his softspoken voice belies his powerpacked vocals in bollywood numbers his eagerness to learn new things is testimony to the fact that he wants to explore the vast diverse world of music meet siddharth mahadevan the voice behind hits like zinda bhaag milkha bhaag hulla re 2 states pehli baar dil dhadakne do and nachde ne saare baar baar dekho following in his fathers shankar mahadevan footsteps the 23yearold has also composed music for a couple of marathi and hindi movies the young artiste who is riding high on the success of his latest number teen gawah hain ishq ke from the upcoming film mirzya shares his musical journey with bombay timesyour earlier songs have been highenergy numbers was it a conscious decision to explore new genres with nachde and teen gawahnachde is my first wedding song composer jasleen royal asked me if i would want to sing it when i heard the track i loved it as its funky i was excited as i hadnt sung a wedding number before teen gawah is a special song for me its a beautiful composition and gulzar saabs lyrics are wonderful im happy that i finally got a chance to sing a romantic songare things easier when you work with shankarehsaanloyi have a great time recording with them as they treat me like family ive grown up watching them and its been a learning experience today they ask me for my inputs and i share my compositions with them ehsaan has even recorded guitar riffs for a few of my compositions so we share a fantastic relationship when im recording with dad i share a different comfort zone with him i have a sense of confidence as i know he will bring out the best in me he knows my ability and doesnt get satisfied for anything less than perfect another composer might settle for something lesser and wont ask me to do one more take but dad pushes me to the limitdid you always want to become a musician since you were exposed to it since a young ageive always loved music when i was three my dad realised that i had a good sense of rhythm and could repeat complicated patterns which is a difficult thing to do for a kid of that age the next year my parents gifted me a pair of congas as i enjoyed playing percussion and musical instruments also i come from a middleclass south indian family where this art form is given a lot of importance so i learnt carnatic and hindustani classical music what challenges did you face when you started outbefore i sang zinda everybody kept telling me to find my comfort zone and create an identity i was confused about what the future held for me i always knew that i would make a career in music i had sung songs before zinda but you always look forward to a mainstream bollywood debut as this is the most glamorous part of