Shankar Mahadevan on KK: He didn’t bother about social media, didn’t even use WhatsApp

Shankar Mahadevan and KK have given us the quintessential party starters- It’s The Time To Disco and Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe, which have passed the test of time for 20 years now.

The bond between them was very good, which is why Mahadevan says it’s unbelievable that he’s talking about KK in the past tense. “We had a long association even before we got into films, we were buddies, like a gang. We used to sing jingles together and that transitioned into films. One of the initial films we did, Dil Chahta Hai, had a very important song like Koi Kahe. Innumerable songs we did together,” he remembers fondly.

The 55-year-old goes on to add, “More than that, he would bring a lot of energy into the studio whenever he used to enter. There used to be an aura of positive energy. For 20-30 minutes, he would faff around, and then chat for hours. Months back, we met at a TV show, we were all teasing him ‘You are like Benjamin Button, because you are ageing in reverse’! He was looking fabulous.”

KK was a family man all the way, and almost everyone we speak to has asserted that the late singer preferred to spend time with them than go out to party. Mahadevan concurs, “He used to talk about his family, take off on long holidays, cut off from the world Also, he was not bothered about social media, he didn’t even have a WhatsApp number. If you wanted to talk to him, you had to call him directly. He wasn’t worried about how many likes his songs got.”

What is surprising many is that KK, despite being an accomplished artiste, didn’t receive many awards in his lifetime. Mahadevan says he didn’t care, “He was not bothered about all that. He just enjoyed what he was doing. He was only choosy about his concerts, and never used to go if any Tom, Dick and Harry called. He did little work.”