Rahman sir doesn’t take conventional route – Shweta Pandit: Part 1

Never ask Shweta Pandit her age. Sarcasm isn’t something one associates with Shweta. From her being a twelve year old singing in YRF’s Mohabbatein to the recent packed house A.R Rahman’s Indian tour, the girl has been there, done that. We decide to meet at a coffee shop in Versova. As I reach, Read More">she tooRead More

Never ask Shweta Pandit her age. Sarcasm isn't something one associates with Shweta. From her being a twelve year old singing in YRF's Mohabbatein to the recent packed house A.R Rahman's Indian tour, the girl has been there, done that. We decide to meet at a coffee shop in Versova. As I reach, she too makes sure that she is punctual. Pandit is on time, and that goes to prove that she is passionate in what she does, be it singing or giving an interview. There's an unnerving moment that occurs when hearing Shweta. She sounds melodious and operatic in scale even while she answers and laughs at every question or comment she thinks is funny. So while most of you must be thinking that it's all in her voice, I sit back, sip my cooler and get smitten by her precious smile. Sitting in CCD with Shweta Pandit made me feel like I was sitting in the Wembley Arena because everyone was present there: family, fans who love music and a journalist who is hell bent on interviewing one of the most sparkling singers of our industry. A voice that could bend steel and looks that can bend your neckline, if you meet Shweta Pandit, you need to have one thing clear in your mind - you need to be obsessed with A.R Rahman, just like she is, and as far as Shweta can remember, at a tender age of just seven, her obsession with the 'Mozart of Madras' started. In this exclusive part one of a two part special, our country's pride and one of A.R Rahman's favourite singers and a fellow performer on his concerts, Shweta Pandit takes centre stage and talks about when she first heard of Rahman, how she first met him, and why she thinks that the most respected man in our music industry is child-like. It's time to go easy on the ear!

"My voice is my recognition"

I've grown a lot in these twelve years. My Mohabbatein launch was a huge one where I sang all the songs in the film for Shamita Shetty. For any singer, it's a dream debut. I was working with legends. There was Lataji, Yashji, Anand Bakshiji, etc. My voice is my recognition. If my voice or my songs are famous, I am famous. It's the greatest compliment a singer can ever receive.

Read More">“Rahman sir motivates you a lot but he is a very quick teacher” During every rehearsal A.R Rahman tells me that I sound the best and that is a bit cliche (laughs). But that’s how he is. He is honest. He motivates you a lot and is a very quick teacher. He doesn’t sit andRead More

"Rahman sir motivates you a lot but he is a very quick teacher"

During every rehearsal A.R Rahman tells me that I sound the best and that is a bit cliche (laughs). But that's how he is. He is honest. He motivates you a lot and is a very quick teacher. He doesn't sit and teach you bits by bits. He will make you do your job over and over again till you've perfected it which is a very strong way of training somebody. For that, you have to be a very fast learner. If I'm singing something and I have to touch some note and I don't, he shows it to me on his piano. He will again do it till I get the note right. I think it's a great way of teaching.

Watch this space for Part 2 of the interview with Shweta Pandit

“Rahman sir doesn’t take the conventional route to make the singer sing and the result is heaven” Rahman Sir is a master and he knows how to use a voice in what way in a song and nobody knows that better than him, Read More">not even I being a singer. His take on things is completelyRead More

"Rahman sir doesn't take the conventional route to make the singer sing and the result is heaven"

Rahman Sir is a master and he knows how to use a voice in what way in a song and nobody knows that better than him, not even I being a singer. His take on things is completely different from what we think. Sir doesn't take the conventional route to make the singer sing. We have a herd mentality when it comes to many things in our film industry. So if some singer has won an award, music directors want that particular award winning singer to sing in their next film. What Rahman Sir will do is that he will bring a new singer and make that singer sound like he/she has never sounded before in their life. Only A.R Rahman can do that. Sir has got amazing secrets to recording that even I don't know. The result is that the song sounds like heaven.

"In my first meeting with A.R Rahman, he mistook me for my sister Shraddha Pandit"

I definitely think Rahman sir is a man of few words. At the same time I think he can be a very good person to converse with. But I think he takes a little time to open up. The first time I met him was in 2008 at a Television show done by 9X channel and the show was called Mission Ustaad that was judged by Javed Akhtar and Rahman sir. I was participating in that show with Kailash Kher, Mohit Chauhan, etc. In fact, Mohit Chauhan got picked from there for all the songs you hear of him. My partner at that time was Naresh Iyer who was also Rahman's find. What's surprising was the fact that Rahman sir thought that I was Shraddha Pandit, my sister (laughs), because he had met my sister before. It's funny because all this while he was under the impression that it was Shraddha who was doing the show (laughs).

“Rahman sir is like a beloved child and the best quality in him is that he is innocent” A.R Rahman is a legend too. I’m happy that so many years down the line, I am continuing to learn from these legends. All the names, Read More">I’ve mentioned have one quality in common – they have aRead More

"Rahman sir is like a beloved child and the best quality in him is that he is innocent"

A.R Rahman is a legend too. I'm happy that so many years down the line, I am continuing to learn from these legends. All the names, I've mentioned have one quality in common - they have a beloved child in all of them somewhere hidden deep inside. They are very innocent when it comes to working. All these people have achieved so much and yet work as if it's their first work when they compose a song or write lyrics.

"I was seven years old when I first registered the name A.R Rahman. The music of Bombay was just out"

I told this same story to A.R sir at the Vancouver airport when I was travelling with him for the 'Jai Ho' concert. I think I was seven years old when I first heard of A.R Rahman. The music of Bombay was out and that's when I first registered the name A.R Rahman. My sister who is also a singer, Shraddha Pandit, used to listen to a lot of music and practice. At that point of time, names never used to register with me but songs did. I had fallen sick around that time and wasn't able to recover. So my mother gifted me a walkman and she told me to listen to good music. Finally, my hands caught on the audio cassette of Bombay and I started reading the inlay on the back side of the label where 'music by A.R Rahman' was written. I even got well in a few days. I guess Sir's music did the trick. From that day on I became the follower of A.R Rahman.