Amid composing and singing for movies, Shaan has collaborated with writer Gulzar on an album
Soumya Vajpayee Tiwari (MID-DAY; September 19, 2016)

Shaan is a busy man. He is currently judging The Voice India Kids along with contemporaries Shekhar Ravjiani and Neeti Mohan, singing and composing for films and performing at live concerts. But, over the years, the celebrated singer has mastered the art of multi- tasking. Recently, he associated with veteran writer-lyricist Gulzar for an album. Says Shaan, “Gulzaar saab’s In Conversation With Tagore is complete and ready for release anytime now." This project has been a labour of love for him. Over the years, he has penned several beautiful translations and interpretations of Rabindranath Tagore’s poems in Hindi. "Shantanu Moitra has set these poems of Gulzar saab into some fascinating songs and arrangements. Shreya Ghoshal and I have sung them. The album has six songs, each of which will transport the listener to some place far away in their hearts. I am honoured to be part of this project,” says Shaan.

The singer adds that working with Gulzar is always a delight. “I have, in the past, sung tracks penned by him in films such as Asoka (2001) and Yahaan (2005), among others. I share a great rapport with him, since my father and Gulzar saab were good friends,” he says.

New findings
Shaan says he worked on another challenging project recently. “I released a Nazrul Geeti (refers to the songs written and composed by Kazi Nazrul) album in Bengali. It was challenging. But I am proud of the final results. I’ve managed to explore a semi-classical side to my singing that had never been tapped before,” says the singer.

Apart from his singing projects, Shaan has also been active as a composer. His group, Superbia, has been scoring for films and TV. “In the last two years, me, along with my talented friends Gourov Dasgupta and Roshin Balu, have composed for films and television. We have had a few releases already. Some films that will release soon include Baa Baa Black Sheep, Bank Chor, Bombairiya, and Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Yaara. We have scored for TV shows Tere Sheher Mein and Dehleez,” says Shaan.

Step forward
The singer did a Kishore Kumar tribute concert last year. He plans to do several such concerts in future as well. “I am currently working on a series of conceptual shows. The plan will be announced soon,” he says. Both his sons — Soham (14) and Shubh (11) — have started making inroads into the music industry. “They are showing keen interest. Shubh has recorded his first solo track, Love You Papa, for a web series, Pappu And Papa. He is learning Indian classical music. Soham also loves singing. He is an exceptional pianist and also produces electronic music,” Shaan signs off.