'Decoding Shankar' - Deepti Sivan

Shankar Mahadevan has a real story to inspire everyone, of all ages and nationalities.” – Deepti Sivan

In a candid interview, the acclaimed director of Decoding Shankar, Deepti Sivan talks to Sumita Chakraborty about her documentary on Shankar Mahadevan, why she made this film, her life as an actress and now director, and much more

Deepti Sivan, the director of Decoding Shankar, has been winning accolades and awards galore for her ‘on point’ 50-minute documentary film on Shankar Mahadevan. Produced by her film director husband Sanjeev Sivan, who is incidentally also illustrious cinematographer Santosh Sivan’s brother, the film is interesting because of the content but more so as unlike other biographical films, Deepti chose to have the story narrated by the protagonist himself – Shankar Mahadevan.

So Shankar talks about his childhood, the dilemma he faced before quitting his job, entering the world of jingles and, finally, making it as a musician. To give a proper perspective of the man himself, there are celebrity videos from Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar, Javed Akhtar, Gulzar Sahib, Farhan Akhtar, Aamir Khan, Zakir Hussain, Louis Banks, Pandit Jasraj and many others who speak about their association with Shankar Mahadevan.

Decoding Shankar was screened at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) at Goa and other festivals, including Stuttgart in Germany; Jecheon International Music and Film Festival, South Korea; and DC South Asian Film Festival, Gaithersburg. The film has won four awards recently at the Toronto International Women Film Festival, Indo French International Film Festival, Tokyo International Short Film Festival and Santa Monica Short Film Festival. Read on as Deepti elaborates why she felt she had to make this documentary and more.

Decoding Shankar – Life & Works Of Renowned musician Shankar Mahadevan has been appreciated a lot especially at film festivals like Toronto Film Festival. Why Shankar Mahadevan? Why did you want to make a film on him?

Shankar Mahadevan has a real story to inspire everyone of all ages and nationalities. My family has been following his life and music closely and there’s such a wonderful lesson on how passion and love for your craft can find the path to success. There are parents who focus on academics and if they support their children who are Godgifted and encourage their talent, then it becomes easier to make a career choice. Shankar was the ideal example to the community as he was an engineering graduate and yet he decided to follow his passion for music and hence the world has a great musician like Shankar Mahadevan. It was really important that he told the world his story and hence I took it upon myself to plan this documentary. I have been a huge fan of Shankar since ‘Breathless’ and being a fan I was literally tracking his life every time and quoting his success as an example to everyone around me. Hence, I thought that I may as well document his life. When I met him, he was reluctant as to why me but when I shared my thoughts that he was an inspiration to the younger generation for his dedication and discipline, he joked that I seem to know him more than he knew himself.

What were the challenges making the film? How was the experience?

I had the finest experience working with Shankar Mahadevan and it was a different experience with each and every celebrity who featured in my film. I was six months pregnant when I started the project with them and some portions were shot before my delivery - and I was back on the sets with my three months old baby in a baby bag much to the shock of Shankar. When he was not in the scene and I was shooting his mother and wife, he would take the baby and ask me to not get distracted and concentrate on the job. He didn’t need to do this and I literally became part of his family and now am very close to all his family members.

With regard to the other celebrities who featured in the film like Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar, Javed Akhtar, Gulzar Sahib, Farhan Akhtar, Aamir Khan, Zakir Hussain, Louis Banks and others, no one gave me even the slightest hesitation and accommodated the time based on my convenience. Farhan Akhtar wanted to narrate the whole experience of Dil Chahta Hai in a very methodical way and his personal association with Shankar. Javed Akhtar had so much to tell me about his jingle days with Shankar that Shabana Azmi came and asked if we were shooting or we were just talking? Gulzar Sahib also wanted to ensure that all the questions definitely covered his love for Shankar and the professional journey of creating beautiful music. I had to feature Sachin Tendulkar not because of any cricket connection but he had lost his father at the World Cup and he wanted to pay a tribute to him by making a song out of one of his Father’s poem. So he approached Shankar and he was completely amazed how a South Indian could have the perfect Marathi diction. Pandit Jasraj knew Shankar from college, Kamala Hassan, his Vishwaroopam Director - so there were many endless heart-warming stories from each of them.

While making the film, what is that one thing you found out about him that we all don’t know about?

The one thing about Shankar Mahadevan apart from music is his passion for food. He knows every ingredient that goes into any dish. He’s an encyclopedia on every cuisine from every state and every country. He has a unique and peculiar talent to mix music and food together. Another distinctive quality about Shankar is that he never gets angry or

ever loses his patience with anyone starting with his maid or staff or family - that is very rare. He narrated his father’s advice to him that if a glass is broken, you can never fix it back so there’s no point getting upset and you can always go and buy a new one. This is ingrained in his nature since childhood.

You have won the Best Biographical Film Award for your film ‘Decoding Shankar’ at the Toronto Film Festival! How does it feel?

It is every filmmaker ‘s dream to win an award at Cannes, Berlin, Oscars and you will always hear a mention of it. So much of hard work had gone into making of Decoding Shankar and the appreciation was most overwhelming and gratifying. Awards are an endorsement by the world that you’ve done a good job and it becomes a benchmark to work even harder and come up with a even better product and showcase your talent. Post the Toronto International Women Film Festival, Decoding Shankar also won the Indo French International Film Festival, Tokyo International Short Film Festival and Santa Monica Short Film Festival. These are all big festivals that recognise your work and I am hugely motivated to make my country proud and being the daughter of an Army officer, I want to showcase my country on the world’s stage.

Your film has been showcased at International festivals like Germany and Korea also, how has the response been?

I have had the good fortune to go to various film festivals in Germany and Korea and I had first-hand experience in how foreigners are very aware of Indian films and the music, particularly the lyrics! Surprisingly, they knew all the songs in my film and they were singing and dancing when the music was on the screen. Post screening, all the Decoding Shanker’ posters at the festival venue were picked up and they wanted my autograph on it! Everyone loved the film and the response of these foreign audience was an eye-opener for me that we’re all aware of Shankar Mahadevan and his music. The experience is hard to describe in words.

From being an actress to now a successful documentary filmmaker, how has the journey been?

Everything in my life has been accidental! I was good at academics and was a rank holder and I did my Law Degree. By chance, I came into the film industry and I worked with the superstar of the Malayalam industry - Mohanlal. Meeting my husband was accidental and getting into a family that had the best technicians; it was like a school for me. But my Guru is my husband Sanjeev Sivan who taught me the basics and every department of Production. Over the years, I have been inducted and grounded into learning the minutest details of film making. I have been assisting Sanjeev in all his projects and so I had a deep rooted grounding which helped me when I made this documentary on Shankar Mahadevan. Being a creative person, I love being in control of the camera. When you are the director, then it’s your vision and when the world is liking it and endorsing it, it’s even more gratifying than being in front of the camera. Given an opportunity I will yet act but I find directing a lot more satisfying and inspiring.

Will you move onto commercial films – Bollywood or South?

I have written a commercial film and I have discussed the same with one of the lead actors in Bollywood and he was pushing me to do it. He has assured me that he will be ready whenever I am ready. My husband and I complement and support each other. When Sanjeev is directing, I become the production designer for his projects and vice versa. We are spread across different film industries without any boundaries. We are doing a Bollywood film, a Malayalam film and also different genres like web series, documentaries, feature films, etc. We are waiting for the Covid situation to get better and we will get into action.

Your brother-in-law Santosh Sivan is an illustrious filmmaker, have you thought of making a documentary on him?

What a fantastic question! Yes I would love to make a biography on Santosh Sivan. He is one of the finest cinematographer India has seen and he is the first Indian to be listed in the American Society of Cinematographers. He’s had an illustrious career working with the best of people in Bollywood and Hollywood. I have never actually given it a thought but it is definitely worth it as no one knows him as well as the family does so - thank you for the seed and we will think about it. I am not sure if Santosh Sivan will allow it but currently, we haven’t even given it a thought.

How do you balance your personal and professional life?

I am a complete family person. I have three children aged 5,10 and 15. I am a filmmaker but whenever I was making babies, I took up a corporate job. I established the radio station in the South called Red FM, then I went on to head the Television channel of SUN network of SUN TV group, the largest channel in South India. During my third baby, I was setting up Zee TV in Kerala. Now that my babies are grown up, I am concentrating on my passion and dreams and it is a lot easier to handle things. My mother and sister have been a huge support to look after the kids whenever I am on shoot. When it was possible to take the children to shoot location, I would take them along. My children are already interested in film making. My eldest son made two films called ‘My brother Rushi’ and ‘I have a Dream’ which was screened at the International Children’s Film Festival. My children also accompanied me to Shankar Mahadevan’s shoot and he was really gracious to allow them to hang around and his kids and mine were having a good time together. So that’s how I balance my personal and professional life. By God’s grace, I have managed well so far.

What’s next in the pipeline?

We are doing a web series on the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, the richest temple in the world. My husband Sanjeev and I are doing this project together. We have a few projects lined up for the OTT platforms. We’ve also signed Nawazuddin Siddiqui for a feature film which is stalled because of the Covid situation. It is being directed by my husband like I told you we complement each other. I’m also going to direct a film on the Indian Army, as I’ve been raised in an Army environment and I don’t know anyone who can showcase this film more authentically than me. There’s lots more in the pipeline and we will share as the time comes as I am superstitious to share everything at one go.