Quotes from Shankar Mahadevan

Don't run after shows and money.

Economic background should not be a reason for not learning music!

Work on not becoming good but excellent.

Bollywood takes up a lot of time.

I feel that one thing that a businessman can learn is do not follow a path that has already been successful. You will never be a path-breaker then.

I always told my children that if they want to be pilot, go ahead and do it, or if they wanted to get into agriculture, I told them that I will support them. But when they chose music, you feel as if those birds have come back home to the nest.

I do watch singing reality shows.

We cannot blame globalisation for diluting our cultural heritage and music, as our music is respected more outside India than here.

There are so many factors that one needs to keep in mind while composing for a film. Every movie is different and demands a separate approach. Originality also plays an important role.

I have completed 21 years of composing music in Indian films.

Despite being a classical musician, I keep poking my nose in other genres of music.

It is the responsibility of music composers to add some classical music elements into their songs to make the music genre popular.

Music is all about creativity.

Geography can be a major restriction for people to not be able to showcase their talent.

I'm a proud mainstream musician, but having said that, I do firmly believe there's more to musical talent in India than just Bollywood.

There is so much talent in the country, and not all of that necessarily is confined to Bollywood. There are some great musicians from the independent music scenario in India making some great music.

I think times have changed, and there's no dearth of talent in the music industry.

Ideas are what we make a living out of. Whether it's a song or a talent search, we are in the business of thinking.

There is nothing else is India which is as popular as Bollywood. Look at Indian classical music, how big and how respected it is in the West, but here in India, no one is interested.

Fundamentally, if there is any secret, it is about the need to find that peace and calm in our personal space with music, as most of 'learning music' is about listening to music and practicing over and over again.

To sustain and become a musician of a certain calibre, you need to know and understand music completely. You need to have a good taste in music and should know your good music from mediocre ones.

I believe that classical music comes through listening and practice, and it can be fun both for the singer or performer and the listener or audience, as long as the performer is taught to recognise the pulse of the audience.

Music in our schools is considered to be an extra-curricular activity in which you teach your students a few patriotic songs and bhajans that children are not interested in.

If you are teaching a kid about seasons, you can put it in a song. He will definitely take interest. I wish to put every physics formula into a song, and it will become very easy for the student to learn.