'Success goes to our feet!'

And that’s what has kept Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa grounded, 15 years into an ongoing musical journey. Deepali S Dhingra chats with the trio
How does one summarise 15 years of association in a few words? For Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa, the sharing of common ideologies, that began way back in 1996, has been a musical journey full of ups and downs — ups, that have made them one of the foremost names when it comes to music composers, and downs, that have strengthened their resolve to bounce back each time with something new and refreshing.But it’s their camaraderie that comes across when the three of them sit together to talk about things close to their heart.
While Loy is the quietest one of the lot, often cracking a witty one-liner out of nowhere, it’s Shankar and Ehsaan who talk nineteen-to-the-dozen. Revealing that they’ve got a huge celebration concert planned for their completing a decade and a half of music, BT got the ‘Amar, Akbar, Anthony’ of Bollywood to go down memory lane with them.
Where were the seeds of this association sown?
Ehsaan: It was in 1996, we three were working in different studios and doing jingles and stuff like that. Shankar first got recognition when he sang for a commercial for Mukul Anand.
Shankar: These two were already reputed in the advertising world. I was just a newcomer and I got to work with them.
Ehsaan: It was the late Mukul Anand who was responsible for bringing us together for his film Dus. He said he would like the three of us to work together as he thought our combination would be unique. Mukul was, in essence, largely responsible for us eventually coming together. We still think of him at least once every day.
And how have you managed to make it work for so many years?
Shankar: See, it’s like a marriage. You have to work at any relationship to make it work. You have to keep certain things in mind. You can’t take the others for granted. You have to genuinely respect each other’s ideas. If he throws an idea and I don’t respect it, then I’m not respecting him. Keeping an idea or rejecting it, is then a joint decision.
So who takes the final call? Have you guys disagreed, more often than not?
Ehsaan: Everytime! (laughs)
Shankar: We fight a lot, argue, discuss, but at the end of the day, it’s the song itself that speaks. That’s when the decision is taken.
Loy: It’s a process. Sometimes, you have to let an idea breathe and grow.
And what about appreciation? Where does that go?
Ehsaan: Success goes to our feet so that keeps us grounded! (more laughter)
What about competition? Does that threaten you?
Loy: The more, the merrier!
Shankar: You have to believe in yourself. With self-belief comes the ability to deliver consistently. So, we have immense faith in our abilities and know fully well what we’re capable of. In fact, when any musician does a good song, we call up that person and congratulate him. Unless you appreciate someone else’s music from your heart, you cannot make good music yourself.
Loy: I loved the music of Delhi Belly. I messaged Ram Sampath and said, ‘Kudos man, really enjoying it’ We are all part of the same industry, doing our best...working towards similar goals. All it takes is faith, self-belief, talent, perseverance and focus... lots of it!
You’ve worked with so many people... there must be a few more you’d really want to work with.
Shankar: We’d love to work with Neeraj of A Wednesday fame. Also Vikramaditya Motwane, Anurag Kashyap and Shankar from Chennai.
Ehsaan: We would love to work with Rajinikanth. Given a choice between Brad Pitt and him, we would choose Rajini!
How do you handle criticism?
Shankar: The guy on the extreme left (pointing to Ehsaan) gets paranoid with criticism, for both of us it doesn’t matter.
Ehsaan: Criticism is good but you shouldn’t run something down. That’s what irritates me.
Shankar:There are very few educated musicians working in mainstream Bollywood, we’re trying to give out new flavours, beautiful chord progressions, musically trying to enrich our audience and then suddenly, someone comes and says something negative.
Loy: I have no problems with anyone saying anything. I understand that just as it cannot always be roses, you can’t always write a good song.
Shankar:After reaching a particular point, you can only pull a person down.
But we bounce back again. At every possible interval, we have had some song that rises up.
Ehsaan: All of them take it in their stride, unlike me! (laughs)
Loy: He switches to Angry Birds, then. (laughs)