Shankar Mahadevan is an Indian playback singer and music composer, best known as one-third of the composer trio Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy. He works primarily in Hindi cinema, but has sung and composed in Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam and other Indian languages. He is also the founder of the Shankar Mahadevan Academy, an online platform for Indian music education.
Key facts
| Full name | Shankar Mahadevan |
|---|---|
| Born | 3 March 1967 |
| Birthplace | Chembur, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Origin | Tamil Iyer family with roots in Kerala |
| Education | Ramnarain Ruia College; B.E. in Computer Science, Sir Bhagwan Singh Gyanchandani Technical Institute / Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology, Navi Mumbai |
| Occupation | Playback singer, music composer, entrepreneur |
| Spouse | Sangeeta Mahadevan |
| Children | Siddharth Mahadevan, Shivam Mahadevan (both singers) |
| Trio | Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy (with Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa, formed 1997) |
| Notable awards | Padma Shri (2019); multiple National Film Awards and Filmfare Awards |
Background and training
Shankar Mahadevan was born into a Tamil-speaking family in Chembur, a suburb of Mumbai. He began learning music at the age of five, training in Hindustani classical music and later in Carnatic music under teachers including Pandit Shrinivas Khale. He learnt to play the veena and the tabla as a child.
Despite his early grounding in music, he initially pursued an engineering career, graduating in computer science and working as a software engineer at Oracle Corporation in Mumbai before turning to music full time.
Career
Early work and "Breathless"
Mahadevan worked as a jingle singer and composer in Mumbai during the 1990s. He gained nationwide recognition in 1998 with his Hindi non-film album Breathless, produced by Sony Music, whose title track was sung in a single breath and written by Javed Akhtar. The album was a commercial and critical success and established him as a distinctive voice in Indian popular music.
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy
In 1997 Mahadevan formed the composer trio Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy with guitarist Ehsaan Noorani and keyboardist Loy Mendonsa. Their first film score was Dus (1997, unreleased), followed by Bhopal Express (1999) and Mission Kashmir (2000), which brought them mainstream attention.
Major film soundtracks composed by the trio include:
- Dil Chahta Hai (2001)
- Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003)
- Bunty Aur Babli (2005)
- Don (2006) and Don 2 (2011)
- Taare Zameen Par (2007)
- Rock On!! (2008)
- Wake Up Sid (2009)
- My Name Is Khan (2010)
- Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011)
- Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006)
- Mirzya (2016)
- 2.0 (2018, with A. R. Rahman collaboration on songs)
Playback singing
As a playback singer, Mahadevan is known for songs that draw on his classical training, including "Breathless", "Mitwa" (Lagaan, composed by A. R. Rahman, 2001), "Mitwa" (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna), "Maa" (Taare Zameen Par), "Noor-E-Khuda" (My Name Is Khan) and the title song of Dil Chahta Hai. He has sung extensively in Tamil for composers including A. R. Rahman, Harris Jayaraj and Vidyasagar, and won National Film Awards for the songs "Breathless" (2000) and "Maa" from Taare Zameen Par (2008).
Marathi and regional work
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy scored the Marathi historical film Mi Sindhutai Sapkal (2010) and the Marathi epic Katyar Kaljat Ghusali (2015), in which Mahadevan also played the lead role of Pandit Bhanu Shankar Shastri. The film, based on the classical Marathi play of the same name, was widely acclaimed and won the National Film Award for Best Music Direction.
Shankar Mahadevan Academy
In 2011, Mahadevan founded the Shankar Mahadevan Academy, an online music school based in Bengaluru that offers structured courses in Hindustani vocal, Carnatic vocal, light music, harmonium, tabla and other Indian instruments to students in India and abroad.
Awards and honours
- Padma Shri, Government of India, 2019
- National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for "Breathless" (2000) and "Maa" from Taare Zameen Par (2008)
- National Film Award for Best Music Direction (with Ehsaan and Loy) for Kandukondain Kandukondain-era work and later for Katyar Kaljat Ghusali (2016)
- Multiple Filmfare Awards for Best Music Director (with Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy) including for Dil Chahta Hai, Kal Ho Naa Ho and Rock On!!
- IIFA, Screen, Zee Cine and Mirchi Music Awards
Personal life
Mahadevan is married to Sangeeta Mahadevan, who manages much of his business interests. The couple have two sons, Siddharth and Shivam Mahadevan, both of whom are active as playback singers in Hindi cinema. The family is based in Mumbai.
Significance
Shankar Mahadevan is considered one of the leading Indian musicians of his generation, combining a classical foundation with contemporary film and pop sensibilities. As part of Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, he helped shape the sound of urban Hindi cinema in the 2000s, with soundtracks that integrated rock, jazz, electronic and folk elements alongside Indian classical idioms. His Academy has played a notable role in the spread of structured Indian music education through online platforms.