By Mabel Pais

About NJPAC

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), located in downtown Newark, N.J., has the most diverse programming and audience of any performing arts center in the country, and is the artistic, cultural, educational and civic center of New Jersey – where great performances and events enhance and transform lives every day.

NJPAC brings diverse communities together, providing access to all and showcasing the state’s and the world’s best artists while acting as a leading catalyst in the revitalization of its home city.

Through its extensive Arts Education programs, NJPAC is shaping the next generation of artists and arts enthusiasts. NJPAC has attracted more than 8 million visitors (including over 1.6 million children) since opening its doors in 1997, and nurtures meaningful and lasting relationships with each of its constituents.

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The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) presents an evening of romantic, high-energy music with Shaan – the “Golden Voice of India” and one of Bollywood’s most popular, versatile vocalists on Saturday, July 28, 2018 at 8:00 PM.

Shantanu Mukherjee, popularly known as Shaan, is one of the most popular playback singers of the Indian music industry.

Shaan has been one of the most in-demand playback singers in the Bollywood industry, active in Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Urdu, Telugu and Kannada films. Among the most popular films that have featured his vocals are 3 Idiots (2009), Om Shanti Om (2007), Saawariya (2007), Fanaa (2006), Dus (2005), Jhankaar Beats (2003) and Kya Dil Ne Kahan (2002).

Singer-songwriter Shaan has lent his voice to many a hit song in Bollywood, Suno Na (from Jhankaar Beats; 2003), Dus (2005), Chand Sifarish (Fanaa; 2006), and Behti Hawa Sa Tha Woh (3 Idiots; 2009), to name a few.

He is considered as one of the most popular voices for romantic as well as melodious songs and is one of India’s most versatile singers. He has sung a wide variety of songs in many languages: Konkani, Kannada, Bengali, Punjabi, Nepali, English, Hindi, Oriya, Malayalam, Telugu, Marathi and Assamese.  He has also sung many Pakistani songs.

In addition to his work on television and the big screen, Shaan has released a series of successful solo albums of his own compositions, among them Loveology, Tanha Dil, Aksar and Tishnagi. His song Shuruaat was made into a music video to promote the hit film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In recent years, he has also branched out into other musical genres, lending his expert vocals to pop, sad songs, patriotic, jazz, ghazals, hip-hop, rock and many more.

He started his career at a very young age of 17 years in the year 1989. He has been showered with titles such as “Golden Voice of India”, “Voice of Paradise”, “Magician of Melody”, and “Voice of Youth”.

Shaan became popular with the song Musu, and he kept his presence felt with many hit songs in Hindi films. Shaan is not only an outstanding singer but also a talented music composer and lyricist.

Shaan, 45, is embracing reality with a smile. He sang for Bollywood for 20 years. The singer feels that an artist needs to evolve with time to survive in the industry, and he’s proud to have done that. There are no rules in the industry and he feels lucky to have been able to survive so long!

Now, although he does not sing for the Bollywood movie industry, he is not out of work, he says. If there’s no film music, he has other avenues: he does live shows, he travels and he focuses his energies elsewhere. He released his independent single Surilee in 2017.

He is also widely known as a television host, on popular programs like Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs, and The Voice: India Star Voice of India and STAR Voice of India 2.

He appeared as a judge in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs 2014–2015 and The Voice India Kids 2016. In 2015 and 2016, Shaan was the winning coach in each of the first two seasons of The Voice. In 2016, in The Voice India Kids, he was the coach of the runner-up contestant.

As a child, Shaan began his career singing jingles for advertisements. After giving it up for a brief period he returned and, along with jingles, began to sing remixes and cover versions. In the 1989 movie Parinda, at age 17, Shaan sang a single line in the song, Kitni Hai Pyari Pyari Dosti Hamari.

Since Shaan belongs to a musical background: his grandfather lyricist Jahar Mukherjee, his late father composer Manas Mukherjee and his sister singer-actor Sagarika, all contributed to his in-depth knowledge of music. With his melodious singing, he has achieved a great place in the Indian music industry. With Shaan songs, many Bollywood films got an edge to their music.

He is married to Radhika Jolly. They have two children. Shaan affirms he survived for 20 years in the industry because he sang songs differently, even if they were of the same genre. Until and unless, you try to sing songs differently, you will not survive in the industry, he says. When you sing differently, you make your own sound, and you get to make your own footing.  Further, he believes, if he did not constantly innovate himself, he would be outdated.

Talking about how he got back into the non-film space, the singer had said that his wife, Radhika is his pillar of strength and helped him get over his fear of rejection. She encouraged him to make music for himself, and to enjoy what he is doing.  They have two sons.

For more information on Shaan, visit http://www.njpac.org/events/detail/shaan

For tickets to see Shaan, visit www.NJPAC.org or the NJPAC Box Office or call 888.GO. NJPAC (888.466.5722).

(Mabel Pais writes on The Arts and Entertainment, Social Issues, Health and Wellness, and Spirituality)