Shankar Mahadevan, one of our country's most established personalities in the music industry, who is now actively heading one of the teams in Star Plus' Music Ka Maha Muqqabla, has a simple key towards achieving success.

Says Shankar, "I think one should keep on learning every day.  Look at everything not with a know-it-all perspective but with a curious state of mind. You should also keep focused towards what you want to be and where you want to land up! That pretty much sums up the explanation for how I became what I am today (smiles)."

Shankar tells us the reason why he chose to do Music Ka Maha Muqqabla despite his busy schedule. "It's different from other reality shows. Where else will I get the chance to interact with talented singers like Shreya, Mika, Shaan, Himesh and Mohit? To be a part of this collaboration of raw and established talents, that too at such a big scale was irresistible."

But sometimes the judges take the game too personally and war of words breaks loose. Doesn't Shankar get upset over the fact? "I'm a very cool person. I generally don't get upset that easily. And even if we have arguments on stage it's just out of the heat of the moment.  Right after the show, we are back to normalcy again," says Shankar.

Shankar reveals if being a team-leader is a tough job. "Nothing is easy. Anything worth doing is tough," he signs off.

Reporter and Author: Susan Jose