Why Shankar Mahadevan is choking us with his new version of 'Breathless'
It was a dream of an Indie-pop song that convinced Indians that Shankar Mahadevan can leave them absolutely breathless with a 2.48-minute rendition, which, by the way, was not sung in one breath. Back in 1998, the album — Breathless — went on to top music charts for weeks and sell over 3,00,000 copies.
Twenty years later, it was the same song that convinced Mahadevan that to remain relevant he has to not just keep singing, but sing praises of the powers that be. Taking his singing to another level (of sycophancy), Madhavan released a recreated a version of the iconic Breathless on the occasion of India's 72nd Independence Day.
Non stop India!A tribute to our vibrant nation and the new heights of development we are scaling. Jai Hind! ????????#IndependenceDay2018Hon’ble PM @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/EZGEPlVtbH
— Shankar Mahadevan (@Shankar_Live) August 15, 2018
While the singer-composer put out the recreation as a tribute to our vibrant nation, its corny lyrics notwithstanding, the song is an absolutely breathtaking attempt at canonising the prime minister, who, of course, has returned the favour with equal enthusiasm.
Lovely composition @Shankar_Live ! For many, it brings back memories of ‘Breathless.’Like your song, 125 crore Indians are working nonstop for India’s progress! https://t.co/aMs1ZpurX4
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 15, 2018
"Rut badli hai jaise rukh badla ho...
jaise Bharat ki ab nai pahchan hai...
yuva men vayu si raftar hai...
Apni pahchan hai, apna Aadhaar hai
bhrashtachar ab niradhar hai
Hind ke shatru ki ab haar hai
ho raha nyay hai, badh raha josh hai."
As PM Modi moves to his last year as prime minister in his current term, Mahadevan joined a growing chorus of minstrels singing praises of the man they call the Vikas Purush.
A rapidly expanding list celebrating the PM includes a host of journalists, Bollywood actors and the literati unleashing "spontaneous" tributes to the Prime Minister in the hope of reviving their own sinking careers. But why Mahadevan felt the need to join the list of BJP apologists is something his fans will take some time to wrap their head around.
The 51-year-old singer-composer is one of the most successful musicians India has witnessed in the recent times. Often described as a man of many avatars, Mahadevan in the past few decades has belted out chartbusters in various languages, performed in several music shows — both classical and film-related events — besides judging and mentoring youngsters in reality shows.
He burst on to the music scene with Breathless for which he teamed up with poet-lyricist-writer Javed Akhtar. In fact, no concert of Mahadevan is ever complete without this song.
Then what is it that made him ruin his own creation for his fans? No one knows, no one would perhaps ever get to know.
Music, at its essence, is what gives us memories. So says Stevie Wonder. Well, Shankar Mahadevan's latest piece of music will hold nothing but bad memories for us.
"Start Up India ki lahar chali hai
Sooraj se oorja nikli hai roshan karti
Swachh hai desh aur neeyat saaf hai
Gaon shehar sab jud rahe hain jaise ek saath hon."
Indian music buffs will never forgive Shankar Mahadevan for this "non-stop" torture.