EXCLUSIVE | Shankar Mahadevan on teaming up with Shaan and Sonu Nigam for his devotional event Anandam: 'They also believed in the vision as much as I did'

DreamSetGo, India’s luxury experiences and travel platform, has joined hands with Jio Creative Labs and music maestro Shankar Mahadevan to launch India’s largest ever Bhakti experience - ANANDAM - The Symphony of Devotion. ANANDAM will be a first-of-its-kind immersive Bhakti spectacle bringing together India’s leading artists, including Sonu Nigam, Shaan, Nandi Sisters, Nikhar Juneja, Siddharth Mahadevan, Himani Thakur, Shivam Mahadevan and DJ Afterall.

The grand event is scheduled to take place on 27th June at Jio World Convention Centre, BKC, Mumbai. And in an exclusive interview with Firstpost, Mahadevan spoke about the idea of the devotional show, the appetite of traditional music among youth in 2026, and his collaboration with Sonu Nigam and Shaan.

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Edited excerpts from the interview

How would you define the term Anandam?

It means extreme happiness, and it is an extension of how I am as a person.

How did you think of this initiative?

I have been doing devotional music for many, many years as you know. As much as people know me for my Bollywood songs and Indian film songs, people connect with me much stronger for the devotional songs that I have done. Every time people talk about Ganpati, Shankar Mahadevan is the name that comes up very strongly, or Hanuman Chalisa or the Shiv Tandav or the opening of the Ram Temple. It was in my mind that I need to do a devotional concert.

But I should scale it to such a level that it becomes a huge production which people remember as first of its kind. I am very happy to partner with Jio creative labs and a set of wonderful people who believed in this vision. Rather than taking one step back, they have taken 10 steps forward. This is a massive production that we are trying to bring. And I hope it becomes an experience that people will enjoy.

Everything has become very quick in the day and age of social media. Do you feel people have the patience and appetite to listen to devotional songs?

The soul and existence of this country is devotional music.

You, Shaan, and Sonu Nigam go a long way. What can we expect from this collaboration one more time?

I am very excited about the collaboration. They also believed in the vision as much as I did. They accepted to be a part of this concert wholeheartedly. They all are extremely busy people so to believe in a concept like this, it requires a lot of love and affection. Usha ji is there and they all are wonderful people. But coming together for this huge ensemble, I thank them a lot.

What can we expect from the grand launch on June 27?

Besides the music, which is of course great, it’s a humongous production. This is probably the biggest production that I have ever done. I have not done this level of production even in my films also. The biggest screens and graphics that you have ever seen. Hundreds of acts and dancers and pyros and special effects. It’s the works actually.