Shaan: My father taught me to be happy in my space

By Sugandha Rawal 

New Delhi, June 23 Bollywood playback singer and composer Shaan lost his late father, whom he lost at 14, has been a huge influence in his life. The singer noted that his father was “extremely talented” and he is not “even two per cent of him”.

“I lost my father at a very early age, I was just 14 and he was 43. He was a very unique person with a strong sense of integrity, which I imbibed,” Shaan told IANS, while talking of his father, the late music director Manas Mukherjee.

“He taught me to never take credit for something I haven’t done, and to always give credit where it is due. He made us learn that if you owe someone something, then promptly make sure you give it back. He also taught me not to owe anyone anything and never take obligations from people. There are a lot of things I learnt from him, most importantly is to be happy in your own space. Musically, he was extremely talented and I am not even two per cent of him. My father played a very important role in my life, in making me who I am,” he added.

Shaan, who is a father today, feels “lucky to be blessed by two wonderful kids who are very respectful and yet very communicative”.

“Both my kids have their own individual personalities. I feel blessed and happy to say that, I never had to discipline them too much or ever have to be strict with them too much. I think I am the kind of person they would look up to as a father and be a role model for them. All this while, I have managed to be the right kind of person. It makes me feel proud to say that my kids, respect me, love me and look up to me and I hope and pray that I never let them down,” added the singer, who started his musical journey at a very young age.

He continued: “As a father, I think I am not very proactive, their mother (Radhika) is much more proactive. She always knows how to create a moment for them on their birthdays. I am more like the father who is always there for you if you need me, I am around and yes if they need me and if I can be of any help to them I am always there. Also, I am usually caught up in my own situations, and I don’t get as much time I want to spend with them. I am not very good at organising stuff so I may not be very proactive as a dad but yes I am a very supportive father.”

After doing some jingles, he burst onto the pop scene with his sister Sagarika in the 1990s. He made his place in Bollywood with hits like “Jab se tere naina” and “Chand sifarish”. He also came up with a song, “PAPA hain na”, which features him with his son.

“There are many other projects I am currently working on. There are many online reality shows I am currently doing and, of course, there are many more interesting projects coming up,” added the singer, who is elated to stay in touch with his fans through GoNuts.

(Sugandha Rawal can be contacted at sugandha.r@ians.in)