22 July,2011 10:07 AM IST | | Payal Kamat Samant
From a Bandra boy, who'd be teased if he spoke in Hindi, to being a Mohammed Rafi fan, Shaan has come a long way. The singer is gearing up to pay a tribute on Sunday, along with Anand Raaj Anand, to Rafisaab, the legend. Before he can proceed for the rehearsals and finalise the songs he wants to sing, Shaan talks to CS about his musical idols, Dharmendra and a recent birthday prank:
Who: Shaan
What: Talking about his idols in Bollywood
Where: At his Bandra residence
Voices of India
Being a Bandra boy, discussing Hindi films or songs was a taboo, you'd be tagged as a geek. But since my dad was in Bollywood, I was blessed with the opportunity of meeting legends like Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar. I was just five years old when my dad took my sister and me to meet Rafisaab. When I saw him first, I could see a halo around him. We touched his feet and he greeted us with a beautiful smile. Though I'm a huge fan of Kishore Kumar, over the years, I've grown into a Rafisaab fan. You listen to his songs and you'll realise the kind of samarpan (dedication) he had towards what he sang.
Garam Dharam
Another legend, but an actor, that I really admire is Dharmendra. He was incredibly good looking and I absolutely love the way he could carry off his suit or a skirt! He didn't have to try too hard to impress anyone. And though he became popular as the angry young man, he was naturally charming in an understated style. I think he was the best example of the male species back in his 40s. Even today, when you meet Dharmendraji, you can't resist his charm. But you know in the later years, for some strange reason, Jackie Shroff became my favourite. It was maybe because like Dharmendra, Jackie too didn't have to put much effort into charming anyone.
Celebrating friendship
I'm a homebody, but on Wednesday, we partied will 3:30 am as we brought in my friend Kalpesh Mehta's birthday. He turned 40 and Radhika (Shaan's wife) and I didn't know what to gift him. So Radhika came up with this brilliant plan of hiring hoarding space in Juhu where Kalpesh stays. I executed the plan; so if you happen to pass by Juhu, you're sure to see these 20x40 and 40x60 billboards with Kalpesh's picture and some text like entrepreneur, marathoner, guru to millions, etc. And you know what, his mom saw them and started crying, as she completely believes in what we said in jest (laughs). Kalpesh was embarrassed at first, but he got back to us by organising a three-hour session by motivation speaker!
