[MUSIC PLAYING]
ROHIT KAPOOR: Good
afternoon, Googlers.
My name is Rohit Kapoor,
and I'm a business manager
on the global business team.
It is a great honor for
me today to host this talk
with the magician of
melody, one of the most
established and versatile
singers in Bollywood, Shaan.
He needs no introduction.
We all know he has sung songs
in more than 12 languages
for pretty much any big name
we can think of in Bollywood,
right?
He has also composed music
and has written a lot of songs
as well.
If you were born
in '80s or '90s,
you've grown up most
likely singing and dancing
to his songs.
To name a few popular numbers--
"Subha Ho Gayi Mamu," "Musu
Musu Hasi," "Woh Pehli Baar,"
"It's the Time to Disco,"
"Chand Sifarish," "Chaar Kadam,"
and so many more.
Without further ado,
we are proud, honored,
and privileged to
have with us here
the ever-smiling, romantic,
always energetic, the man
himself, Shantanu Mukherjee.
Please welcome him on stage.
[APPLAUSE]
Welcome, Shaan.
SHAAN: I have to confess,
I'm very impressed.
I had no clue you were going
to really speak so eloquently
until [NON-ENGLISH]
[LAUGHTER]
You spoke very well.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Thank you.
Thank you.
SHAAN: The guests that come,
in general, you do this?
ROHIT KAPOOR: No, I don't.
I don't.
SHAAN: [LAUGHS] Big round
of applause for Rohit there.
He did pretty well.
[APPLAUSE]
ROHIT KAPOOR:
[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] Right?
[LAUGHTER]
SHAAN: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
[LAUGHTER]
That was good.
That was good.
I'd like to invite my very, very
dear friend and amazing guitar
player, Suresh,
Suresh [INAUDIBLE]..
He's on tour with me
since the last 16 years--
[APPLAUSE]
--with not just myself,
with Asha Bhoslaji,
with Shankar Ehsaan
Loy, with [INAUDIBLE]..
And I heard some squeals
when I said [INAUDIBLE]..
Expected.
So Suresh.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Welcome to Google.
Welcome to Google.
All right, let's have a seat.
SHAAN: I don't even both-- you
can just Google and find out
about all of us.
[LAUGHTER]
ROHIT KAPOOR: Yeah, we're
going to get to that.
SHAAN: No wonder we can
get too many people here.
ROHIT KAPOOR: They're going
to watch you live on YouTube.
Not live-- what we call it?
SHAAN: YouTube, yeah.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Yeah.
That's a big one.
But it's pretty--
SHAAN: I have more
questions for you.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Oh, yes, we're
going to talk about that.
SHAAN: My YouTube's
subscription's not going up.
What do I do?
[LAUGHTER]
ROHIT KAPOOR: That's what
I do for my living as well.
So I'm going help you with that.
SHAAN: You're going to
charge me for this now?
ROHIT KAPOOR: Yeah.
Only the food is free.
SHAAN: Whoever says
YouTube gives you money?
They charge you for everything.
ROHIT KAPOOR: They take
some money as well.
SHAAN: I had the
food that was free.
Next time, I'll pay for it.
[LAUGHTER]
How can people eat--
what is that farro?
What is farro?
ROHIT KAPOOR: I've
never had that.
You can probably tell.
I'm not into
healthy food at all.
SHAAN: But who's had farro?
Who likes farro?
Really?
AUDIENCE: I ate it today.
SHAAN: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
And then you--
you've continued to have it?
[LAUGHTER]
ROHIT KAPOOR: But
it is pretty evident
your charming and smiling
personality has brought
a lot more than just
a "Musu Musu Hasi"
on everyone's face here.
So thank you so much for that.
SHAAN: You know, we've
been on tour now.
This is the sixth
show here in San Jose.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Wow.
SHAAN: So [NON-ENGLISH],, as
soon as we enter-- oh, my god,
it's not a full house.
What's happening?
Bring in the people.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Not
quite used to this.
SHAAN: Tell them we have one
ticket free with another one.
[LAUGHTER]
Luckily for me, the shows
have gone really well.
And we've had full
houses everywhere.
And the San Jose one
was absolutely fabulous.
ROHIT KAPOOR: As expected.
SHAAN: And so yeah.
That's in [INAUDIBLE].
But from here, it
looks fine, because you
can't see the empty seats.
You guys blocked them well.
So yeah, now, let
me start talking.
ROHIT KAPOOR: We are talking.
SHAAN: Start the song?
Start the song, guys?
ROHIT KAPOOR: Yeah,
let's do that.
SHAAN: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
ROHIT KAPOOR: Oh,
yeah, let's do that.
Let's warm it up a little bit.
SHAAN: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Let's start with
your Google connection first.
Like, Google--
SHAAN: Google
connection, of course.
Of course, of course.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Your life has
been a search throughout.
Your journey of music and being
a part of the music industry
has been focused on searching
what I'm going to do next.
And Google, as you know,
is a search engine.
So anything you can
tell us about that,
and then probably start
off with a song as well.
SHAAN: Once I've got over being
so impressed by you, I will.
It's amazing.
You have this connect.
Of course, yes,
yes, yes, yes, yes.
Yeah, I have also--
I've never really been
very proactively seeking,
so I'd rather call
myself more of a
searching types
and browsing types.
And one thing led
to another thing,
and things just kind
of happened for me.
I didn't make it happen.
[SNEEZING]
So yeah, just like that sneeze.
[LAUGHTER]
It just happened.
So [NON-ENGLISH]
[GUITAR PLAYING]
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
CREW: It's on.
It just--
ROHIT KAPOOR: [INAUDIBLE] OK.
SHAAN: [NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
[APPLAUSE]
Thank you.
Thank you.
That's a song I often
sing for my voice.
Like at the moment [NON-ENGLISH]
Bring that voice back.
So yeah, not having a
great voice day today.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Fantastic
start, though, right?
SHAAN: Self-attestment
is very important.
ROHIT KAPOOR: It is.
It is, yeah.
SHAAN: People can flatter you.
It's easy.
[NON-ENGLISH] especially
on [INAUDIBLE]..
You put something
out on YouTube.
You know it's not good.
And it's strange-- wow!
Awesome!
Emoji, emoji, emoji,
super, super, super, super.
I wonder when
they're doing it what
must be on their state of mind.
[NON-ENGLISH]
[LAUGHTER]
ROHIT KAPOOR:
[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
SHAAN: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
Fantastic, awesome,
loved it, superb.
ROHIT KAPOOR: OK, let's
not get into that.
[LAUGHTER]
Yeah, it could take us a couple
of days just on that one.
But, yeah, OK,
awesome, awesome start.
Thank you again.
But let's go back to the agenda.
I was really curious
as well to know
about your family's involvement
in the music industry,
and their journey a little
bit, and how then you grew up
into the musical family.
SHAAN: Ah, totally,
it's a family business
for three generations.
The business hasn't
done too well,
but it is a family business.
ROHIT KAPOOR: It's
doing really well.
SHAAN: Because we don't
know anything else.
But yes, my grandfather
was a composer, a singer.
He was also a wonderful
teacher of music.
He had a lot of students
would come in and learn music
from him, classically trained.
His genre is Bengali
devotional music.
They do this Shyama Sangeet.
Any Bengalis here?
AUDIENCE: Yeah.
SHAAN: Huh.
[LAUGHTER]
Can you explain Shyama Sangeet?
AUDIENCE: Yeah, sure.
SHAAN: Because I
just know he's--
OK, she's going to--
oh, there's a mic there.
Ah.
AUDIENCE: Yeah, so Shyama is
another name for Goddess Kali,
as you know.
And Bengalis are
very much, you know--
they're in love
with Goddess Kali,
because anything black
is beautiful for us.
So Shyama Sangeet is a special
devotional kind of song
just to offer our love and
prayer to Goddess Kali.
And all the
Bengalis, I think, we
are in love with Shyama Sangeet.
SHAAN: Yeah, there's a strange--
AUDIENCE: Connection to it.
SHAAN: Yeah, it makes me cry.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Oh, wow.
SHAAN: Shyama Sangeet,
it's beautiful.
You must hear it.
AUDIENCE: Then we
would definitely
like to hear a few lines
of Shyama Sangeet from you.
SHAAN: I just dug a really big
hole and buried myself in it.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Don't get
emotional yet, though.
We don't want you to
get emotional yet.
Sing a bit--
SHAAN: Shyama Sangeet?
ROHIT KAPOOR: You asked for it.
You know that.
SHAAN: No, I was talking
about my grandfather,
but there's a lot of
[INAUDIBLE] in that, you know?
ROHIT KAPOOR: Yeah.
[VOCALIZING]
SHAAN: It has that kind
of feel, but I don't know.
[VOCALIZING]
That's, of course, [INAUDIBLE]
I think [INAUDIBLE]
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
It's similar notes,
but I'm obviously not
an expert on Shyama Sangeet.
And I think we
started off on a--
thank you.
Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
ROHIT KAPOOR: Thank you for--
SHAAN: You didn't
have to do this.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Thank
you for the explanation
and putting him on the spot.
AUDIENCE: It's all
about the devotion,
and [INAUDIBLE] a
beautiful devotion song.
So Goddess Kali
will be overwhelmed
with this [INAUDIBLE].
ROHIT KAPOOR: Thank you.
And for people like me, who have
heard this for the first time.
SHAAN: So we've been a
family of Kali devotees.
No, that doesn't explain
my complexion at all, guys.
These guys, huh?
Under breath.
I can hear under breath.
I'm very good at that.
So that was my
grandfather's story.
Then my father, of course,
came down to Bombay
and pursued his
career as a composer.
And he composed with
quite a few friends,
but I lost him very early.
The industry lost
him very early.
He was all of 43, and then I
lost him to a heart attack.
I was just 14 then.
Of course, he was a
huge romantic too.
So my mother, again, they
met at [NON-ENGLISH]..
It was a music school.
Yeah.
So--
ROHIT KAPOOR: So it
started from there?
SHAAN: So yeah, my mom, too,
sang in the industry in chorus,
you know, group singing.
So she did that for 30
years from 1970 to 2000.
She won a Phalke,
Dadasaheb Phalke
Award for her contribution
in that field.
So that is wonderful.
So she sang until 2000.
2000 is when my career
got a bit of a kickstart.
ROHIT KAPOOR: A lot more
than just a kickstart.
SHAAN: Yeah, it was a
turning point for me.
And so very sweetly, she went
and told all the then-composers
that we made a [NON-ENGLISH],, so
it's a little hard for me to be
singing in chorus if
he's there singing.
So she pulled out.
So, yeah, dad, mom, sister
Sagarika, of course.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Of course.
SHAAN: So yeah, that's
our family business.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Wow.
Fantastic.
"Love-ology [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
That song was awesome, and
the video was even better.
Was it your idea
to be dressed up
as a scholarly, nerdy guy in
the video and make it really
quirky?
SHAAN: No, see, at that
point, I wasn't very serious
about my career or
about singing, honestly.
I just had a very, very
terrible growing up times--
acne, no money, no women.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Oh,
man, that's terrible.
SHAAN: It was just pathetic.
So--
ROHIT KAPOOR: I relate
to the last one.
SHAAN: --I really
thought of this--
ROHIT KAPOOR: I relate
to the last one.
SHAAN: What?
You didn't have acne?
ROHIT KAPOOR: No.
SHAAN: Really?
ROHIT KAPOOR: I
didn't have women.
SHAAN: So I guess the
want wasn't there.
I had acne, so the want
was there, but no women.
[NON-ENGLISH] But anyway.
So yes, it's hormonal, right?
ROHIT KAPOOR: Yeah.
SHAAN: Acne.
[LAUGHTER]
So then I made this song, and
"Love-ology" [NON-ENGLISH]
I was a good student, but
that was the one subject
that I was terrible at.
So I said, I'll do the song.
I'll go to Ken Ghosh, who
is a dear friend of mine,
who was making the
videos for everyone,
and tell him, now,
make me look good.
And get these girls
to swoon over me,
and create a video like that.
And he wouldn't stop laughing.
He said, you honestly don't have
a mirror at home and whatever.
So I can't do that.
I'll have to spend
too much money on--
ROHIT KAPOOR: Just
making you look good?
SHAAN: --special effects
and all that stuff.
So that won't happen.
So the look, so he made me that
little bitty babu, long hair,
[INAUDIBLE].
ROHIT KAPOOR: I guess he
knew what he was doing.
SHAAN: Yeah, but then he
said, we'll use the smile
as this little secret babu.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Exactly,
and that worked.
SHAAN: Still
remember that smile.
[LAUGHTER]
I think it's one of
the funniest videos.
ROHIT KAPOOR: It is fantastic.
SHAAN: Should we do that, guys?
ROHIT KAPOOR: Oh, let's do it.
Yeah.
SHAAN: I haven't done
it in a long time.
[MUSIC - SHAAN, "LOVE-OLOGY"]
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
That's the one, nah?
ROHIT KAPOOR: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SHAAN: You know what
the original lyric was?
[NON-ENGLISH]
[LAUGHTER]
So they said, no.
Because I write my own lyrics.
They said, no, dude,
change that line.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Change it.
SHAAN: That's just rubbish.
ROHIT KAPOOR:
[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
SHAAN: You know, gangsta
rap was not so big then.
No one would get
really rich and famous
and have huge mansions
with 20 swimming pools
by saying I'm in a jail.
It was too early.
I'm from pre that time.
ROHIT KAPOOR: You wouldn't
have been popular.
SHAAN: Imagine, I would have
started that whole thing.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Oh, man, yeah.
SHAAN: This guy is wicked, dude.
He's been to jail.
[NON-ENGLISH]
ROHIT KAPOOR: Just
for being in love?
SHAAN: Let's follow this guy.
He must be a gangster.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Absolutely.
Wow.
SHAAN: Oh, I missed that chance.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Fantastic.
Thanks again for
doing that for us.
[APPLAUSE]
SHAAN: You don't have
friends in the industry.
You don't see it.
ROHIT KAPOOR: And then you
did "Q-Funk Is Here to Stay."
SHAAN: "Q-Funk" was before that.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Oh,
it was before that?
SHAAN: Yeah.
"Q-Funk" started off-- we were
just signed up by this company,
Magna Sound.
And God bless them.
They have been
instrumental in creating
that whole '90s, non-film,
[INAUDIBLE] thing.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Indian pop music.
SHAAN: Yeah.
I was talking to
Vikas, and he said,
don't you miss those times?
ROHIT KAPOOR: I miss it.
I mostly miss those
times for sure.
SHAAN: Those times,
they are a blur for me,
because I'm an '80s person.
So yeah, the '90s.
But yeah, I know that,
for a lot of '90s people,
was a fantastic time.
Most of you are
born in the '90s,
so you can't be '90s people.
But anyway, so that's
how it happened.
Magna Sound, we did a
lot of sessions singing
for some of their artists--
Sarita Sethi.
There's a guy
called [INAUDIBLE]..
He was from this
part of the world.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Bombay, the
number one has [INAUDIBLE]..
SHAAN: [SINGING] [INAUDIBLE]
Sagarika did all the hooks
for him.
And I did a song on his album.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Nice.
SHAAN: So then they took us
on, saying, let's get you
guys recording contracts.
I had just gone
to [NON-ENGLISH]..
So I went then, and I
had just shaved my head.
Do you say shave your
head or shave your hair?
No, shave your head, of course.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Head.
SHAAN: Terrible.
So anyway, so then they were
like, no, we can't sign you up.
I was like, why?
You got a terrible hairstyle.
I said, but it's going to grow.
This is crazy.
You can't let me not have a deal
because I'm not actually bald.
I've just shaved my head.
It was fickle then.
It's gotten even more
fickle now, though,
but that was the industry.
Then I came back
with that long hair.
I didn't cut my hair.
And I said, [NON-ENGLISH]
If it's all about--
yay.
Yeah.
ROHIT KAPOOR: And
that was [INAUDIBLE]
SHAAN: Yeah, it reminded me
of telling them, balls to you.
[NON-ENGLISH]
[LAUGHTER]
ROHIT KAPOOR: Oh,
man, balls to you.
SHAAN: They signed
me up on that.
ROHIT KAPOOR: I
love balls to you.
SHAAN: Yeah.
They signed me up.
You've got long hair now.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Oh,
man, that's fantastic.
SHAAN: And yeah, that was it.
And then I see those videos.
Have you all seen those videos?
Oh, my god, it's
like "Caveman 2--"
hair everywhere and
unkempt and crazy.
But anyway, "Love-ology,"
[NON-ENGLISH] and "50/50,"
so all those initial--
"Q-Funk."
ROHIT KAPOOR: "Q-Funk" and
then some remixes as well.
[NON-ENGLISH] and what not.
Fantastic.
SHAAN: So all that
happened with that company.
It was brilliant.
ROHIT KAPOOR: And then after
that, [NON-ENGLISH] happened.
What a project to bring
such amazing artists
to bring together and create
a magical masterpiece.
SHAAN: True.
ROHIT KAPOOR: "Musu Musu Hasi,"
"Wo Pehli Baar" and all that.
Tell us something
about that project.
SHAAN: Yeah, that was amazing.
That was the idea.
They wanted to have all
first-timers to work on it.
Obviously, the film
didn't do well.
Experienced people
[NON-ENGLISH]..
But they got a
lot of guys right.
I mean, almost everyone
involved in that film
went on to doing really well,
if not in their careers,
then in their lives.
Because some didn't do well
in their careers afterward.
And I said, I have to
back it with something.
ROHIT KAPOOR: You have to
be politically correct.
SHAAN: But in terms of
music, if you look at music,
it launched Vishal
Dadlani as a composer, who
then, during that time, teamed
up with Shekhar Ravjiani, who
was also launched
as a composer-singer
in the same film.
He sang a duet with a lady
called Mahalakshmi Iyer, who
went on to singing.
Everyone knows Mahalakshmi.
There was me.
There was Salim-Sulaiman.
It was their first project.
There was [? KK ?]
in that project.
So it was an amazing project,
which is like Halley's comet
[NON-ENGLISH]
So that was a good start.
ROHIT KAPOOR: And what happened
with deu nalai lai and deu
malai lai?
SHAAN: We were very
dedicated, both me and Vishal.
It was our first song.
We really wanted to
give it everything.
So we hung in there all of
20 minutes in the studio.
And we were like, bro, let's--
ROHIT KAPOOR: Oh, yeah.
SHAAN: So we went out
and sitting on the sofas,
having free coffee.
I still don't miss
a free coffee.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Oh, yeah.
SHAAN: Google [NON-ENGLISH]
ROHIT KAPOOR: We'll get you
a coffee in [INAUDIBLE]..
SHAAN: Anyway, so we
were sitting there,
and then suddenly, they
rushed out and said that there
is a pronunciation problem.
It's a Nepali thing.
And it's deu nalai lai.
There's no deu malai.
There's no malai in Nepal.
[LAUGHTER]
So it was like,
really, now, Vishal?
You want to go back in and then
drop all that all over again?
He's like, ah, forget it.
Keep it like that.
We were very dedicated.
[LAUGHTER]
We didn't want to have done--
leave no stone unturned.
And see, that dedication
has gotten us so far.
Yeah.
So [NON-ENGLISH]
[LAUGHTER]
ROHIT KAPOOR: For sure.
For sure.
SHAAN: So should we sing that?
Should we sing that?
Oh, we can do that little--
should we do that
on a trick thing?
My voice is too bad,
but we'll try it.
We can try it.
SURESH: The Police?
SHAAN: Yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah, let's try.
We're going to play
a riff of a song.
If you guess the song,
then we'll sing it for you.
ROHIT KAPOOR: OK.
SHAAN: OK?
ROHIT KAPOOR: Yeah, up for it.
[GUITAR PLAYING]
SHAAN: You can't
Google it, dude.
No.
Use your ears.
No?
ROHIT KAPOOR: Isn't
that "Summer of '69?"
[MUSIC - THE POLICE, "EVERY
 BREATH YOU TAKE"]
SHAAN: [NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
[ENGLISH SINGING]
Because I forgot I
could sing anything,
and no one would know.
No one knows this song.
It's a shame.
It's the greatest hit ever by
Police, but from another era.
[APPLAUSE]
From another time,
from another world.
Everyone's too young here today.
Oh, my god.
ROHIT KAPOOR: We
now know this song.
SHAAN: Yeah, it's a
huge, huge classic.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Thank
you for the rendition.
That was fantastic.
SHAAN: You guys have
heard of Sting, I'm sure.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Oh, yeah.
SHAAN: Yeah, so Police was the
band that he started off with.
ROHIT KAPOOR: And
then after that, you
got a project with
Anu Malik and SRK,
almost acted in that movie.
SHAAN: When you
said, after that,
you meant, like, we
spoke about Sting
and now, we'll talk about--
ROHIT KAPOOR: Yeah.
Totally after that.
After "Mus Musu Hasi" happened.
SHAAN: Sting [NON-ENGLISH]
[LAUGHTER]
It's not a laughing matter.
I want to take that back.
I've been around from--
no, honestly.
I don't want to--
you guys are going
to laugh, and you'll
think I'm just
making fun of Anuji.
And I've done it--
ROHIT KAPOOR: You've done that.
SHAAN: --many times
in [INAUDIBLE]..
He publicly has appreciated
it, but then personally
has flogged me for that.
I haven't worked with him
for the longest time since.
No, kidding, kidding.
Anuji is truly the
only composer who's
actually had the longest career
span any composer in Bollywood
has had--
successful, longest stint.
So that's pretty amazing.
And for me, he's been a mentor
of sorts from all the songs
that I've sung.
I've not sung too
many hits with Anuji,
but I've sung a lot of
songs, 50-odd songs for him.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Wow.
SHAAN: Yeah, and so
it's been fantastic.
And SRK?
ROHIT KAPOOR: Did
you end up featuring
in that song with SRK?
SHAAN: Oh, that's
a song [INAUDIBLE]..
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
"Asoka," "Asoka."
Yeah.
Do you know they're both
born on the same day?
ROHIT KAPOOR: Who?
SHAAN: On the same date--
November 2.
Anuji and SRK.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Oh, no,
I didn't know that.
SHAAN: Yeah.
Any of you born on November 2?
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]
SHAAN: Really?
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]
SHAAN: No, I'm sure
you know him better.
Yeah, that's a
silly think to ask.
Really?
No.
November 2?
Yeah, can I see your ID?
No, but that's amazing.
That's amazing.
I think you're going
to be a very tenacious
and a very, very brave person.
ROHIT KAPOOR: She probably is.
SHAAN: What do her
friends think of her?
AUDIENCE: I can vouch for her.
SHAAN: Does she
have friends at all?
[LAUGHTER]
OK, that's good.
That's good.
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]
I can vouch for her.
SHAAN: Yes.
So OK, we'll talk
about anything, but--
sorry, I've digressed.
ROHIT KAPOOR: No.
Did you end up
acting in that song?
SHAAN: Oh, that song,
I did get an offer.
I did get an offer.
I was too nervous.
It was very early.
I didn't know that if you
were featured in big films,
and you give into
being a part of--
I didn't know how that
worked at that point.
I asked for money.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Of course.
SHAAN: And they were
like, dude, you're
going to be featuring in a film
with SRK and Karina Kapoor.
And I was like, yeah,
I want more money.
[LAUGHTER]
ROHIT KAPOOR: Why not, right?
SHAAN: I just realized
this is a big film.
God bless his soul.
The person isn't here anymore.
But we had that little
telephone-- two or three--
conversations.
He was very sweet.
He was Juhi Chawlaji's
brother, Bobby Chawla.
He was handling the production.
So I remember the conversation.
He was shocked.
He's like, do you
even know how this--
I mean, really?
So he even offered something.
I said, no, no.
Three days work and
that much money?
No, no, no, I want more money.
So I was quite stupid then.
Yeah.
ROHIT KAPOOR: So you
didn't end up doing it?
SHAAN: No, I didn't
end up doing it.
And, you know, later, when
I saw the video, of course,
there was the man himself.
But I thought I was going to
get the little tribal part
in the beginning before
Sharukh Khan actually
comes into the frame.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Thank
you for not doing it.
SHAAN: Did you see that video?
It's that song
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
He should play the guitar
for me for this one.
I'm kidding.
I think it's in E, right?
[GUITAR PLAYING]
Ah!
[CLAPPING]
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
ROHIT KAPOOR: Fantastic.
[APPLAUSE]
SHAAN: That was [INAUDIBLE].
So yeah, there was a little
story with this song.
When I went to
adopt this song, I
was supposed to be in
Nagpur for a concert
that I didn't want to
go to because it was--
it's a long story, anyway.
There were some
gangsters involved.
And it was all crazy,
and I hate being
sort of bullied into doing
things that I don't want to do.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Sure.
SHAAN: And I was young,
again, not just foolish,
but very foolish to take
chances like this then.
I thought it was being gutsy,
but I learned the hard way
that it's not.
Anyway, so Anuji
was [NON-ENGLISH]
You must go for that.
So for the first time,
we used technology.
So in this song, I've only
sung about four lines.
ROHIT KAPOOR: In
the entire song?
SHAAN: Yes.
And he's just placed it.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Oh, wow.
So was that the first
time you did this
or in previous recording?
SHAAN: I told him,
don't do this.
I'll do it.
I'll do it.
I'll sing it.
I'll sing it.
But I think Anuji
was just too excited
about this whole new technology
that had just come in,
so he just wanted to
try it any which way.
So he said, hey, just
sing four lines probably,
and I'll paste it everywhere.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Probably
22 years later we get--
SHAAN: Every time [INAUDIBLE]
comes, it's the same line.
There's another song
that's happened.
And strangely, both
these songs have
been written by my favorite and
the one and only [INAUDIBLE]
The other song was a song
in a film called "Yahaan,"
beautiful song, Shreya Goshal,
Shantanu Moitra's music.
So that happened
that I came in and I
was supposed to sing two lines.
I think it was a song
that obviously we
don't do in a concert so much.
Because it's a total
Shreya Goshal song.
I just have two lines in it.
ROHIT KAPOOR:
[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
SHAAN: [NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
So I just have, if you
notice the whole thing,
there are actually
just three lines,
but they keep coming
back in the song.
[MUSIC - "NAM ADAA LIKHNA"]
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
There are these two or
three lines that I've sung.
And it turned into a duet.
They kept bringing
those lines back.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Fantastic,
great work, Shaan.
SHAAN: Google can tell you.
How I sang it
identically the same way.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Actually,
thank you for sharing that.
And now you just
mentioned something
that Google can share with us.
Let's move off the music a bit.
SHAAN: Not until now, but now
that this is going to be out,
they will.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Yes.
So tell us something
that outside of music
motivates you--
social issues, causes,
and what you're doing for them.
SHAAN: Oh, social issues, I'm
a sucker for social issues.
And in India--
[LAUGHTER]
I mean, I'm surprised
they haven't
said India is a social issue.
We have a long way to go,
and there are so many things
that we can do.
And just waiting for
the blame game thing--
blaming for the bureaucrats,
blaming the bureaucrats,
blaming the government.
It's not going to help.
I feel that people are there.
They're here listening to you.
You may as well make
the right noises.
We all have our social model,
I'd also like to say ethical--
ROHIT KAPOOR: Principle.
SHAAN: --responsibilities.
And we have to use
those responsibly.
So whenever I've had a chance
to be a part of any social,
through song, or even
through campaign,
I've always been a part of it.
And in that sense, I think I may
have the record for the highest
number of social cause songs
any artist in the world
may have had.
ROHIT KAPOOR: That's fantastic.
[APPLAUSE]
SHAAN: If I start
counting, it's crazy.
Almost every river song--
suddenly, there was the thing.
They made songs on rivers.
So I was a part of
every river song,
even the Rally for
River thing by Sadhguru.
There was a river for
Brahmaputra River.
There was another river
in Assam I didn't know of.
I found it out when I
went to do the song.
And I forgot the name now, but
it runs from another angle.
Comes in from Bangladesh.
Anyone knows which
river this is?
It crosses-- OK, forget it.
It's not a course on geography.
ROHIT KAPOOR: We can Google it.
SHAAN: But then Narmada
River, so lots of rivers.
Then of course, the
regular ones when it comes
to AIDS and child education.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Tobacco.
SHAAN: Tobacco.
I made a song on tobacco
called "Life Se Panga."
I don't know if--
Suresh.
You want to-- he is truly
Google, I'm telling you-
any song, any thing--
ROHIT KAPOOR: He's ready.
SHAAN: --he can play it.
He puts me in a
spot all the time.
ROHIT KAPOOR: He does?
SHAAN: Sometimes someone
makes a [NON-ENGLISH]..
And he starts playing the intro.
And I'm like, dude, I
don't know the song.
[LAUGHTER]
And then he'll do
a little whisper.
He'll call me.
I'll come, and he
knows the song too.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Thank you, Suresh.
Thank you.
SHAAN: And from rock, to
jazz, to any genre of music--
[APPLAUSE]
--he can play for you.
ROHIT KAPOOR: So let's
do the tobacco song.
SHAAN: [INAUDIBLE] this is
much more on Suresh than on me.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Exactly.
[LAUGHTER]
SHAAN: But it's true.
He's fantastic.
So this one-- you remember?
Because I don't actually.
But anyway, it's long back.
We did this wonderful
campaign, because we
got to know that from age 13 to
15 is when you get this habit.
And once you've got this
habit at that early age,
it's very difficult
for you to lose it.
And I realized that's exactly
what took my father away too.
He started very early at 13.
And by the time he was 43,
he had this nicotine patch,
not the nicotine
patch people put.
It was inside his lungs.
ROHIT KAPOOR: A deposit.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SHAAN: Like a
cloud in his lungs,
which caused his heart attack.
It was called "Life
Se Punga Mat Le Yaar."
[MUSIC - SHAAN, "LIFE SE PUNGA
 MAT LE YAAR"]
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
[HUMMING]
It was a fun song.
See, he put me on the spot.
I could have easily
claimed Suresh, oh, he
doesn't know the music, so
I'll sing it some other time.
But that was the kind of song.
So it did really well.
It worked.
And not just a song--
then we went to Delhi.
We spoke at the
health ministry thing.
We went to Tata Hospital.
We visited.
You know, the
cancer cells there.
And eventually, we got a ban
on tobacco in Maharashtra,
in the state, with
the NGO, of course,
doing most of the
work, Salaam Mumbai.
So I've been connected to
Salaam Mumbai for a long time.
We've been doing a lot
of work through them.
So that was one.
When the Swachh Barat thing came
in, so we did a lot of songs
on that.
Then we did a song for
Indore, Swachh Indore.
And incidentally, it
became the number-one city.
So a lot of people come up
to me, and thank you, sir.
[NON-ENGLISH]
ROHIT KAPOOR: At least
it motivated people.
SHAAN: And straight face,
I tell them, [NON-ENGLISH]
[LAUGHTER]
ROHIT KAPOOR: I hope you
get to do that, yeah?
SHAAN: It's people like that
who create god-men, you know?
ROHIT KAPOOR: I hope
you get to do that.
SHAAN: I think they
make them feel powerful.
No, but it's just
coincidence that happened.
More recently, I did a song
on the plastic ban thing.
No, the ban was already
proclaimed, then the song.
So I wasn't the cause for this.
But it was done with
the UN, and we actually
had UN spokesman flew in
on Earth Day, 5th of June
in India, because
we had hosted that.
And we put the song out.
We had 11 artists singing it,
right from Shankar Mahadevan,
Sonu Nigam, Sunidhi Chauhan.
I'd like to think
that they sang,
because I called them and
said, dude, sing for me.
But no, they sang for
the cause, of course.
Neeti Mohan, Ayushmann
Khuranna, Armaan Malik.
Now, that name you guys
know better, right?
The young boys.
So we had them.
Shiamak Davar choreographed it,
so the song did really well.
I'd like to think it
went viral on WhatsApp.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Where
the views don't count?
[LAUGHTER]
No, but thank you so much
for your contribution.
Thank you so much for your
contributions to all the--
[APPLAUSE]
SHAAN: Yeah, a lot
of social causes.
I think it's important.
I'd done a song on global
warming way back in when?
In 2005.
But they kind of used it for
the soundtrack of "Narnia."
It was a song
called "Shuruaat--"
"Ye hi ant ki Shuruaat."
It was a scary song,
but it was about how--
[MUSIC - SHAAN, "YE HI ANT KI
 SHURUAAT"]
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
So I just thought that when
you make a song that is all
[NON-ENGLISH].
It'll be nice--
[APPLAUSE]
--oh, fun.
Let's do it together, the
message doesn't come through.
But honestly, there's
very little time.
We messed up to
such a large extent.
But for some reason,
they thought,
instead of doing
a song and making
a video on global
warming, let's put it out
on an international film.
I didn't complain.
"Narnia, the Witch,
and the Wardrobe,"
it was something like that?
Yeah.
ROHIT KAPOOR: "The
Chronicles of Narnia."
SHAAN: "The
Chronicles of Narnia."
I didn't see the connect,
but it's not the first time.
I did a song that
was created by Blue--
it's a band in the UK,
a very popular band--
called "One Love," which was
created after the 9/11 tragedy.
So they wanted to
create this Asian mix.
So they had gotten artists
from various parts of Asia.
Also, they wanted
people in America
to know the Asians are not just
Chinese or Korean or Japanese.
Even Indians are also Asian.
I'm just kidding.
So then I was a part
of that Asian mix.
On my way to the studio,
I thought, why not?
Like, it was a [NON-ENGLISH].
And to the meter
of the same tune,
I wrote the stuff in Hindi.
And then I put it
out to them and said,
can we create this collab?
They said, that would
be great, but can we
have the song in
a Bollywood film?
Because Bollywood,
obviously, is bigger.
So I was like, yeah, that helps.
So we put it in
a Bollywood film.
I'll sing the song
for you, so you
know in what context
I'm talking about.
The song was--
[GUITAR PLAYING]
[MUSIC - SHAAN, "ONE LOVE"]
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
One love is all we need.
[APPLAUSE]
Incidentally, all the songs
I've sung-- almost all of them--
I've written the lyrics
to, except for "Musu Musu
Hasi," which went malai lai.
[LAUGHTER]
But yeah.
So that's another thing I do.
ROHIT KAPOOR: It's
a passion as well.
SHAAN: Lyrics too.
When you know you're
not good at one thing,
you try to do too many
other things also.
So you kind of keep it balanced.
ROHIT KAPOOR: In your case,
it works out perfectly well.
SHAAN: Yeah.
But coming back to
this song, then it
came in to a film
called [INAUDIBLE],,
where [INAUDIBLE] just
did a hip-hop thing on it.
So it happens sometimes,
lost in translation.
I should have known people
don't listen to lyric.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Whatever sells.
SHAAN: Yeah, yeah.
That day, I went to a very--
it was a very, you know,
sort of a program.
It was semi-devotional,
spiritual, rather, where
you can't have random songs.
So I had to choose even from
my songs that are almost
spiritual by today's standards.
Because, you know, [NON-ENGLISH]
Late night party, shorty.
[NON-ENGLISH]
[LAUGHTER]
[NON-ENGLISH]
It was that kind of a
show, where I had to think,
maybe I won't do
this one, you know?
Slight mention of holding hands
and that maybe I'll avoid.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Absolutely.
SHAAN: So then one
little child comes up.
I always encourage
kids in our music.
It's sweet.
[NON-ENGLISH]
I'm not saying all kids speak
like that, but [NON-ENGLISH]
He took the mic, and his
parents, doting parents,
came [INAUDIBLE].
Should I do the mic?
No, I'll just do that.
But he had the mic in his hand.
And then--
[IMITATING CHILD SINGING "BLUE
 EYES"]
[LAUGHTER]
I was like, what is
this kid singing?
He's singing a Honey Singh song.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Yeah, they
don't even realize that.
SHAAN: And the parents--
[LAUGHTER]
And there was this
spiritual guru of sorts,
who was also like skirmishing
a little bit, but [NON-ENGLISH]
[LAUGHTER]
[NON-ENGLISH]
So I notice that no
one listens anymore.
They don't listen to the words.
It's crazy.
ROHIT KAPOOR: As long
as the music is catchy,
they'll probably sing anything.
SHAAN: Yeah.
Or they do listen to the
words, and they like it.
They like this sort of stuff.
I'm getting a feeling.
How could it be
such a coincidence
that every hit song is full of--
not just Hindi, I mean,
look at the English songs.
I went with my son--
he's into vinyls now.
He wants to listen to records.
I said, we used to listen
to that as, like, new.
I'm not that old.
ROHIT KAPOOR: It's a thing.
SHAAN: But yeah,
but now, they're
collectives and stuff like that.
In every of them, any of them,
any CD today you pick up,
it's got that parental
AUDIENCE: Explicit.
SHAAN: Yeah, explicit lyrics.
So I said, just
pick up something
that doesn't have this.
He said, then I
can't buy anything.
So I'm thinking, yeah, you
do listen to the lyrics
and just pretend that, no,
I just enjoy the beats.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Well, that's
what I try to do as well.
But OK.
SHAAN: You know, we're also
talking about social causes.
Even this tour that
I'm doing, it's
connected to a very
strong social cause.
And see how time flies.
The tobacco social cause
that I got involved in
is less than 10 years ago.
We tried to get
a ban on tobacco.
In India, it's not
just cigarettes.
Cigarette is, like,
3% or 5% of it now.
It's more the gutka,
[INAUDIBLE],, mawa, [INAUDIBLE],,
all these various
names they have to it.
Anyway, the issue now is not
tobacco as much as drugs.
Opioid awareness is what are
we talking about in the US.
And I'm going to take it
up when I go back to India,
because I'm told the numbers are
hugely growing back home too.
Mumbai being the capital of
this kind of experimental drug
abuse, death that is happening.
Taking up pills around
your parents' drawers
and stuff like that
that are expired,
and then mashing them up--
they're called pot parties.
I mean, my potluck
parties are [NON-ENGLISH]
ROHIT KAPOOR: There will
be expired medicines
[NON-ENGLISH].
SHAAN: But this is it.
They get expired medicines,
and they mash them up together.
And there are
painkillers in there.
There are all kinds
of stuff in there.
ROHIT KAPOOR: That's scary.
SHAAN: And they're dying.
Apparently, every
two weeks in the US
alone, you have deaths that
amount to the number of deaths
of the 9/11-- every two weeks.
And these are young kids.
So that's the awareness
that we are talking
about through these shows.
My concert's called
Love In Concert.
So it's a good connect.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Thank you.
SHAAN: I'm among the few
artists who don't do drugs--
ROHIT KAPOOR: Thank you again.
SHAAN: And who don't smoke
and who occasionally drink,
like last night.
[LAUGHTER]
ROHIT KAPOOR: It
was an occasion.
SHAAN: We were in San Jose.
We went to a wonderful club.
It was fun, but not
like, oh, [NON-ENGLISH]
[LAUGHTER]
So yeah.
I work out.
I try to stay fit.
And I think, the one person
who is with you for the longest
time is yourself, right?
So you have to make
yourself a decent company.
So it's important to stay fit.
But if it means that you have
to have farro for lunch--
[LAUGHTER]
--I'd rather have a life.
[LAUGHTER]
ROHIT KAPOOR: We need to get
better at selecting the menu.
SHAAN: No, I'm sure it's
an acquired taste thing.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Needs acquiring.
SHAAN: Blue cheese--
I'm beginning to
love blue cheese now.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Oh, nice.
SHAAN: Caviar, I'm not
sure of, but getting there.
Blue cheese is cheaper, right?
Caviar [NON-ENGLISH]
I see people there.
Four lanes at a bowling alley,
how much would that cost you?
How much if you want to book
four lanes at a bowling alley?
One at $60, I'm guessing.
$460-- do the math.
It's nothing.
A really posh one-- $300.
What is that compared to what
people-- hey, look at him also.
He's also splurging money.
It's fun to see
how people react.
It's crazy.
[NON-ENGLISH]
Would you have any
questions, because he's
asking all those very
hardcore questions here,
controversial ones?
So can you all ask me some--
yes, my love?
ROHIT KAPOOR: Let's
move to the mic.
Let's move to the mic.
SHAAN: To the mic?
ROHIT KAPOOR: OK.
SHAAN: Ahh.
[LAUGHTER]
Come, come, come here, so
everyone can see you too.
She's such a pretty girl.
Yeah, what is your question?
AUDIENCE: Can you sing
"Chanda Chamke Cham Cham?"
My dad taught me when
I was four years old.
SHAAN: Oh, of course,
of course, of course.
OK, that's sung by my
very, very dear friend.
And he'd be very happy.
He's now a very busy
politician, but he's
a wonderful,
wonderful singer too.
[NON-ENGLISH]
So how is it?
It's the music of
Chand Sifarish.
So we can do a little bit, and
then we can do Chand Sifarish.
[HUMMING] You know the words?
[MUSIC - "CHANDA CHAMKE CHAM
 CHAM"]
GIRL: [NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
SHAAN: One more time.
GIRL: [NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
ROHIT KAPOOR:
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
SHAAN: Wow.
[APPLAUSE]
[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
It's true.
[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
[LAUGHTER]
ROHIT KAPOOR: That's
what the challenge is.
SHAAN: Yeah, it's too many
cha-cha-cha-cha and too many--
yeah, I don't want to take
a chance singing this song.
[NON-ENGLISH]
ROHIT KAPOOR: Let's stick
to Chand Sifarish then.
SHAAN: Yeah, we can
try Chand Sifarish.
[NON-ENGLISH]
Nah?
OK, we'll try that.
[VOCALIZING]
[MUSIC - "CHAND SIFARISH"]
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
ROHIT KAPOOR: Wow.
[APPLAUSE]
Thank you.
SHAAN: Thank you for that.
Singing on the lapel mic is
feeling better than this mic.
ROHIT KAPOOR: OK.
SHAAN: Yeah.
ROHIT KAPOOR: I
can take this one.
Just kidding.
You have another question?
SHAAN: This has
more effects on it.
Yeah, yeah?
ROHIT KAPOOR: On
the mic over there.
SHAAN: On the mic?
Why don't you use this mic?
ROHIT KAPOOR: Over there, Shaan.
We have one.
SHAAN: Oh, you have.
She's already on the mic.
ROHIT KAPOOR: That's the
Google way of doing things.
SHAAN: Yes?
AUDIENCE: I don't
know if I'm audible.
Yeah?
SHAAN: You are.
AUDIENCE: So first
of all, I can't
stop smiling, looking at
you, like, your cute dimples
and your sense of humor.
SHAAN: Actually, honestly,
you heard, I said,
I don't know if I'm naughty
or not, I was like--
you really want me
to tell you that?
Then I heard, am
I audible or not?
ROHIT KAPOOR: Sorry.
SHAAN: So tell me,
tell me, tell me.
AUDIENCE: Thank you
for coming here.
And I just wanted to
know your experience.
Recently, I went to a recording
studio with my sister.
She did awesome singing.
And I'm like, maybe it's easy.
So I went up, and
I tried to sing.
I put that--
SHAAN: Headphones,
yeah, yeah, yeah.
AUDIENCE: --on me.
I don't know where I was going.
I don't know where
the music was.
The scale and [INAUDIBLE]
and everything
just went here and there.
It came on, and I'm
like, let me hear.
Let me hear.
I couldn't hear myself.
So I wanted to hear, how
was your experience--
SHAAN: You know what?
Lately, there's
been a lot of talk
that just about anyone
can sing these days.
It's so easy.
There's autotuning
and things like that.
But you have to sing
to a certain level.
It's not like just about
anyone can be made to sing.
A lot of singers
from my generation
have been venting out and
saying things like that.
[NON-ENGLISH]
You need to know your music.
So you're right about that.
And it's also quite
intimidating-- the headphone
and all that stuff.
AUDIENCE: Exactly.
So I wanted to know how
was your experience?
First time when you went to
the studio, what did you feel?
Was it a cake walk?
SHAAN: Strangely, you know how
your earliest memories would
be when you were, like,
four and stuff like that?
I started singing from
that age, professionally.
AUDIENCE: Wow.
SHAAN: So I really don't
know what it's like.
I used to think everyone sings.
Because at home, everyone sang.
Because my dad being a composer,
only singers would come in.
So they would also sing.
And so I just thought
everyone sings.
[LAUGHTER]
It's true.
It's like that.
So the first song I
sang I was 4 and 1/2.
And it's on record.
A lot of people say
a lot of things now,
and it's, that boy lies.
[NON-ENGLISH]
The company was then called
HMV, which is now Saregama.
It was a Bengali
nursery rhyme album.
And it was [NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
Yeah, it was put
on those platforms.
Then, the headphones
were even bulkier.
You can trust me on that.
It was crazy.
I would have been a
few inches taller,
but wearing these headphones,
I shrunk my spine.
So I used to sing for children,
advertising and stuff,
all those advertisements
of certain products
that probably don't
even exist anymore.
It's through the '70s.
But I don't think we can
mention products, because this
is going on YouTube, nah?
ROHIT KAPOOR: Yeah, let's
stay away from that.
SHAAN: They're not going to
pay me for this, are they?
Endorsements [NON-ENGLISH].
So yeah.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Let's talk
about the number of views,
then, offline.
SHAAN: I think we can
then approach them later,
saying so many
people got to know
that I sang for your company,
and can we crack a deal?
ROHIT KAPOOR: Let's
talk about this offline.
SHAAN: Offline?
OK.
So I sang for jingles and
stuff, so I started very early.
So that's the one thing.
I never got intimidated
by singing or recording.
Live singing started
a little late.
And live singing is something
that always intimidates me.
I don't know.
Because some guys probably have
a shot, but I don't do that.
I just do my 20 push-ups
and get on stage.
But even today, it's always
scary to be on stage, even
right now, singing, because I
just came and started singing.
AUDIENCE: You were awesome.
SHAAN: It's not in top
shape, in terms of my throat.
But life is always scary.
And life is real today.
So when you sing
for a recording,
some singers are quick.
We finish in, like, 40
minutes at the most.
Some singers take days.
You can do it again
and again and again.
Then you have technology
that can set it up.
But live is real.
AUDIENCE: True, true.
SHAAN: Then the same person
comes and sings live,
and you're like, huh?
I remember doing a show
with this lovely lady.
So she had a very,
very popular song,
and it was completely autotuned.
So when she sang
live, these guys
kept on saying neh,
neh, neh, neh, neh.
[NON-ENGLISH]
You know, the kind of
autotuning that was
done when Cher did that song?
[HUMMING "BELIEVE"]
So it was obvious.
They did it intentionally
to create a sound.
So this song was also created
that way intentionally
for that sound.
So when she was singing it
live, they would stop her.
No, no, no.
It's not sounding the same.
How is she going to sing it?
They wanted her to sing
that autotuned style.
That's so strange.
ROHIT KAPOOR: That's difficult.
AUDIENCE: Thank you so much for
sharing that experience and all
the things around that.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Thank you.
Thank you for the explanation.
[APPLAUSE]
OK, guys, I hate to
be a spoiled sport,
but we're running super,
super short on time right now.
SHAAN: Really?
ROHIT KAPOOR: This is going
to be one last question.
Yes, ask your team.
This is going to be
one last question.
And then--
SHAAN: Yes, sir?
Yes, sir?
ROHIT KAPOOR: OK.
SHAAN: So make it a
serious one, because I've
just not been able to answer
any serious questions.
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]
philosophy.
SHAAN: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
[AUDIENCE MOANS IN
 DISAPPOINTMENT]
[NON-ENGLISH]
[LAUGHTER]
That song is truly a
philosophy that I believe,
because we never
really get anywhere.
[NON-ENGLISH]
All I want to do is be a Google
employee, be in that campus.
Man, free food all
day long, free pods.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Eat farro.
SHAAN: Even for half
an hour, so what?
That fantastic campus--
and you get Google,
and you realize you want
something more, right?
ROHIT KAPOOR: Yeah, always.
SHAAN: Yeah, you
want to be the CEO.
[LAUGHTER]
So you keep-- so
it's only the travel.
It's only the suffer.
[GUITAR PLAYING]
So this is [INAUDIBLE].
This is the last song
in the last moment here.
Wishing all of you very,
very happy journeys, happy
travels with Google
and in your life.
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
[APPLAUSE]
ROHIT KAPOOR: Fantastic.
SHAAN: Thank you, guys.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Thank you, Shaan.
SHAAN: Thank you so much.
Never refuse a lady.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Never
refuse a lady?
OK.
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]
ROHIT KAPOOR: Oh, how
can we forget that one?
[AUDIENCE CHEERING]
OK, last two minutes.
SHAAN: She mentioned
the song, got up,
and started dancing to it.
There was a slight movement.
ROHIT KAPOOR: You
cannot say no to that.
SHAAN: Of course.
And this is, of course, a song I
am sure many of you connect to.
I think that's important.
When I write a
song, I don't want
to write a song that's
been written before.
So if I wrote a song
like, "Gujjar," I
felt way back
then-- now, they're
talking about depression
and all that kind of stuff.
Amit.
You know, Amit Padukone.
He apparently has a
cousin who's very popular.
ROHIT KAPOOR: That's
what he's known for.
SHAAN: He was doing a
lot about depression now.
It is a serious situation,
but I had a solution to it
way back then with
"Gujjar," in terms of song.
"Tanha Dil," again,
was about when
you leave your roots, your
country, and you go somewhere.
But you have to carry on.
So don't ask me why I
wrote a song like Kenny
G. or any other frivolous song.
But obviously, that didn't work.
So I'll stick to writing
songs with meaning and sense.
[MUSIC - SHAAN, "TANHA DIL"]
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
Everybody!
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
[APPLAUSE]
Thanks so much, guys.
ROHIT KAPOOR: Thank you.
