The pop king of Punjab, Shankar Sahney is one of the best stage performers in India. By proving his worth with songs like “Kudi Kurmuri”, “Oye tera kya kehna”, “Yaari yaari” and “Jat luteya gaya”, the international artist has carved out a niche in the field of singing and music direction. Shankar shares his experiences of singing, music direction and upcoming projects.
You have pursued your graduation in chemical engineering. How difficult was it for you to switch your career path to singing?
I was into singing since my childhood. Being the head of the music department in a Government college, my dad was aware of the ordeals one has to face for establishing oneself in the field of music. My father wanted me to get into something better for he believed financial stability is imperative to have a good standard of living and to make a career in music, one has to struggle a lot. I prepared for chemical engineering and took admission in a college. I used to sing in my college days and eventually I started getting stage show offers. After finishing my graduation, I came to Delhi. I worked for two to three years as an engineer and simultaneously I was struggling for my career in music as I’d already established myself in Chandigarh but not in Delhi and Mumbai.
“Wari jawan ishque” is one famous song. How was your experience singing with a great legend, Asha Bhonsle?
Singing with Ashaji was a lifetime experience for me. A true admirer of music, a wonderful human being and a great singer, Ashaji has always been my inspiration. She doesn’t sing much now but when she heard our project, she stated, ‘I don’t sing a lot these days, but I would like to do an album with Shankarji’. Being the music director of that album, I never felt that I am working with such a great legend.
Do you have any plans for singing for the mainstream cinema?
I have an upcoming song in a Bollywood movie, “Poison”. There are four to five films on which I am working right now. One is “Bloody D” and the other one is “Ishq”. I am a singer, but I am getting offers for music direction since I’ve directed Ashaji, Sunidhi Chauhan and Pankaj Sharma. Also, I am coming in two movies. In one as a debutant in a lead role. These movies are “Ma”, the other one is a comedy flick, “Ik hoor”.
Since you’re a music director yourself, while singing for other directors, how do you deal with the creative differences you two face?
For a music director his song is like his own offspring. Since I’ve been on both sides of the table, I understand the expectations a music director has from his singer. He would want the singer to render the song just the way he has composed it. I give my inputs to the music director, if he likes it, he keeps it, and if not, then I don’t have any ego issues, because I’ve been in their shoes.
You’ve touched upon a spectrum of things like singing, music direction, producing an album and now acting, what is that you enjoy the most?
Since I was a singer, these things came to me incidentally. I never planned doing all these. My first love has always been singing.
