Basically I remain a classical musician: Shankar Mahadevan

Popular singer Shankar Mahadevan tonight said though he is flooded with requests to perform hit Bollywood numbers on stage, the artist remains a classically- rooted musician.
"I can't escape crooning the 'Mitwa... Kahe Dhadkan Tujhse Kya' number wherever I perform, basically I am a classically rooted musician," Mahadevan said at the Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet here.
His roots in music lay in Karnataka classical gharana, Mahadevan said before a performance.
"Despite being a classical musician, I keep poking my nose in other genres of music. And this is not bad. I have completed 21 years of composing music in Indian films," the singer, part of the famous Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy team, said.

Mahadevan started his performance with Ganesha Vandana and then regaled the audience with 'Raag Hansadhwani'.
In the session, called 'Baithak to Bollywood', he dwelt on his journey in the world of music for two decades and his association with A R Rahman.
"I have composed this Raag Hansadhwani especially for the Kolkata audience where I have kept to the basics of 'saat sur' but improvised with words," the 'Taare Zameen Par' singer said.