Shantanu Mukherjee, popularly known as Shaan, is all set to release his new song No Smoking Papa on January 1, 2019. The singer was honoured by New York City for his rigorous campaigns against tobacco in the year 2011 and appointed as the tobacco control ambassador of India by the ministry of health and family welfare. He has always been very vocal about his distaste for tobacco and has now paired up with his 13-year-old son Shubh to spread more awareness on its use. 

We spoke to Shaan to find out more about the song. Excerpts...

- What makes you so passionate about this cause?
One thing that has constantly worked me into promoting anti-smoking campaigns is that I lost my father to smoking. I wish I could stop him but I was too young to understand the repercussions of what was going on. He was just 43 and smoking caused a nicotine patch in his lung which resulted in a massive heart attack. So, I’ve never taken up smoking; I’m probably one of the few celebs who never gave in to smoking. In fact, nobody in my family smokes.

- You had earlier sung the song Life se panga mat le yaar in 2011, which supported the same cause. How different is No Smoking Papa from that?
I feel a little guilty for not being able to follow up with a consistent programme to promote the cause. So, when I got the opportunity to sing this song, which had such a heart touching message, I just had to do it. The fact is you smoke and you create a problem with your health. But when you smoke in an environment where others have to breathe in, you actually poison the air for them. And when they’re your own — kids, wife, family, the effect is much stronger. So, No smoking papa has a more personal approach compared to Life se panga mat le yaar. 

- Your son has sung with you. Is music something that you wanted for him always?
People in my family have always been associated with music. It’s something that comes naturally, I believe. Both my kids love music and that’s something they’ve chosen for themselves. Not that I discouraged them but I’ve wanted them to figure out their preferences without my interference. My younger boy (Shubh) wants to be a performing singer like his father. He’s working hard on those skills and is getting a lot of positive reaction too, I reckon.

- What is it that you’ve imbibed from your father that you wish to pass on to your kids and what is it that you don’t wish to?
What I’ve definitely imbibed from my father is that one has to be a decent human being, a caring and compassionate person and to make your ambition your priority over everything else is not a life well lived. So, getting commercial success, getting popularity certainly gives me a happy high but not at the cost of my personal life, family, and not at the cost of somebody’s love. My father was lived an extremely selfless life. He was kind and generous to everyone which did not always do him justice. In today’s world, when you’re too giving, you’re taken for granted. So, be kind, but don’t be foolish. That’s what I’d want my kids to learn; to draw a line of balance.

- Besides music, what is the best way to spread more awareness about the hazards of smoking; especially to the youngsters?
If each of us can actually be role models for our family, for our friends and those around us, it would make a difference. Getting 4-5 people out of the habit makes a massive impact. So when kids see No smoking papa and realise that their father is doing the same thing and it’s terrible for his health, that itself is so impactful. What your kids can do to you is incomparable. We all want to be role models for our children and the day they point out at our wrongs, that day itself our self-esteem drops. 

- Most of the music that we get to hear today is auto-tuned. Your take on it?
The tragedy is, when you put your authentic voice out there as I did, people go, “Oh... sounds like a song from the ’90s” because our ears have got so heavily attuned to auto-tune that we don’t tend to enjoy songs without them. It’s the trend of the time and there’s nothing you can do about it. You have to move on without complaining; especially when the audience is enjoying it.

- You are a multilingual singer, singing in which language intrigues you the most?
The languages that I feel connected to most are English, Hindi, Bengali, and Marathi.