Weaving musical magic

doweshowbellyad=0; Threesome: Ehsaan, Shankar and Loy (TOI Photo)People say some things in life are just meant to be. When you hear Shankar Ehsaan Loy (SEL) perform, one just cannot help feeling so. A television show Hum, produced by Mukul Anand in 1996-97 set the SEL juggernaut rolling. Ten years and 27 films on, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy became one of the most successful musical partnerships in Bollywood, by creating hits like Dil Chahta Hai, Kal Ho Na Ho and most recently Don and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom.The trio was in the city recently for a gig, and the two thousand odd Hyderabadis who assembled there were in a music-induced frenzy. Here are excerpts from the interview.
Rocking show?
Ehsaan: It is great to perform to an audience like this. You feed on their energy, and it eggs you on.
Shankar: That was an amazing show. The crowd was unbelievable; they knew every word of all the songs we were playing.
Loy: Absolutely, there was a great vibe out there. Did you guys hear me? I was absolutely thodoing the B3 out on the synthesiser.
Performing live vs recording in the studio:
Shankar: These are two different things. In a studio you play it safe, but when you are performing live, you end up going over the top and have a ball.
Ehsaan: In a live show a lot depends on the crowds. There have been occasions when you go prepared to rock, and there are just five people in the audience and the show packs up after four songs.
Loy: In a studio, it is all about playing in a controlled atmosphere. In a live show, it is all about feeling the vibes and connecting with it. The only planning is ten minutes before the gig and the plan goes for a toss within five minutes. The idea is to spontaneously innovate
Coming together:
Shankar: Not again yaar, I am sick of answering that question. Maybe it was just numerology, we all have number three in our birthdays.
Loy: We go back a long way, when we were into advertising in Mumbai, so that's how we knew each other, and our love for music is what brought us together.
Ehsaan: We had worked for a few TV shows before movies happened. Dus was our first film, which unfortunately never released ,but the music was a big hit and it's been a great ride so far.
Poles apart:
Shankar: We are big friends but different people. I for example am also a part of a band called Shakti, which is into classical music, and also a part of the Indo-Jazz fusion music band,Silk.We are into a lot of things, but it does not clash with what we do together.
Ehsaan: Yes. The three of us bring a mix of different things to the table. I was a lead guitarist in a rock band before, and Loy is a master on the keyboard and its music that brings us together.
Loy: Our differences are our greatest strength. We all know, it’s team effort and understand our roles. We fight over the tunes , but at the end of the day it's the passion to make music that binds us.
Tollywood calling:
The three are scheduled to compose music for a Telugu film, but are not willing to give out any details. "We are involved in discussions with a producer and would soon be composing music for a Telugu flick. I cannot give out more details," says Loy signing off.