Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy | |
|---|---|
 Loy Mendonsa, Ehsaan Noorani and Shankar Mahadevan in September 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | S-E-L |
| Origin | Mumbai,Maharashtra, India |
| Genres | |
| Occupations | |
| Instruments | |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Labels | SEL Songs |
| Members |
|
| Website | www |
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy (pronunciationⓘ) is an Indian musical trio consisting ofShankar Mahadevan,Ehsaan Noorani andLoy Mendonsa.[1] They have composed music for over 50 soundtracks across five languages: Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Marathi and English. Amongst the most critically acclaimed Indian musicians,[2] the trio have won numerous awards, includingNational Film Awards,Filmfare Awards, andIIFA Awards.
They are often referred to as theAmar Akbar Anthony (AAA) of the Hindi film music industry.[3] They are known for their compositions inDil Chahta Hai (2001),Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003),Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006),My Name Is Khan (2010),Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011) andDil Dhadakne Do (2015).
Shankar Mahadevan, the main vocalist of the trio, was born and brought up inChembur, a suburb ofMumbai,[4] in aTamil family fromKerala.[5] He learnedHindustani classical music andCarnatic music in his childhood and started playing theveena at the age of five. He studied underShrinivas Khale, a popular Marathi music composer. After graduating in 1988 with a degree inSoftware Engineering fromRamrao Adik Institute of Technology inNavi Mumbai under the auspices ofMumbai University, he worked as a software engineer on Oracle Version Six. After working for a while for Leading Edge Systems, Shankar ventured into the field of music.[6] He earned his first award as a playback singer in aTamil movie, collaborating withA. R. Rahman and winning aNational Film Award for his song inKandukondain Kandukondain. A prominent star inTamil cinema, he gained further recognition upon the release of his first music album,Breathless, in 1998. In 2019 he was felicitated with the Padma Shri Award for his contribution to Film Music.[7] He has two sons, Siddharth and Shivam Mahadevan, both of whom are singers as well.[8]
Ehsaan Noorani is the guitarist of Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy. He studied music with Bismarck Rodrigues from a young age. Prior to going abroad to study further music atGIT (Los Angeles), Ehsaan was an integral part of two local bands in Mumbai, Pegasus and Crosswinds. Ehsaan returned to Mumbai and was in demand for his musical skills in composing jingles, working for all the top composers of the time. Until the day Magic Box productions approached him to compose the jingle for Sona Spices, and that marked the beginning of Ehsaan's independent journey as a composer of jingles in India.
Ehsaan was approached byMukul S. Anand to compose the music for his filmDus, and he in turn asked Shankar and Loy to join him in composing the music for the film.Dus never made it to the big screen, due to the death of the director.
Ehsaan is the only Indian musician to have endorsed a signature line, 'The Ehsaan Noorani Fender Squier' signature series, forFender guitars, one of the largest and most reputed guitar manufacturers in the world.[9][10]
Loy Mendonsa plays the piano, bass guitar, and harmonica and is currently learning to play the trumpet. Loy was a genius music teacher for a school in New Delhi, when he was invited to write the music for the showQuiz Time by Siddharth Basu, who gave him his first break. Loy then went on to compose the title track forThe World This Week and for theShahrukh Khan TV serialFauji. Loy moved to Bombay and met Ehsaan in 1989, and together they composed several ad jingles. His daughterAlyssa Mendonsa is a playback singer who has lent her voice to their songs.[11]
.jpg)
Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy came up from the ranks of the non-film music scene, performing rock, blues, jazz and pop before entering the film music industry.[12] Shankar Mahadevan, a software engineer, worked on Oracle Version Six and studiedWestern, Hindustani andCarnatic classical music. He made his debut with the 1985Marathi filmVahinichi Maya. A leading playback singer withPukar,Sapnay andBiwi No.1 to his credit, he also composedBreathless.
Ehsaan Noorani studied music at the Musicians' Institute in Los Angeles and worked with the likes of Ronnie Desai,Laxmikant–Pyarelal,Kalyanji-Anandji and Louis Banks. He composedAlien Desire, did several jingles and like Loy, was part of a blues-and-acid jazz band. Loy Mendonsa is trained in Western classical and also learnt the rudiments of Indian classical music. He performed with several group bands and plays (Godspell,West Side Story,Jesus Christ Superstar) and composed jingles and signature tunes (Fauji,The World This Week).[13]
Ehsaan was doing jingles and Loy was in Delhi before the union. Loy was writing for television then. The showQuiz Time was his first work andSiddharth Basu gave him his first break. Then he didPrannoy Roy'sThe World This Week. A few more shows came along and he also did theatre andShahrukh Khan's Fauji. Loy had also worked as keyboardist with A. R. Rahman and Shankar had sung many famous tracks for him.[14] In 1989, Ehsaan met Loy, who was working forRanjit Barot, an ad film composer. From then on, they joined and composed several adjingles together. Later, Ehsaan and Loy met Shankar when he was roped in by Ranjit Barot to sing for thePepsi ad directed byMukul Anand. Since then, they started to compose for ads as a trio.[15]
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy were to make their debut as composers inMukul Anand's filmDus. Director Anand wanted Ehsaan to compose the music for the film, but he insisted that Shankar and Loy work with him and Anand agreed.[15] The film remained incomplete after Anand's death, though the album was released later in 1999. AfterDus, they had composed music for a couple of films likeRockford andBhopal Express, but all of them went unnoticed. Their entry to mainstream cinema was withVidhu Vinod Chopra'sMission Kashmir, which was a musical hit and earned the trio a place in the Bollywood film industry. They also earned IIFA nominations for the same.[13]
In 2001, they made their film debut inTamil film industry, asKamal Haasan signed them to compose forAalavandhan. The music sold well due to the hype surrounding the movie,[16] though the movie itself was a dud in the box-office. The turning point of their career as music directors though, wasDil Chahta Hai, which was the debut film ofFarhan Akhtar as a director. Initially,A. R. Rahman was considered to do the music, but he backed out due to other assignments. Then the trio composed a title track for the film, which Farhan liked, and he signed them for the film.[15] The film won widespread critical acclaim and went on to attain cult status among audiences, and also earned them their first nomination for theFilmfare Award for Best Music Director.[17] This marked the beginning of the trio's friendship with Farhan Akhtar and long-term association withExcel Entertainments.
PostDil Chahta Hai, they composed music for several small budget films likeYeh Kya Ho Raha Hai?,Nayee Padosan andEk Aur Ek Gyarah, where all of them went unnoticed as all the movies were panned by the critics. They also had two big ventures,Honey Irani'sArmaan andRohan Sippy'sKuch Naa Kaho, which yet again, failed to impress both critics and audiences – though their work inArmaan was lauded by critics.[18]
FollowingDil Chahta Hai, their next big venture wasDharma Productions'Kal Ho Naa Ho, directed byNikhil Advani. The album received a highly positive response when the film was released and it became one of the best selling Indian music albums of the year and was the highest seller album of 2003. The soundtrack won numerous awards including theNational Film Award for Best Music Direction and their first Filmfare Award for Best Music Director.[19]
The year 2005 saw them collaborate withShaad Ali forBunty Aur Babli, as his first choice, A. R. Rahman, was busy with other assignments. The soundtrack, despite the initial mixed reaction from various critics, became immensely popular among the public, and went on to win several awards including their second Filmfare Award for Best Music Director. The song "Kajra Re" featuringAishwarya Rai,Abhishek Bachchan andAmitabh Bachchan became a rage among the listeners.
In 2006, they reteamed with Dharma Productions forKaran Johar's musical romantic dramaKabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. The soundtrack and background score of the film received universal acclaim and became the second highest-selling Indian music album of the year. Their next album that year was Farhan Akhtar'sDon: The Chase Begins Again. They composed seven songs, including two versions of "Yeh Mera Dil" and "Khaike Paan Banaraswala", fromDon (1978). The track "Aaj Ki Raat" was also included in theAcademy Award-winning soundtrackSlumdog Millionaire.[20] The soundtracks ofKabhi Alvida Naa Kehna andDon: The Chase Begins Again earned them several nominations at various award ceremonies, including their fourth and fifth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director.
2007 was arguably the best year of their career.[21] The year started off withNikhil Advani's multistarrerSalaam-e-Ishq, which was lauded by critics and music lovers alike, and went on to rule the music charts.[22] The music was praised by the movie critics too, despite the movie itself receiving mixed-to-negative responses.[23] Same was the fate of their next release,Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. Despite the music getting positive reviews[24] and becoming quite a sensation among listeners, the movie failed to make a mark.[25] However, this pattern was broken by their next release,Akshay Kumar'sHeyy Babyy, where both the film and the music were commercial successes.[26]
In August, the albumJohnny Gaddaar was released, which was co-produced by the trio andAdlabs, first of its kind in the history of Bollywood.[27] Both the music and movie received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics.
Their year ended on a good note, as their last album of the year,Aamir Khan'sTaare Zameen Par, was well received by critics, and both the film and the music got a cult status among the audience.[21] Thus, a really good year for the trio came to an end, with most of the above albums making their way to the top 10 lists of all major websites.[28][29]
In 2008, their major release wasRock On!! – which was a cult favourite and rage among the audience, and went on to become a huge commercial success,[30] despite the initial cold reaction from the critics.[31] The soundtrack earned them their sixth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director.Luck By Chance was their last album of 2008, which garnered positive reviews from both Indian and international critics alike.[32]
In 2009 they scored music ofSalman Khan andAjay Devgan starrerLondon Dreams. Although the music received favourable reviews,[ldmusic 1][ldmusic 2] the movie didn't fare well in the box office. They also composed the music ofAyan Mukherjee's debut filmWake Up Sid starringRanbir Kapoor andKonkona Sen Sharma along withAmit Trivedi. The music, especially the title track, topped charts, and received widespread critical acclaim.[33] The soundtrack earned them their seventh nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director.
Their first soundtrack of 2010 was the Karan Johar's social dramaMy Name Is Khan. The soundtrack blends western bar blues and techno sounds with Indian classical styles such asSufi and Hindustani. The soundtrack was well received, and they won several awards including theScreen Award for Best Music Director, the Big Star Award For Best Music Director, and theIIFA Award for Best Background Score, in addition to their eighth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director. This was followed by Farhan Akhtar'sKarthik Calling Karthik which despite getting mixed reviews from critics, went on to rule the charts. The track "Uff Teri Adaa" marked the debut of Loy's daughterAlyssa Mendonsa and became immensely popular.[34] The next major release of the year wasSajid Khan'sHousefull, which received generally favourable reviews from reviewers and the track "Oh Girl" crooned by Alyssa and Tarun Sagar topped the charts.[35]Ali Zafar'sTere Bin Laden then followed, of which the song "Ullu Da Pattha" became a rage. The phrase was hence used for the promotion of the movie.[36] Their final release of 2010, was Dharma Productions'We Are Family starringKajol,Kareena Kapoor andArjun Rampal. The album received mixed response, and the film was an average success at the box office either.[37]
2011 began with Nikhil Advani'sAkshay Kumar-starrerPatiala House, which was well received by all mainstream critics, though the movie didn't quite get such an enthralling reception.[38] The following release,Excel Entertainment'sGame, was met with poor reviews. the movie itself was met with extremely negative reception from the critics and turned out to be a disaster at the box office.[39] They also scored music forWalt Disney's maiden Indian venture,Zokkomon. The music and the film failed to generate any positive buzz.
Their first international venture, the UK movieWest is West, was released on 18 February 2011. The music was well received by almost all the reviewers, despite the movie itself receiving reviews ranging from mixed to positive.[40]
Their major release of the year,Zoya Akhtar's multistarrerZindagi Na Milegi Dobara, was met with universal critical acclaim and opened well in the charts.[41] However, the year ended on a low note for them with Farhan Akhtar's much-anticipatedDon 2 receiving mixed response from the critics.[42][43] Their work on the former earned them their ninth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director.
The trio had three releases in 2012. The bigger of their biggest releases,Kamal Haasan'scontroversial filmVishwaroopam, went on to become a major financial success.[44] Their other release,Chittagong, was met with critical praise, and won Shankar the 2013National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer, and Prasoon Joshi theNational Film Award for Best Lyrics.[45] They had also composed for the animated filmDelhi Safari, whose title song was shortlisted for nominations in theOriginal Song category for the 85th Academy Awards.[46]
In 2014, they collaborated with Dharma Productions for the romantic drama2 States (2014), which earned them high critical praise and their third Filmfare Award for Best Music Director.
In 2015, they composed the soundtrack and background score for Zoya Akhtar'sDil Dhadakne Do which earned them their eleventh nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director.
In 2016, their work on the soundtrack ofRakeysh Omprakash Mehra'sMirzya earned them their twelfth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director.
After a year-long hiatus, they composed music for the spy thrillerRaazi (2018) starringAlia Bhatt andVicky Kaushal and directed byMeghna Gulzar[47] for which they received their thirteenth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director.
In 2019, it was announced that the trio would be making their debut in thedigital streaming space by composing the soundtrack and background score for an upcoming web series namedBandish Bandits.[48] They also composed songs for multilingual filmSaaho in four languages starringBaahubali-famePrabhas.
In mid-2018, the trio was signed to compose forPrithviraj Sukumaran'sMalayalam-language period epicKaaliyan.[49] Meanwhile, in Hindi, they also composed for another period film,Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, but backed out of theAmitabh Bachchan-Aamir Khan-starrerThugs of Hindostan due to scheduling conflicts.[50]
In 2020, they composed the soundtrack ofMeghna Gulzar'sChhapaak which earned them their fourteenth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director.
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy have been involved in several projectsaside from films. Ehsaan, Loy and Farhad had formed the bandInstant Karma, and they released redone versions of R. D. Burman and other composers over two albums in 2002.[51] They have also composed music for severaljingles,signature tunes for corporates includingReliance andAircel, and public awareness campaigns. In 2010, the troika wrote music for the first ever Bollywood musical,Zangoora.[52]
In 2011, they composed the official anthem forICC Cricket World Cup 2011, titledDe Ghuma Ke, which became highly popular among youths and cricket enthusiasts within days of its release.[53]
In 2004, they performed for a concert organised byThe Indian Express held in celebration of the Indian democracy, which was also attended byAamir Khan, Farhan Akhtar and other celebrities.[54] They organised a concert atIFFI titledSalaam Boss (Salute to the Boss) in 2006 paying tribute to the legendary music composerR.D. Burman.[55] Later in 2008, they performed for theLive Earth India Concert to help light homes with solar energy along with several other celebrities likeJon Bon Jovi.[56] They have also performed a worldwide tour in 2010, calledInspiration: Aman Ki Aasha Tour, which began inNew Jersey, United States. The tour was a major success, garnering overwhelming response from the audience.[57][58][59] They performed at UK for the first time, in theAsia Rocks! concert at London'sRoyal Albert Hall in September 2011.[60] In 2018, they embarked on a Tour of the US & Canada along with Farhan Akhtar.[61]
They have composed music for most of the films produced byExcel Entertainment, founded byFarhan Akhtar andRitesh Sidhwani. They have also associated frequently withDharma Productions, underKaran Johar. Their other notable collaborations have been with directors likeShaad Ali,Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra,Zoya Akhtar, andMeghna Gulzar.
Most of the lyrics for the songs composed by the trio have been penned byGulzar andJaved Akhtar. However, they have also frequently associated with lyricists likePrasoon Joshi andAmitabh Bhattacharya.
Each member of the trio brings his own talents and experiences to the group, combining theCarnatic andHindustani vocal tradition (Shankar), Western rock (Ehsaan) and a deep understanding of fusion including a virtuoso mastery over theelectronic synthesizer (Loy). They continue a tradition quite common in Bollywood music, that of partnerships between music composers contributing and pooling their individual strengths, often combining deep knowledge ofHindustani (North Indian) and Carnatic (South Indian) classical music with technical expertise as composers and orchestral arrangers. Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy probably represent the first trio of composers to entertain Bollywood audiences themselves with their chart-topping music.[62]
The eternal quest among Bollywood's music composers has been to create interest among younger audiences who tend to be inspired more by musical themes and influences from the West. Since a film's soundtrack is an influential and critical component of commercial and critical success (required and achieved or sometimes squandered at the box office), this quest to "deliver a film" has always inspired composers to create tunes which combine the best of both traditional Indian music and popular Western or international influences. An overwhelming majority of Bollywood's most popular music has been composed based on classical Indianrāgas (in Sanskrit "raga" is literally "color" or "mood"). Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy have bridged that gap.
Academy Award-winning lyricistGulzar described the music of the trio as "a sensible synthesis of popularity and class".[63]Composer duoVishal–Shekhar considers them as an inspiration.[64] Upcoming filmmakers Pavel Singh and Shantum Singh consider the trio as their inspiration while upcoming musicians Arko Mukherjee, Rajkumar Sengupta and Debopratim Bakshi of theFriends of Fusion band fromKolkata said "We have been influenced by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, so we mix our own elements to their composition. It's our way of paying homage to them."[65] The Marathi filmSatrangee Re paid a tribute to Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy by playing their song "Kal Ho Naa Ho". Shankar Mahadevan's nephew Saumil Shringarpure also acted in this.
The trio is known forlaunching the career of numerous singers, includingMahalakshmi Iyer,Anusha Mani,Caralisa Monteiro,Dominique Cerejo, andHard Kaur.
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy were the recipients of several awards, including threeFilmfare Awards (Bunty Aur Babli,Kal Ho Naa Ho,2 States), threeIIFA Awards (Kal Ho Naa Ho,Bunty Aur Babli,2 States), threeScreen Awards (Dil Chahta Hai,Bunty Aur Babli,My Name Is Khan), theFilmfare R. D. Burman Award for New Music Talent and twoMTV Immies Awards. In 2004, they received theNational Film Award for Best Music Direction forKal Ho Naa Ho.
In 2010, they were honoured with theYears of Excellence at theJack Daniel's Annual Rock Awards atHard Rock Café, Mumbai.[66]
SEL co-produced the albumJohnny Gaddaar, withAdlabs, first time ever in the history of Hindi film music.[67] In 2010, they also launched their own record label,SEL Songs[68] and aniPhone app, making them the first Hindi film composers to do so.[69]
They provide celebrity endorsement for various brands, includingSennheiser,Philips Consumer Lifestyle[70] andRadio One 94.3.[71]
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy have been involved in many charitable activities. They composed the music for an albumHaath Se Haath Mila as the part of an AIDS Awareness campaign launched byBBC World Service Trust.[72] In 2007, they performed in Chennai for a concert organised by The Shakti Foundation – For the Physically Challenged to raise funds.[73] Organized byFarhan Akhtar, they lead the Rock concert for raising funds for a paediatric medical camp inBihar in 2008.[74] They also launched theYou Know You Can Rock Harder G3 Challenge talent hunt in search of the most talented rock band in the country in the same year.[75] They had performed for a fund raising concert for the NGO Alert India which fights against leprosy in 2009.[76]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
