‘Dil Chahta Hai music was created in just 3.5 days’: Shankar Mahadevan

Excerpts edited for clarity and brevity

What has devotional music meant to you over the years?

My relationship with devotional music runs very deep because my formal training is in Carnatic classical music, and at its core, almost everything in that tradition is devotional. Whether it is compositions by Saint Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar, Shyama Shastri, or other revered saints, most of the music is rooted in devotion. That is where my musical grounding comes from. Beyond that, since childhood, the form of music I have enjoyed the most, perhaps even more than film music, is nam sankirtan. It is a simple format where the singer sings a line and the audience responds by repeating it. So, if I sing, “Jai Jai Ram Krishna Hari, Jai Jai Ram Krishna Hari, Jai Jai Ram…”, the audience instantly joins in and repeats it. They do not need to know the words beforehand; they simply listen and participate. That sense of collective singing and connection is one of the greatest joys of music for me.

How did the idea for Anandam take shape?

I’ve been thinking about doing a devotional music show for a long time, but I wanted to create something on a scale larger than anything that has been done before in this space. That sense of scale is what I felt was missing from most devotional concerts. The content itself has never been the issue. The writing is incredibly profound, the melodies are among the greatest ever composed, and this tradition has existed for thousands of years. Whether it’s the Bhagavad Gita, Sanskrit verses, the Hanuman Chalisa, the Shiv Tandava Stotra, or even my Ganpati songs, the material is rich. But the presentation has often remained a step behind. With Anandam, we want to change that. We’re taking it ten steps forward and reimagining how this music can be experienced. In terms of scale, ambition and production, it is the biggest production of my career so far.

Shankar Mahadevan talks about his concert Anandam.

It’s been 25 years of Dil Chahta Hai, the album that put Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy on the map. What memories stand out from creating that soundtrack?

We had taken a 10-day break and gone to Khandala, to producer Ritesh Sidhwani’s house, specifically to work on the music. And we finished composing all six songs in just three-and-a-half days. The recordings hadn’t happened yet, but the compositions were completely ready. After that, we were simply relaxing, eating, drinking and spending time together. Everything came together very naturally. All the songs were easy and breezy to crack, and the entire process was remarkably smooth. The only interesting twist involved the title track, “Dil Chahta Hai.” It wasn’t originally composed for that situation in the film. In fact, it was meant for “Jaane Kyun Log Pyaar Karte Hain.” At that point, it didn’t even have lyrics, it was just a melody. One day, while we were in Khandala, I said, “No, no, Dil Chahta Hai, your title fits beautifully here in this melody. Let’s not use this one there, let’s use it for the title instead.” So that’s how the song came about.

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One of my favourite musical callbacks is how the score that plays when Hrithik Roshan climbs the mountain in Lakshya eventually became the melody for the title track of Rock On. How did that happen?

With Rock On, all the songs were already done. But there was a huge argument in the studio between the three of us and Farhan about whether the film even needed a title track. The only person arguing in favour of having one was me. Farhan, Ehsaan and Loy were all against the idea. They kept saying, “No, no, it’s too cliché. It’s not cool to have a title song.” I said, “Remember, your title has a ring to it. If you make a song around it, the title will be remembered because of the song, and vice versa.” Eventually, everyone agreed to at least give it a shot. We started trying out different ideas. Then Farhan remembered that musical piece from Lakshya, the score that plays when Hrithik is climbing the mountain. He said, “Why don’t we use that bit?” We all thought it was a fun idea. So we reworked it, and that’s how the Rock On title track came together.

Watch the full conversation with Shankar Mahadevan here:

It’s also 20 years of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, and my favourite song from that soundtrack remains “Tumhi Dekho Na”. Do you remember how that song came together?

It was actually a last-minute addition to the film. There was a romantic-song situation in and Karan was very particular about what he wanted. We had created a few options, but none of them felt quite right to him. He kept saying, “No yaar, something is not right here.” So Karan and I went to Javed saab’s house. We were sitting there, trying to figure out what to do. We didn’t have any instruments with us or anything to work with. Then I remembered a musical piece that Loy had composed for the film and said, “Why don’t we use that piece as the love song? Why can’t we develop something around it?” Javed saab immediately responded to the idea. Right there and then, he came up with, “Tumhi dekho na… yeh kya ho gaya.” It all fell into place almost instantly.

You’ve had the privilege of working closely with both Javed Akhtar and Gulzar. What similarities and differences do you see between the two legends?

Honestly, they are completely different individuals, in their personalities, their creative choices and the way they approach life and work. For me, being able to work with them has been one of the greatest blessings of my career. Javed saab has been like a mentor and a guiding light in the industry. He has been there with me from day one and has played a huge role in my journey. And then, as if that wasn’t enough, I got the opportunity to meet, work with, interact with and develop a close relationship with the great Gulzar saab as well. So i think, for me, nothing can be bigger than this.

Shankar Mahadevan says he is very proud of the soundtrack of Kill Dill.

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One of your most underrated soundtracks remains Kill Dil, especially the title track. What do you remember about creating that song?

I think it’s a soundtrack I’m really proud of. The film didn’t do well, of course, but the music is something I continue to cherish, and the title track, “Kill Dil,” is a song I’m especially proud of. The way it came together was like assembling a jigsaw puzzle, with different pieces falling into place one after another. Take the whistling section, for instance. You can tell from the energy of the song that we were having an absolute blast in the studio. It felt like a party. Everyone was throwing around ideas, “Let’s do this, let’s try that,” and the song kept evolving organically.

Then there was that distinctive guitar line, the kind of sound you associate with classic Western films, which Ehsaan played brilliantly. Gulzar saab was with us through the process as well. We are among the few people he writes with on the spot. Usually, he prefers to take the melody home and say, “Give me some time, I’ll work on it.” But with us, the process is much more spontaneous and collaborative. There’s also something he calls “chilka.” Chilka is when he writes the main lyrics, but on the side of the page he’ll scribble rough ideas, stray words, alternate phrases or thoughts that he may later cross out. I always ask him, “What’s that?” And he says, “That’s chilka.” The funny thing is, many times those discarded ideas end up being so interesting that we use the chilka as well.