He had a dream of a break with Girish Karnad’s Utsav (1985) opposite Rekha. But despite later films with frontrunner heroines like Dimple Kapadia (Pati Parmeshwar), Madhuri Dixit (Manav Hatya), Padmini Kolhapure (Anubhav)and Juhi Chawla (Jaan Pe Khel Kar), Shekhar Suman’s career got nowhere fast.
In retrospect, Shekhar feels that destiny was handing him the blows, the worst of which was losing his son as he could not afford his medical treatment, because it wanted to take him to the right place. And thus happened phenomenal success on television, with Dekh Bhai Dekh, Movers And Shakers and The Great Indian Laughter Challenge as the cream.
And now Shekhar gives vent to a passion that was kept dormant in a well-preserved compartment of his psyche - music. Kuch Khwaab Aise, his maiden album as a singer, was released on T-Series early this month and has garnered good reviews.
Excerpts from an interview:
Your debut album goes against trends. Is there any reason for this?
Yes, there is a thehrav (placidity) in my songs. Only one song is fast-paced. I have followed my heart, not the market or a specific audience.
To me, it's the only sane way - a mix of honesty and a great attention to quality. I chose Aadesh Shrivastava because he had a solid musical background, so I knew that he would have the guts to tell me when I was going wrong and not be overawed by a successful television star. Singing is really a great art and a form of release for any negativity within me. It connects me with God, my own soul and with people. It's like catharsis, which is why my briefs to my lyricist were very clear.
In fact, I plan to write some lyrics for my next album, so before you ask ‘Are you planning to do another album?’ that's my answer, for music is addictive!
You had mentioned doing an album nine years ago.
You remember that, right? Well, I have managed it! Pursuing your happiness is important. I began as an actor 22 years ago, but after my dream break never led to better things, I did a lot of movies that I did not want to do. Even on television, I did so many things that I did not enjoy because of market dictates. For example, Movers And Shakers and its various follow-up versions found me overstaying, and I did not like the image these shows gave me. I liked to make my audience smile, but not to laugh at other people.
Besides, I feel that an actor should be imageless, otherwise his talent, growth, evolution and passion are curbed. And I had this talent and passion for music that I did not want to waste.
Yes, but why was there such a long gestation period?
Well, I realised that though I was singing all the time, I was not prepared to take on a serious album. I thought that it was wrong to take music for granted. So many people just think that they are singers, and they are so wrong. So I learnt and trained for almost 30 months in music. And it’s amazing what training can do for you.
My gurus, Sunil Borgaonkar and Paresh Jana, were excellent. I began with simple vocal exercises like paltas, aaroha and avroha and went on to learn ragas. Believe me, every day was a revelation, because you also unlearn a lot of things.
For example, you are on this “Wow! What a singer I am!” trip but now you realise, “Oh my God! How wrong I was!”
Training teaches you your strengths and weaknesses, understand the composer and his tune and makes you confident when you finally face the microphone.
Was there a flipside to training vis-à-vis your earlier natural flair?
There was, and Aadesh pointed it out to me. The pitfall of a classically-trained artiste is of showing off his training and overdoing the nuances like harkatein and murqis when a composition does not need it. And he simply said, “Shekhar, don’t ever show off in a song!”
What about playback singing?
Ha! I would love to playback - and play forth! Well, seriously, why not? They say that you get the greatest happiness when you lend something to someone else, like books or money!(Laughs) So I can lend my voice to another actor.
What do you think about film music today?
Is there music today? (Laughs) I thought that music ended yesterday!(Laughs again). The scenario isn’t all dark though - I do like Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Vishal Bhardwaj and some specific other songs.
Both acting and singing are about expressions, so how different and how similar are they?
As an actor, I am playing out someone else’s emotions. As a singer on my albums, I am singing my own feelings. That's the difference. As for the similarity, well, I cannot live without either of them!