Breathless is the 1998 Indi-pop album by Indian singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan featuring lyricist Javed Akhtar. It was the album that first made Mahadevan famous. The title track, "Breathless," is a steady stream of a song that goes on without a break, stanzas, verse or apparently even a pause for breath. The length of the part of the song which is 'breathless' is about three minutes. Mahadevan made the album in collaboration with Akhtar, a reputed lyricist in the Indian music industry. Renu Desai was a model and appeared in the music video of Shankar Mahadevan's "Breathless". The album won the award for Best Non-film Album at the 1998 Screen Awards.[1]

Breathless
Studio album by Shankar Mahadevan feat. Javed Akhtar
Released	1998
Genre	Indi-pop, Indian fusion
Length	6:06
Label	Saregama
Producer	Shankar Mahadevan
Shankar Mahadevan feat. Javed Akhtar chronology
Breathless (1998) Nine (2003)

Track listing

Reception

The music album was a huge success, selling over 300,000 copies and topped all major music charts in India for about 10 straight weeks.[2]

Music video

The music video of the title song "Breathless" was directed by Farhan Akhtar and his sister Zoya Akhtar.[3] This was the beginning of a long association, as Shankar, along with Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa (as Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy), went on to score music for all of the films directed by Farhan and Zoya Akhtar.

In popular culture

The song appears on the 2002 Assamese film "Tumiye Mur Kalpanar".[4]

Breathless Reprise

Both Shankar and Javed Akhtar later reunited to come out with "Breathless Reprise," a similar song whose story takes off from where "Breathless" ended.

Recreation

In 2018, Mahadevan recreated the song to highlight the programmes and initiatives of the Narendra Modi-led government.[5][6]

See also

• Shankar Mahadevan
• Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy
• Farhan Akhtar
• Zoya Akhtar

References