Bollywood singer Shantanu ‘Shaan’ Mukherjee and his wife Radhika Mukherjee have made a sizeable luxury property purchase in Bandra West, spending Rs 48 crore on a sprawling 6,300-sq-ft residence created by combining three apartments.

The property is part of Palmera by NVK Realty, located at the junction of Turner Road and St Martin’s Road. Sources told Mirror that the Mukherjees’ residence is on the 18th floor of the 22-storey luxury tower.

The deal was brokered by Propbay India LLP and registered on August 20, said Vikas V Bhatia, who handled the luxury transaction in Mumbai.

The three units have been combined across roughly one-and-a-half floors. Two apartments are interconnected, while the third remains an independent unit.

“It is a luxury property on Bandra’s Turner Road. The three units have been combined across approximately one-and-a-half floors,” a source said.

Palmera, a 22-storey residential tower, was constructed after the demolition of the old bungalow of actress Mala Sinha. The building also has a pool and bar on the 23rd floor, although its Occupancy Certificate (OC) is yet to be issued, sources said.

The Rs 48-crore purchase adds another chapter to Shaan’s longstanding association with Bandra. The singer has been a longtime resident of the suburb, with his family’s connection to the area spanning generations. His father, musician Manas Mukherjee, was also associated with the music industry, making Bandra a familiar family address.

The latest acquisition comes amid a bustling luxury housing market in Mumbai. The city recorded 1,499 luxury property registrations worth Rs 14,903 crore between April and June, according to the latest Quarterly Luxury Real Estate Report by Lighthouse Luxury.

The report, based on verified Maharashtra stamp duty and registration data, said Mumbai’s luxury market is clocking roughly 16 transactions of homes priced at Rs 5 crore or more every day. It pegged the average value of luxury transactions at around Rs 164 crore a day during the quarter.

For Shaan, though, the latest purchase has a more personal ring to it. His new Bandra address brings three apartments under one roof while continuing his family’s longstanding association with the suburb — albeit on a considerably grander scale.

He knew where he always belonged — in a recording studio, behind the mic. At 20, Maahi has made his way there. The youngster, son of singer Shaan, made his playback debut with Nadaaniyan’s track, Tera Kya Karoon, earlier this year. Now, with his latest single Jaan Se Zyaada landing him a billboard in Times Square, the singer is ready to chart a path of his own.

“I’m at a place where I’m discovering myself not only as an artiste, but also as a human. There is a certain motivation that kicks in when you’re in your 20s. I want to make an impact through my music,” says Maahi.

Growing up in the shadows of his grandfather Manas Mukherjee, who was a composer, and father Shaan meant that music was an integral part of his life.

“I never met Dadu, but his music has been an inspiration. Dad never pressures me, but there’s an unspoken responsibility. I want to carry the legacy forward while also creating something that’s mine.”

While music has been a part of his life as long as he can remember, Maahi began riyaz seriously at the age of nine. It took a few years and a stern family conversation for him to understand the discipline required.

“When I was 13 or 14 years old, I realized if I want to do this, I need to be all in. In a country with so much talent, you have to give your 100 per cent.”

Years of training and his ambition have brought him to this point — he has several songs under his belt, including Jaadugari and Sorry. As someone creating music in the age of Gen Z, he believes the audience today connects with authenticity.

He shares, “People want to hear something real, not fabricated. Also today, releasing a song isn’t enough. You have to give it life through visuals and reels.”

Maahi knows it’s not his journey alone; it’s also about carrying his family’s legacy ahead. Has his father given him words of advice? He says, “Baba’s guidance is more about life. But musically, he taught me two things: you have to really love singing, and you must never stop learning.”

He is just two songs old, but the internet has already taken notice of singer Shaan’s son Maahi and it’s not just for his singing. And the 19-year-old, who has the songs Sorry and Jaadugari to his credit, feels flattered.

“Any comparison to dad is huge since he is such an accomplished man. My priority at this moment is to do my riyaz, make more music and deliver on people’s expectations,” says Maahi, who wants to make his own mark, not only as a musician, but on the screen, too.

“It will probably be music videos for now but I’d also love an opportunity on the big screen. It’s on the cards. I have [done] a couple of acting workshops, getting my chops in place,” he says.

Insta Reels and memes featuring the father-son duo, with their near-identical voice texture as well as youthful charm, often send social media users on a nostalgia trip. But the singer doesn’t feel the pressure of Shaan’s legacy.

“A lot of people tell me that I have big shoes to fill, and my go-to response is, ‘I don’t — because the shoes are already filled with his feet.’ I am wearing my own shoes,” says Maahi, though he’s grateful for one thing: “My daadu (composer Manas Mukherjee) was in the industry but dad lost him pretty early on, so I don’t know how the good times and the bad times will affect me but I know I have my father.”

On Lata Mangeshkar’s 92nd birthday (September 28), her fans will receive a surprise gift from Vishal Bhardwaj and Gulzar — a song. This unreleased number, called Theek Nahi Lagta, was sung by Lata Mangeshkar in the 1990s, penned by Gulzar, and composed by Vishal. The romantic song was supposed to be for a film that Vishal-Gulzar were working on at the same time as Maachis (1996), and was to be filmed on Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The film eventually got shelved and the song was never released. Vishal tells us the story of how the song, which was recorded when he was just starting off in the industry, was lost and found.

In the ’90s, when Vishal was new in the industry, he started as a composer, and was working with veterans like Lata Mangeshkar and Gulzar. “Along with Maachis, I was doing another film which was also written by Gulzar saab, but the film never got made. Maachis release ho gayi, aur main busy ho gaya,” he tells us, adding that it was for this shelved film that the song was recorded. When we point out that the song reminds one of Maachis’ music album, Vishal says, “Maybe because I was in that zone at that time.”

Sharing the story behind the song, he says, “I always used to think that that song was very good. Uss zamane mein cassette hua karte thay toh kahan release karte? Baat hoti rahi ki film banegi, and before I knew it, 8-10 years had passed. Phir woh gaana kahin kho gaya. Then, around 10-12 years ago, I started looking for that song. Lata ji ne gaana bhi kam kar diya tha, so that was another reason to find that song, ki unka gaaya hua hai. Maine bahut dhundha, par woh mila nahi.”

Continuing the story after a pause, Vishal adds, “Then two-three years ago, I got a call. It was from a studio that was about to be closed, and they said, ‘Aap ke naam ka ek tape mila hai, agar aap ko lena ho toh le lijiye nahi toh humlog fenk denge.’ There were many songs in that tape, and this song was among them. I retrieved Lata ji’s voice from that song and usko contemporarise kar liya.”

About his plans for the song, he says, “We will be releasing this song on Lata ji’s birthday. Later, I will use it (in a film). Some of the musicians who have worked on this version were not even born when it was originally recorded.”

Vishal says that one of the reasons he created his label was to find old gems and contemporarise and release them. He says, “I’ve been hunting for several such songs which have been lost. One of the songs which is really close to me, which I recorded when I was just 19, was with Manas Mukherjee.”

He pauses to ask, “Do you know who Manas Mukherjee is? He is Shaan’s father. Asha ji sang that song. Then there was a duet of Lata ji and Asha ji. Since they sing very few songs now, those songs are more precious. I have been looking for it for years. Kai aise gaane hain jo kho gaye hain.”

Vishal says that he wants to retrieve those voices to contemporarise them. He says, “We have the technology to retrieve even Begum Akhtar’s voice from her recorded songs. So, technology-wise, we have come really far. How musicians and singers work has also changed over the years. Now, every musician has their own studio, but in those days, musicians had to wait for dates of studios, and then the orchestra, singer and everyone used to come together to create music. Ab hardware toh sabke paas hai lekin woh collective energy missing hai. We’ve definitely lost that spontaneity.”

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Vishal explains that even 25-26 years back, Lata Mangeshkar was not taking on many projects. When he sent her the song he didn’t know if she would agree to sing it. He recalls, “Lata ji sab ke liye gaana nahi gaati thi. First you had to send the song and then wait to hear back. I still remember when she called and said,‘Theek Nahi Lagta toh theek hi lagta hai’ (laughs!). Lata ji jab bhi phone karti hain toh hamesha ek joke sunati hain. Unke pass hamesha joke hota hai. Phir baad mein woh gaana jab release nahin hua, she would tell me, ‘Theek Nahi Lagta aaya nahi ye theek nahi hai’ (laughs!).”

He adds, “Now when I sent her the finished song, tab bhi unhone ek joke sunaya. Unko gaana bahut pasand aaya aur unhone kaha ki ise agar kisi film mein lein toh aur bhi achha hoga.”

You spend more time in Bengaluru and don't come to Mumbai as much anymore.
I shifted base after marriage but I still come to Mumbai for around eight to nine days a month. Though I am not as active as a playback singer as before, but there is always work in Mumbai for an artiste.

There should not be any reason not to be 'actively into playback'. Why then?
That's a question you should not ask me. It is amazing that people come from Dubai and the US to sing songs in films and yet, they feel Bengaluru is inaccessible, considering I am in Mumbai thrice a month. So I think certain music directors just come up with excuses. Also, the kind of singing has also changed now. The most important thing is to have an attitude or a voice texture. They don't really need singers who want to be strictly pitched all through because you now have pitch correction machines. Also, unless I get a very good song and I am assured that it would be retained in my voice, I'd rather not sing. One of the biggest songs I sang last was from Rockstar. I knew that when A R Rahman called me to sing that song, it would be retained as it is...

Your songs always give an impression that you have trained in classical music.
(Laughs) I have managed to fool a lot of people, haven't I? I have actually learnt from different teachers. When I came to Mumbai, there was someone I really wanted to learn from because he would have taught me music probably the good way. But being a girl from a middle-class family, there were a lot of people I could not learn from. One of my first teachers in Mumbai was Shaan's father, Manas Mukherjee.

Which do you think is your most popular song?
Hawa Hawai. The reaction from the audience even today is amazing. The interesting thing is that I had actually dubbed for the song and it was supposed to be sung by someone else. It was only a few months after the recording that I got a call from Laxmi ji (composer Laxmikant), who told me that my voice will be retained. I was surprised and told him that I would have to record the song again as I had pronounced a word wrong. He refused to re record it, saying I might not be able to recreate the magic. The mistake is in the first antara. I sang Jeenu Jo Tumne Baat Chupayi, while I should have sang Jaanu Jo Tumne Baat Chupayi.

How did Aaj Unse Milna Hai happen?
I got lucky with my timing. When I got in to dub with Himeshji, all the other songs were already recorded. How it all came about was that Himeshji and I were on the sets of reality show The Voice. Between takes, I was asking him how the music of Prem Ratan Dhan Payo was coming along and he said it was shaping up pretty well and it has the whole Sooraj Barjatya and Rajshri Productions feel to it. Baat baat mein, he said, 'There's a song left that will really work with you, why don't you come and dub it tomorrow.' I went in the next day and sang the song. That was just about two months ago. Lo and behold the song is out and people love it so much. It was something that was meant to happen.

The brief was totally in the song itself. The narrative is that the guy is going to meet the girl. They said to keep it simple, feel-good and to have a certain sense of simplicity. Generally what happens is that with Salman Khan, you want to give the song a little flair and flamboyance. However, here it was about keeping things innocent and happy. The song is releasing during the festive time when there is a lot of milna milana.

You've also sung Murli Ki Taanon Si in the film.
After I sang Aaj Unse Milna Hai, Sooraj ji insisted that since Murli Ki Taanon Si has the same melody, they needed the same voice. At the last minute, as a race against time, I went in to dub it. I wasn't expecting it to be a part of the album, but I am very thrilled that it is. It's a big Diwali gift for me. It has a sensitive vibe to it so I just cut the smile, which is there right through Aaj Unse Milna Hai.

We always see you with a big grin on the small screen. Do you smile when you're recording as well?
In today's world, a smile is very important. So when I sing, I am always smiling. The expression comes through in the song otherwise, the gaana sounds serious.

We don't hear you in too many playback songs these days.
I have actually got busier now with composing. I am composing with my friends Gourav Dasgupta and Roshan Balu. We are calling the group Superbia which means 'pride' in Spanish, and all our first names have a connection to pride. We've done (songs for) quite a few films together which should come out in 2016. There's Yaara by Tigmanshu Dhulia, the soundtrack for black comedy Baa Baa Black Sheep, teenage thriller Weekend starring Hariharan's son Karan and a song in Inder Kumar's Great Grand Masti. We also did music for the television serial Tere Shaher Mein.

How different is composing to singing?
We are pitching for a lot of films which is keeping us busy. As a singer, you go to the mike and you are done in a couple of hours. You put in the least amount of time in it. But composing is a whole new ballgame. For every situation, you are making five to seven songs and then one gets selected. It's a huge process. I have newfound respect for all my composer friends for all the hard work they have to put in.

Did you always want to be a composer?
I had thought about it. I used to compose my own albums (Tanha Dil, Aksar). But composing for films I was wary of convincing the director and producer. Sometimes, the music label comes into the picture, very often it's the actors. I used to hear horror stories from my composer friends about how difficult it is to get a song passed. Since work as a singer has eased out, I had time on my hands to take up composing.

What kind of songs do you want to create?
We want to cover it all. Between the three of us, we cover every genre. My dad Manas Mukherjee was a composer so I've been brought up in a house where songs were being made on a constant basis so it is something that comes naturally to me. When it comes to the Indian side of things, I have a good sense. Gourav is a fantastic rock guitarist. His influence in rock and jazz is strong. Roshan comes from a Carnatic background. He is from Kerala and his father used to be a music teacher. All three are individually versatile in different genres, and together we cover the entire spectrum - from a mujra to a cabaret to an EDM song.