Star Interviews
Music director Mahesh Shankar speaks
By NaChaKi
Apr 12, 2010 - 1:43:57 PM

Mahesh Shankar shot to fame with his Telugu film debut through Vennela, in which songs were very different from regular style of Telugu film songs, and the audience took notice. He was only rarely heard of, due to his stay in the USA then, but again, his songs in Chandrasekhar Yeleti's Prayanam drew attention. Now, the music director has teamed up with Deva Katta of Vennela again for the film Prasthanam, which is a lot different from their first combination. As their second combination film gears up for release this week, I wanted to speak to him for an interview. He was totally occupied with the final audio mixing for the film when I first called, and I had to call him later in the evening. Still, we had to take a break and he promised to call me back when he's done, and I finally finished interviewing him at about 1:30 a.m. IST on Sunday, after all his work for Prasthanam was completely wrapped up. He was patiently detailing me about Prasthanam and the "prasthaanam" (journey) of his career also, even after a full day's work, to present what's going to be an exclusive interview for the readers of TeluguCinema.Com, the excerpts of which are presented here. (Some of the things we spoke about were already published in an earlier interview and are thus skipped for brevity, though I loved knowing about his personal and professional association with the classical music stars.)  

NaChaKi: ...So, you worked with several classical music performers as a college youth and... you also worked with Ganesh-Kumaresh for the film Dance Like A Man , right?
Mahesh Shankar: It was an interesting situation! I met them at one of their concerts in USA, at a time when they were finishing up the music work for Dance Like A Man. They needed to finish one of their end peieces and some filler music bits left and they had to send back the pending bits immediately. So, we sat together and completed it.

NaChaKi: I am a fan of the violinist-duo (Ganesh-Kumaresh)! It was in my recent trip to India that I got a chance to watch them perform live...
Mahesh Shankar: They are absolutely brilliant! I learnt a lot of stuff from them, really...

NaChaKi: Did you plan to get into films after coming into the USA or before? When did the movie bug bite you?
Mahesh Shankar: Music has always been a passion to me and so I planned on doing music records, of course. But, with the films, there's not been much planning and stuff... I was doing films as they came to me really. Until Prayanam, it all just happened, but after that I started taking my steps more seriously. Just about the time I completed working for Prayanam, I was on this film (Prasthanam).

NaChaKi: It's interesting to note that all your films were more or less off-beat films. Was that intentional?
Mahesh Shankar: No, absolutely not intentional! It's like someone approached me and ask me to score music for their film, and I have no idea why they'd choose me. That's how all these movies happened. It's by chance but not by design.

NaChaKi: So, is that why you'd say you scored music for only four films in Telugu, in the last five years since your deubt? Well, there were other reasons such as you being outside India... and that you worked for non-Telugu films (one number in Hindi flick 99 , and an NRI-themed film Knock, knock, I'm looking to marry!) also during this time. Shouldn't you have done more films here?
Mahesh Shankar: I don't know if I should feel that I should have done more, but I think the entire process was very educational for me. Scoring was a movie never even on my mind before I stepped into the film-world. It was, for me, a very new, different experience to start with. I was kind of learning "on the job". ...And, yes, if I were in India after Vennela, I could have signed for more films... There was this huge gap because of that... and I don't even know why Chandu (Chandrasekhar Yeleti) chose me for Prayanam...

NaChaKi: What kind of reviews did you get for your music for your Telugu and non-Telugu films?
Mahesh Shankar: Generally speaking, when people come up and talk, they only tell what they like. But, I gather that though there were no songs as such, the music in Flavors was noticed, and the music for Vennela was received very well and made the movie a musical hit too, and in Prayanam, there were only three songs but still people liked at least one song very much. I should say it's good so far. Even with Prasthanam, it's been the same people. People have started noticing me, I should say, after all those reasons that you mentioned earlier - that I am work only for off-beat films, for NRI film-makers, and so on. But now, the Punjabi style number in 99, the rustic, folk, native music style with burrakatha kind of songs in Prasthanam are giving me diverse exposure. Now, people know a lot of songs but they don't know what to make of me.

NaChaKi: BTW, how well were songs received in American Halwa, the Malayalam-dubbed version of Vennela? I know the film flopped, but were the songs noticed, given that the original versions in Telugu were great hits?
Mahesh Shankar: In fact, I wasn't a part of the dubbing process and only knew later that it was dubbed into Malayalam. In other words, the right care did not go into getting everything right with the songs there. Thus, I have no clue as to how the songs were received! After being completely sidestepped in this case, I started putting a little bit of more care into all these stuff.

NaChaKi: Do you prefer tuning for lyrics or preparing your tunes first? What's your composing style, usually? Do you do it vocally, or on an instrument, or at the computer, or what?
Mahesh Shankar: Depends on the particular song and movie, I'd say, but I'd prefer to first get to see the lyrics before I compose. I feel that having an idea of what you want to say is more important than how you say it. Once I know what the song conveys (through the lyric), I can easily choose a way to say it (through the musical composition). I do play different instruments, like keyboard or guitar or ...but anyway, sometimes I do that, but it all depends on the song.

NaChaKi: How do you generally choose your singers? I particularly ask that question because choosing Amrithavarshini for the song mEghamaa... aagaalammaa... in Prayanam caught the attention of audience as it's unusual to choose a child for playback.
Mahesh Shankar: Actually, that's a good question! I haven't really thought about it... As far as the choice of Amrithavarshini, it's a very different kind of song, with certain feel to it. I heard her voice earlier and felt she'd be a good choice... and ultimately that paid us, as the song grabbed attention...

NaChaKi: You seem to be singing too, but only selectively. That's another reason I asked that question.
Mahesh Shankar: The thing is that I prefer not to sing. I only choose it when someone else thinks that I have to sing that song, because I know I may not be a good singer.

NaChaKi: Before we come to a discussion on Prasthanam, we nearly covered all your music scores, except Inko Saari. Even the songs in that film weren't as impressive as your other albums. Now that the film is also out, could you tell us what happened? As a matter of fact, I'd say there were songs such as Life-E oka Saturday... that had your mark on them, but I was wondering why they wouldn't really catch up.
Mahesh Shankar: Yes, Inko Saari was an interesting experience. I am not sure what happened with it, but people still seemed to have liked three or four songs from the movie. Ultimately, how the audio is perceived is also tied in with how the movie does [at the box-office]. It was definitely a part of the on-field educational experience that I'm having in the film industry...

NaChaKi: Suman and you were part of the same team for Vennela, where he was the co-director...
Mahesh Shankar: Yeah, that's right! We had a lot of fun working on Vennela together and I was hoping for more of the same with Inko Saari. ...Having said that, I guess they are two very different movies with two very different directors, and it'd not be appropriate or justified to see them in the same light.

Prasthanam Wall poster

NaChaKi: Tell us about your work for Prasthanam, now that it's all just over and is on your mind afresh. Since it's a political drama with family and love elements, there'd be a lot to expect from the background score. What measures have you taken to ensure the interest is sustained?
Mahesh Shankar: You're absolutely right! It's an intense story and theme, made really well too! It was a great experience to work for such a well-made film... but I'd have said these things about the film even if I weren't associated with it. I am absolutely glad that I am actually a part of this project! The cinematography, editing, ...this is in fact one film where the entire team has come together to make a potential film, and the artistes' performances are, I can say, surely among their careers' best! I really appreciate Deva for pushing us all and bringing us up to this effort! There was a lot of pressure and passion mixed up (laughs). After the first day's re-recording, when I saw the film from beginning to end, I called Deva up and told him, "I'm really really proud of you! I have nothing else to say." And, having the right background music is crucial for such a film, yes. And, yes, a lot of care is needed when composing because of the impact it makes when you see the movie. Deva has done an excellent job for such a theme. It's indeed tough to keep up with or match his passion and expectations there! The film has all crafts at their best, I'd in fact say - the artistes and their performances are at their careers' best!

NaChaKi: I agree! The trailers were quite impressive too. But, when I heard about the theme and stuff, I thought it's going to be interesting to see how the director who made something like Vennela earlier would handle this kind of theme!
Mahesh Shankar: The trailers are absolutely great, even visually! I was hoping they arrest the minds of the audience! And, like you said, for someone who's making one's second film - and after Vennela - such a mature film and striking theme is going to be looked at with intrigue.

NaChaKi: Coming back to your work for the film, given that this song has a distinct musical requirement dictated by its theme, what was your homework for the film like, in choosing your instruments or tunes, etc.?
Mahesh Shankar: A lot! A lot of homework in fact went into my preparation. Every film is different and interesting, but this one is envisioned as a strong film in every aspect. The film's music is required to be different from regular folk-styled music. There are seven songs in the film, and no two of them are alike! ...It was really a great opportunity to work for a project that offered such diversity of flavors in the music. They wanted me to have my signature-style music all through. They want the nativity to which even the current generation can connect even if they didn't have the first-hand experience of listening or burrakatha or something like that.

NaChaKi: So, have you now moved back to India for good?
Mahesh Shankar: Yes, yes, I did! In fact, Prasthanam was the film that made me move back completely, I'd say! When working for a film with such a rustic backdrop, it'd not be appropriate to sit in the USA - in a very different environment - and think of such a theme. And, we already spoke how much the film's theme could compel anyone to give their best. So, I chose to move back totally and concentrate on the film here in India.

NaChaKi: You're scoring music for debutant Kalyan Manthena's film with Brahmanandam's son Goutham in the lead. How did you get the offer? Tell us more about the film.
Mahesh Shankar: The film is being produced on the banner "Movie Miracles" by Mahesh (Maheswara Rao). How I got the offer is... Mahesh knew Kalyan Palla, the producer of Inko Saari, and reached me through him. Even the director, Kalyan Manthena, specifically wanted me, I learnt, and thus Mahesh got in touch with me. When I spoke to the director, I really liked the theme - it's a completely director's project! And, I met Goutham a couple of times too - he's all ready for the film... It'd be a good film too!

NaChaKi: What are your other projects?
Mahesh Shankar: Nothing else as of now. I prefer working film by film. See, for example, Prasthanam couldn't have happened if I couldn't give my 100% committment to it! Films like this one require utmost care and attention! It's a personal preference to concentrate completely on one film at one time.

Interview by NaChaKi

Mahesh Shankar's Discography

Mugangal (Private music album in Tamil)
Flavors (2003) (with Leslie Lewis)
Knock Knock, I'm Looking To Marry! (2003)
Dance Like A Man (2003) (End credits score)
Vennela (2005) (Telugu cinema deubt)
American Halwa (2008) (Malayalam-dubbed version of Vennela)
99 (2009) (Track: Punjabi Size) (Hindi, with Roshan Machado-Ashutosh Phatak-Shammir Tandon)
Prayanam (2009)
Inko Saari (2010)
Prasthanam (2010)
Movie Miracles' Prod. No. 1 (Filming)

Related Links : Mahesh Shankar's Earlier Interview 
- Prasthanam Gallery
- Prasthanam Wallposters
- Prasthanam Trailer-1
- USA Schedules