Shankar Mahadevan: All 3 singers sang the whole song 'Koi Kahe', then we made divisions on post

Mumbai: Music composer Shankar Mahadevan has shared that all 3 singers including KK, him and Shaan sang the whole song ‘Koi Kahe’ separately, and then their parts were chopped and put together in the post-production of the song.

In a special video hosted by Meiyang Chang, Shankar Mahadevan sat down for a chat with his fellow composers Ehsaan Noorani, Loy Mendonsa, playback singer Shaan.

When the host asked them, “When you were in the booth recording this song, were you guys recording it together?”

Shaan said, “I think we were there in the room together. But we recorded it separately. And KK of course was there. If you listen to it, you can't tell it was done separately. There is something about it that feels as if we were together”.

Shankar said, “Actually, all of us had sung the whole song. Everybody sang the whole song and then we made the divisions. So, that's why it sounds very seamless”.

‘Dil Chahta Hai’ marked the directorial debut of Farhan Akhtar, and became a defining film of modern Hindi cinema, particularly for its portrayal of urban friendship, romance and youthful independence. Its Goa road trip turned into a cultural touchstone, inspiring generations to recreate the journey with friends.

Ehsaan then went on to share an interesting anecdote about the song after its landslide success. He said, “But you know the story about this. There used to a club in town called Athena. We were having dinner there. There was a glass division where you ate dinner and stuff and on the other side people were dancing. And the last song that they played was ‘Koi Kahe’. Everybody there got on to the dance floor. The dance floor was packed. We couldn't get out of there. After the thing got over, the DJ came up to me saying, ‘It's all your fault, all your fault’. For creating a song like this. You know, it's the first Hindi song really in western clubs. Another music company said that this album will only sell in Malabar hills”.

Shankar said, “They used to feel that playing Hindi songs is not cool. This is the first album that they played”.

The film’s visual language, casual fashion and conversational storytelling also influenced Bollywood’s depiction of contemporary urban India. The soundtrack was equally influential, blending rock, pop and Indian sounds.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

IANS

[email protected]