Let the song make you sing, don't sing the song Shaan

The ever so charming Shaan is back on television. However, it's not all smiles for the singer, who after a break of a few months, returns to host the second season of Voice of India. There's grief in his heart, a fear that music is not hitting the right notes. The ace singer bares it all to Tellychakkar. Read on to know what's going through Shaan's mind and body. You opted out of Chhote Ustad citing fatigue. You're now back with Voice of India. Do you feel refreshed now? (Laughs) Well, I still am not sure whether I've got the urge to host again but definitely there is an excitement which stems from the fact that the show will be different this year. I'd never like to be in a position where a task becomes an obligation. It should not be like I've signed a show and later I'm telling myself 'Oh! I have to do it for the heck of it. There was some talk that the constant squabbling of the judges took its toll on you. Ah! Well that could be true but the principal reason for not hosting Chhote Ustad was that it was to begin immediately after VOI. Hosting regularly for months does sap your energies. Besides, I too have kids and wouldn't have been be comfortable seeing other children cry. Fortunately, the judges Shreya, Pritam and Kunal were really good and everything panned out smoothly. I must give them credit for it. Can we expect peace and harmony between the judges this time? Well, I was told that nothing would happen last year too. Though it made for good television, the focus moves away from the singers to all such bickering. This time we've decided to take a five minute break when a volatile situation arises. However, you can't guarantee that there won't be any verbal wars. After all, creative people are known to be crazy. You give a mike in their hands and they would never shy away from expressing themselves. I'm sure they too must be embarrassed at themselves after looking at the video. The current jury members share good camaraderie between them. I'm hoping that no ugly scenes will be repeated. The result of last year was really shocking. Why weren't exact figures from the north zone revealed? That was the most unfortunate thing which shouldn't have occurred. I too was surprised that how victory from the north zone itself enabled Ishmeet to win the title. I hope we don't repeat it this year. Singers of your era are now taking to judging. Why is Shaan still lagging behind? To be a judge, you require certain intrinsic qualities. Well, I've tried once but it didn't work out for me. Perhaps, being a Libran you're always weighing both the sides. I couldn't make up my mind. Reality show judges cry hoarse that they want to unearth talent that can compete with the best playback singers. Do you feel threatened? There's never a direct competition between singers. The competition is within you. In the west, there is equal number of good singers but they don't try to outdo each other. This cut-throat competition is crated by the media. When you talk of reality show contestants, majority of them are non-singers. Often they tend to be one dimensional yet they are successful. Bad work is being liked more. We have such singers in Bollywood too. Singers have always been known as the unsung heroes of Bollywood. It's the actor who always takes the credit. No, I wouldn't agree with it. It's not the singers but the music composers who are the unsung heroes. They are the ones who put in the maximum effort. The singer only comes in the end. Playback itself is so absurd. The producers, directors pressurise the composers that some of them get away with plagiarising. There's no respect left for a composer. The actor too puts in his efforts. After all, it's not the singer who dances bare bodied in extreme conditions. Is the cry for an 'orginal' voice' real? Legends too are known to be inspired by their peers. I'd rather put it as natural and not original voice. A natural voice is one which is not affected. A song is all about expressing an emotion. A singer should keep it to that and not try creating a stylised voice. Don't try to sound like some one. Accept your voice in all humility. Unfortunately, today in an effort to create an original voice, singers are deliberately singing roughly. Clones have no place in Bollywood, Does it hold true in the industry? I wouldn't say anyone is ridiculed but people are biased towards a particular type of singing and this bias gets ingrained into the system. What you don't want is aping as it doesn't have any emotions and nor does it touch anyone's heart. At the end of the day everything should be looked upon from the song's perspective. You must always remember that it's not your ego but your voice that needs to do the singing. Let the song make you sing, don't sing the song. After all these years in the industry, is Shaan a content man? On a personal note, I'm very happy with what I've achieved in my career. I'm discontent looking at the youth today who are full of fluff and froth. Everything today has become so Bollywood. Kids talk of Shah Rukh and Aamir as if they live in their background. Everybody wants to fit in the box. In the process, the good talent often gets sidelined. A person may not be much talented but he/she makes it into the fold through frivolous ways. The public too need to think rationally and not accept things as good or bad.