SHAAN ’ S SECOND ALBUM TANHA DIL AND ITS IMPACT ON 90S YOUTH
SCORE INDIE CLASSICS
SHAURYA SINGH THAPA
When it comes to Bollywood music of the 2000s , Shaan has been a heavilypopular name as a playback singer . And as many would know , the singer initially broke out with his non-film albums such as his debut Loveology and his sophomore effort Tanha Dil .
Both albums perfectly capture his change in tone and the maturity that he acquired with time . While Loveology was more playful and flirtatious in its lyrics and sound , Tanha Dil presented a more introspective side to Shaan while simultaneously capturing his lovable popstar aura .
As an old interview sourced from WildFilms India shows , Shaan touched upon the changes that he went through in his musicality with Tanha Dil . To put it in his own words , ‘ I took three years to launch my second album that time I had a different thought process and there is a lot of changes after three years in comparison with Loveology it has mature songs because I am also grown up since .’
A major reason behind Tanha Dil ’ s success was how Shaan managed to resonate with the youngsters . Just take the title track for instance . The chorus resonates with the refrain ‘ tanha dil , tanha safar ’ that roughly translates to ‘ a lonely heart , a lonely road ’. And every youngster does have a point in life where they have to take the sole decision on where their heart will take them .
The accompanying music video is equally iconic and is easy ‘ nostalgia material ’ for every so-called ‘ 90s kid ’. Shaan sets out on a lonely road quite literally , sporting long , wavy hair and a bag that he slides on one shoulder . On this road , he also seems to remember significant moments from his coming-of-age phase such as his everyday shenanigans with friends and romantic interests as well as his time at a music class where he found his passion for the guitar . And then as the song ends ,
he continues walking on the road all alone , towards an uncertain future .
In many ways than one , this song and the video serve as a metaphor for Shaan ’ s own diverse journey as an artist .
The album is similarly filled with several other memorably nostalgic songs on love and life . Gum Sum Ho Kyu finds the singer asking his beloved to not shy away from her feelings while Bhool Ja relies on a more dancey sound to get over bittersweet memories of a failed relationship . The final track aptly titled Shaan Se is another upbeat track celebrating life and asking his listeners to live with ‘ shaan ’ ( pride ).
In the end , Tanha Dil continues to hold relevance amongst those who are interested in discovering yesteryear from the 90s . When it comes to indiepop , Shaan will always be as significant as artists like Neeraj Shridhar ( Bombay Vikings ) and Mohit Chauhan ( Silk Route ). Much like the latter two , Shaan , of course , managed to helm a successful playback career having sung songs in Bengali , Hindi , Kannada , Marathi and many other languages . Still , his early album days will continue to strike a chord with many .
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