Shankar Ehsaan Loy is a celebrated musical trio comprising three outstanding musicians of the time, namely Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa. This music group was formed in India. They teamed together to provide unique music for several Indian films. Being multi-instrumentalists, musicians and record producers, they have composed enchanting music encompassing four languages. Shankar Ehsaan Loy has come to create the benchmark in the mind-space of young audiences by successfully bridging that gap in their own incomparable style. They have won several critical and commercial acclaims and also awards from the Bollywood Press and Magazines, TV Channels and a National Film Award. Their success is made up of several contributing factors. Their forte constitutes interesting musical instruments and sounds, introduction of new voices emerged from the immensely popular TV musical talent shows and an obsession for the perfect feel for the movie scene that necessitates the song sequence.

Formation of the Trio Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Shankar Ehsaan and Loy hailed from the non film musical arena who used to perform pop, jazz, blues and rock before venturing into Hindi film industry. In the year 1989 Loy met Ehsaan while working for an ad film composer Ranjit Barot. Following this they united to compose a number of ad jingles together. Later they both met Shankar when the latter was appointed by Ranjit Barot for singing the Pepsi ad under the direction of Mukul Anand. This marked their beginning as a trio for composing ads.

Compositions of Shankar Ehsaan Loy in Films
Shankar Ehsaan Loy marked their debut as music composers in films with Mukul Anand`s Dus. Initially Ehsaan was offered to compose the music but on his insistence, Shankar and Loy were also included in the project. Subsequently they composed music for the movies Rockford and Bhopal Express, but their efforts could not fetch them recognition. They stepped in the arena of mainstream cinema with Vidhu Vinod Chopra`s Mission Kashmir which became a musical hit rendering them prominence in Bollywood. The turning point of their career arrived with the Farhan Akhtar`s directional debut Dil Chahta Hai which earned the trio overwhelming critical acclamations. Afterwards they went on to compose music for movies like Ek Aur Ek Gyarah, Nayee Padosan, Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai? and Kuch Naa Kaho which could not garner them much fame. Success once again knocked their door with the music of Kal Ho Naa Ho which won them the esteemed National Film Award.

The trio also collaborated for films like Bunty Aur Babli, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna and Don: The Chase Begins Again, all of which added to their success list. The best phase of their career arrived with the year 2007. Their music compositions for Nikhil Advani`s multistarrer Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute to Love became chartbusters and received critical appreciations. The music of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom in the same year also created sensation in the music industry. The albums of Wake Up Sid and Rock On!! once again topped the charts marking huge commercial success. Other successful ventures of the trio include My Name Is Khan, London Dreams, Luck By Chance, Taare Zameen Par, Karthik Calling Karthik and many more. Their music in Zoya Akhtar`s multistarrer Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara was appreciated universally by the critics. They also composed the music for Walt Disney`s maiden Indian venture, Zokkomon. The UK movie West is West marked their first international venture in 2011 which was met with mixed reviews. They have also composed music for the South Indian film industry.

Other Musical Ventures of Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Apart from films, Shankar Ehsaan Loy have been involved in various other musical ventures. In the year 2006, at FTTI, the trio organized a concert titled Salaam Boss as a tribute to the legendary music composer R.D. Burman. They were a part of Live Earth India Concert in 2008 and Inspiration: Aman Ki Aasha tour in 2010. In the same year they launched their own record label with the title SEL Songs along with an iPhone app which made them the first Bollywood composers to do so. In 2011 they performed in Asia Rocks! concert which marked their first performance at the United Kingdom (UK). The official anthem for ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 was also composed by them as `De Ghuma Ke` which gained great popularity.

Shankar Ehsaan Loy in Charitable Ventures Shankar Ehsaan Loy have also been associated with several charitable causes. Being a part of an AIDS Awareness campaign launched by BBC World Service Trust, they composed the music for an album named `Haath Se Haath Mila`. They performed at the fund raising concert of The Shakti Foundation - For the Physically Challenged in 2007 at Chennai and Farhan Akhtar organized fundraising rock concert for a paediatric medical camp in 2008 in Bihar. In the same year, to search for the skilled rock bands of the country the trio launched the You Know You Can Rock Harder G3 Challenge talent hunt. In the following year they performed for the NGO Alert that fights against leprosy India.

Musical Style of Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Each member of this trio specializes in his own unique domain which comprises amalgamating the Carnatic and Hindustani vocal tradition (Shankar), Western Rock (Ehsaan) and a deep fusion including a virtual expertise over the Electronic Synthesizer (Loy). They have been continuing a tradition quite common in Bollywood music, which is of partnerships between music composers contributing and utilizing their individual strengths to direct superb music. The combination of Hindustani (North Indian) or Carnatic (South Indian) classical music with perfect orchestral arrangements make the entire composition sound just perfect for the contemporary Bollywood films. Shankar Ehsaan Loy probably represents the first `trio` of music composers in India to entertain Bollywood audiences with their chart-topping music every time. They are eventually getting popular by the name of `Amar-Akbar-Anthony` of Bollywood music.

The eternal quest among Bollywood`s music composers has been to generate interest among younger audiences who are inclined to get inspiration from the musical themes of the west. Since a film`s soundtrack is a very essential and critical component of commercial success, this quest to deliver a perfect packaged film has always inspired the music composers to create tunes which combine the best of both traditional Indian music and popular western or international influences.

Achievements of Shankar Ehsaan Loy