Shankar Mahadevan of the successful composer-trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and the voice behind many super-hit songs actually trained to be a veena artiste in childhood. While teaching him to play a kriti, his veena guru told him to also sing it in order to execute it well on the veena, thereby setting his singing career in motion.
Deepti Pillay Sivan
Hitherto unknown facets, such as this, of Shankar's life are what make Decoding Shankar interesting. The documentary, directed by Kochi-based Deepti Pillay Sivan, won Best Biographical Film Award at the Toronto International Women Film Festival, 2021.
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“The award couldn’t have come at a better time. Like so many others, I was going through a low phase having lost a close relative to COVID. It has instilled hope in me,” says Deepti.
Coming from a family that prioritised academics over artistic exploits, Deepti often found herself mentioning Shankar Mahadevan’s example. The singer left a lucrative career in software to pursue his passion for music. “I thought the best way to drive home my point was by making a film on him. Shankar’s mother played an important role in nurturing his talent. If not for her, the world would not have known Shankar Mahadevan the singer,” says Deepti.
Not a biopic
Deepti’s film is as much Shankar’s biography as it is about decoding playback singing. Once ridiculed by the West, it is now seen as a uniquely Indian cultural phenomenon. In the documentary, Shankar talks about the classical notes that shape a song. He chooses some popular songs composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy to demonstrate how they are rooted in classical music.
Unlike other biographical films, Deepti chose to have the story narrated by the protagonist himself. So Shankar holds forth on his childhood, the dilemma he faced before quitting his job, entering the world of jingles and, finally, making it as a musician.
Deepti Sivan with Javed Akhtar
Shankar’s mother recalls how her husband insisted he complete his engineering degree, while she encouraged him to pursue music, sometimes even carrying his veena so that he could attend class after school.
Shankar’s wife Sangeetha, his junior at school, recalls the initial days of their marriage and says they struggled to find time for themselves as Shankar would often be recording without a break.
Casting coup
It was nothing less than a casting coup when Deepti roped in Amitabh Bachchan, Gulzar, Javed Akhtar, Farhan Akhtar, Aamir Khan, Zakir Hussain, Shreya Ghoshal, Sachin Tendulkar and top admen Prahlad Kakkar and Prasoon Pandey to talk about their association with Shankar, along with Ehsaan and Loy.
Deepti Sivan with Gulzar
“I wanted to have on board people whose work has been impacted by Shankar’s music. Sachin and Shankar share a great bonding as Shankar had composed and sung a poem written by Sachin’s father.”
Deepti’s husband Sanjeev Sivan is the brother of cinematographers Santosh and Sangeeth Sivan, and he staunchly supported her work. “I consider Sanjeev my guru,” she says. “Considering I belong to a family of acclaimed technicians, my husband made sure the film remained my own, with no assistance from any of them. He offered to take care of the children while I was busy shooting.” Deepti took two and a half years to complete the film, and delivered her third child during its making.
Versatility and verve
A management and law graduate, Deepti held varied roles in the media and entertainment industry, and also acted in the Malayalam film Kalippattam.
Decoding Shankar was screened at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) at Goa and other festivals, including Stuttgart in Germany; Jecheon International Music and Film Festival, South Korea; and DC South Asian Film Festival, Gaithersburg. .
While talks are on to release Decoding Shankar on an OTT platform, Deepti is planning a web series with Sanjeev on the Padmanabhaswamy temple and a film on the defence forces.