Famous singer shaan he has talked about one of the most difficult phases of his life, remembering that he lost his father at the age of 13 and that he worked several jobs to support his family.Speaking to Bombay Humans, Shaan reflected on the emotional toll of losing his father and the responsibilities he faced at a young age.
“I cried a lot, but I recovered quickly”
Recalling the time after his father’s death, Shaan said he was just 13 years old when the tragedy happened.“Honestly, I’m not the type of person who lives in depression. Looking back, my dad passed away on a Thursday, and by Saturday I was playing basketball. I cried a lot on Friday, but I think I recovered pretty quickly,” he said.Decades later, the singer says she still dreams about her father.“It’s been 40 years since I lost my father. In fact, I am now 10 years older than my father should have been. The older I get, the younger he remains in my memory. He will be forever young,” said Shaan.
“My mother raised us single-handedly”
The singer revealed that her mother became the pillar of the family after the death of her father.“My sister started working very young. It was not fair that my mother should be the only one. In fact, she was the main earner even when my father was alive,” she said.Shaan explains that although his father worked in films, he was never particularly motivated by money.“He wasn’t very good with money and he didn’t do things just for financial reasons. But I can imagine how he must have felt watching his wife raise two children,” he added.Paying tribute to his mother, who he lost in 2022, Shaan said: “She was a very proud and strong woman and she literally raised us single handed.”
Selling cable TV connections, taking license plates and working in a shop
With responsibilities increasing early in life, Shaan said he started looking for ways to earn money while continuing his studies.“I was doing all kinds of odd jobs. I was tutoring kids. Around 1988-89, cable TV was just starting, so I was selling cable TV connections and earning commissions,” he recalled.The singer also explained that he worked in a store called Looks, where he sold clothes.“There were a lot of odd jobs. I did whatever I could to get some money,” he said.
“I never thought that singing could become a career”
Despite starting his journey with jingles as a child, Shaan admitted that he never imagined that music would become his profession.He recalled how his voice changed during his teenage years, when his singing careers stopped temporarily.“At that time, most people preferred children’s voices, especially girls. Then my voice changed at the age of 12 or 13 and the work stopped a bit,” he said.Although the opportunities returned when he was around 16 or 17, Shaan said he continued to see singing as another way to earn some extra money.“I was giving tuitions, working in a boutique, going to college and occasionally singing a few lines here and there. I never thought it could turn into a full career,” she said.Today, Shaan is one of India’s most loved playback singers.
