Mumbai: Music director and singer Shankar Mahadevan turns a year older today. He was born in Chembur, Mumbai into a Tamil speaking family from Palakkad, Kerala. He learned Hindustani classical and Carnatic music as a child, and began playing the veena at the age of five. Mahadevan studied music under Pandit Shrinivas Khale and T.R. Balamani.
He graduated in 1988 with a degree in Computer Science and Software Engineering from the Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology in Navi Mumbai, affiliated to Mumbai University, and was a software engineer for the company, Leading Edge. Later he ventured into music industry.
Mahadevan was awarded the first National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer in 2000 for ‘Yenna Solla Pogirai’ (Kandukondain Kandukondain). In 2019 he received Padma Shri Award for his contributions to Film Music under the category Arts.
Shankar Mahadevan has so far worked with many big musicians like AR Rahman, Anu Malik, etc. where Shankar Mahadevan understands and knows classical music equally well, he also plays Western music.