Shekhar Ravjiani interview: On his first Tamil track, losing his voice and rekindling romance with music

Watch: Shekhar Ravjiani interview: On his first Tamil track, losing his voice and rekindling romance with music

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The Hindu

Shekhar Ravjiani lost his voice a couple of years ago.

In what came as a rude shock, the musician-singer of the popular Vishal-Shekhar duo shuddered when his doctors told him that he was suffering from left vocal paresis, a condition that almost paralyses your vocal chords. “I was told that it was an infection in the nerve from the heart to the left vocal chord. A lot of doctors said that I might not be able to sing again. I was heartbroken,” he recalls.

Apt medical help from San Diego-based Dr Erin Walsh and a strong will helped him come out of it. After a year or so, Shekhar mustered the courage to share his story on social media, spurred on after watching the documentary, I Am: Celine Dionon a flight. “After I shared my story, atleast 50 singers reached out, saying that they had been experiencing similar issues since the pandemic.”

He is singing better now, at concerts and at studio recordings. Not only that; Shekhar is also helping the younger breed of singers make a mark. His latest independent effort, ‘Paiya Paiya’, has been sung by 17-year-old Aarathana Senthilraja, a young musical talent nurtured through the Global Schools-Sheykhar Ravjiyani School of Music. “I don’t know why, but when I composed this tune, I felt it should be a Tamil song because I love the sound of the language. It was great jamming together with a young singer. It was an impromptu, beautiful collaboration.”

Shekhar has put together many such musical collaborations through his independent label, Garuudaa Music, floated in 2023. With names like Arijit Singh and Shreya Ghoshal on this list, such numbers helped him reconnect with music. “When the pandemic happened, I sort of dug deeper into myself. I realised that I needed to connect with music again and not treat it like a job.”

He is referring to the Shekhar of the late 1990s, who used to make music for himself and his friends. “In those days, I had a kind of romance with music. As time went by, I sort of started taking it for granted, because it had to cater to many people associated with the film.” His independent label helped him express his true self. “I started writing a song every day. After a day of making music, I would go for a walk and hear it on the headphones and fall in love with music once again. It was beautiful.”

Pet projects

Vishal-Shekhar are one of the most popular music composers of the Hindi film industry, right from Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi (1999) till Fighter (2024). “Over the last 25 years, I have seen a lot of stages in the music and film industry. Even a few years back, we used to celebrate eight songs in a film, because there were an integral part of the screenplay, and now, we see only two songs that are primarily used for marketing the film. I’m waiting for a time where there will be seven-eight songs in a film, like in say, Om Shanti Om.”

Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani, Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone during promotions for Hindi film, ‘Chennai Express’ in 2013
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AFP PHOTO/STR

Shekhar might have to wait for a while for such a thing to happen regularly, with increased emphasis on trending hooklines and decreasing audience attention spans, but the emergence of independent artisets marks good times, he says. “I’m seeing a transition towards independent music. The love is unreal. Even producers are searching for those acts to do music for their projects.”

There will be more on that front from him. “2025 is looking fantastic. The next single will be out soon. We hope to launch another new singer in the process,” he says, “We’ve done a few workshops in Japan, Dubai and Nagpur. We are trying to find new voices, nurture them and put them on the right path.”

Even as his music journey continues, Shekhar is also putting together one of his dream projects: a shelter for abandoned dogs. “It’s on my bucket list and I will do it soon,” he promises. Looks like Shekhar Ravjiyani has found his voice, yet again.