsaan–
Loy)
Filmfare Awards South
•2005: Best Playback Singer for Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana-Telugu
Star Screen Awards
•2000: Nominated for Best Background Music for Mission Kashmir (as part of
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy)
•2001: Best Music Direction for Dil Chahta Hai (as part of Shankar–Ehsaan–
Loy)
•2005: Best Music Direction for Bunty aur Babli (as part of Shankar–Ehsaan–
Loy)
•2009: Nominated for Best Music Direction for Rock On!! (as part of Shankar–
Ehsaan–Loy)
13. Other awards
•2007: Swaralaya-Kairali-Yesudas Award for outstanding
contribution to Indian film music [6]
•2009: Asianet Film Award for Best Male Playback -
"Pichavecha Naal" (Puthiya Mukham)
•2009: Annual Malayalam Movie Awards (Dubai) for Best
Male Singer - "Pichavecha Naal" (Puthiya Mukham)
•2011: Lata Mangeshkar Award on 28th september
•2011: Kerala Film Critics Award for Best Male Playback
Singer - "Indhumukhi Varumo" (Holidays)[7]
•2012: MAA Music Award for Best Male Playback Singer
"Nee Dookudu" (Dookudu)
