Shazneen Mistry
www.mediaeyenews.com
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy is an Indian musical trio consisting of Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani, and Loy Mendonsa. They have composed music for over 50 soundtracks across five languages: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, and English. Amongst the most critically acclaimed Indian musicians, the trio has won numerous awards, including National Film Award, Filmfare Awards, and IIFA Awards. They are often referred to as the "Amar Akbar Anthony" of the Hindi film music industry.
Shankar Ehsaan and Loy all came up from the ranks of the non-film music scene, performing rock, blues, jazz, and pop before entering the film music industry. They didn’t know each other initially and then working on different projects they met each other and they formed their own crew when they were all singed for the Pepsi ad commercial.
They made their debut as composers in Mukul Anand’s film Dus, but the movie was never completed because of the director Anand’s death. The album was later on released in 1999. They did a few more projects after that but didn’t gain popularity, they started getting famous after their work in Vidhu Vinodh Chopra's Mission Kashmir, which was a musical hit and earned a place in the Bollywood film industry, which also earned them their first IAFA nomination.
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy has composed most of the films produced by Excel Entertainment, founded by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani. They have also associated frequently with Karan Johar's Dharma Productions. Other notable collaborations are with directors like Zoya Akhtar, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, and Shaad Ali. Most of the lyrics for the songs composed by the trio are penned by Gulzar and Javed Akhtar, however, they have also frequently been associated with lyricists like Prasoon Joshi and Amitabh Bhattacharya.
Shankar Mahadevan’s commanding voice, Ehsaan Noorani’s guitar riffs, and Loy Mendonsa’s seamless keys are what make this trio a music sensation among the people. The trio is currently back together and is working on Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s film Toofan, releasing on Amazon Prime Video on 16th July 2021. This will also mark their 25 years in the career of their music industry.
The trio has given many hit albums such as Dil Chahta hai, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Don, Rock On, and many more such great hits. They were currently appreciated for their work in Amazon Prime Series- Bandish Bandits and their upcoming project Toofan songs also seem to be great hits.
Talking about their hits and their flops they believed that they tend to lose respect for their own music because a film didn’t do well. With the emergence of music streaming apps, they feel that a lot of their songs and albums have got a rebirth. People have tagged these artists and praised their various hit songs even when they are on a walk or meet a fan.
Asking about their new projects, they said that they are psyched for their work in the Mani Ratnam film, says Ehsaan Noorani. Shankar Mahadevan is excited about his OTT platforms, he says that the shows on the ott platforms are so good they would do even better with great music. Just the variety of responses makes one wonder what Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy works. And even after 25 years, it might be fair to pronounce that they can accomplish anything.
It is just great to see that even after 25 years in their career, they are still going strong and have many projects lined up for the trio as well as individually. These great artists are just a great treat to hear and melodies to sing along to.
