Shazahn Padamsee On Her Mother Sharon Prabhakar The Woman Behind Her Music Journey

Shazahn Padamsee Kanakia is stepping into a new chapter, and this time, she is doing it with music. After spending years in front of the camera, the actress and model is returning to the entertainment circuit as a singer with her debut song Raatan Kalliyan. But behind this new musical beginning is a story that goes much deeper than simply picking up a microphone. At the heart of it is her mother, veteran pop singer Sharon Prabhakar, who has been Shazahn's biggest emotional anchor and one of the strongest supporters of her creative journey.

For Shazahn, music has never been a sudden decision. She reveals that she has been working on music for nearly ten years, quietly creating songs, learning, experimenting and building an enormous bank of unreleased material. And through all those years, her mother has been there to hear it all. "She doesn't really give advice; I think Mom is simply my anchor. She’s my emotional support—she’s just always there for me," Shazahn says, describing the special bond she shares with Sharon.

It is a particularly meaningful connection because Sharon Prabhakar herself has had a long and influential association with music. A celebrated pop singer of her time, Sharon understands the excitement, uncertainty and vulnerability that come with creating music. For Shazahn, having a mother who understands that world has meant having someone who could support her without trying to control her artistic choices.

Shazahn admits that she has always been a perfectionist, something that often stopped her from releasing the music she created. "I’ve been working on music for ten years. She’s heard so many songs; I’ve created so many tracks. Then I’d discard them because I’m a perfectionist," she shares. Her mother, however, never seems to have lost faith in her daughter or her music.

And that support goes all the way back to Shazahn's earliest musical efforts. She recalls how her mother would encourage her even during the most unexpected hours. "If I felt like practicing at midnight, she’d wake up and say, ‘Let’s get the piano ready—come on, start with ‘Sa’.’ That’s my mom; she is so selfless," Shazahn recalls. It is the kind of little memory that says more about their relationship than any grand statement ever could.

Shazahn believes that having a person who genuinely sees the best in you can completely change the way you approach life and creativity. "It’s crucial to have someone like that," she says, explaining that if she suddenly told her mother she wanted to do something new, Sharon's response would not be filled with doubt or hesitation. Instead, it would probably be, "Alright, when are we doing it?"

That attitude appears to have shaped Shazahn's own approach to her career. She may have entered the industry through acting, but music eventually became the creative space where she felt most like herself. After films such as Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year, Orange, Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji and Housefull 2, Shazahn found herself wanting to explore another side of her creativity.

She says that the transition wasn't really about taking a break from acting. Instead, it was about listening to an inner voice that kept telling her to explore music. She eventually travelled, met musicians and artists in Europe, trained in vocal techniques, learned the piano, explored songwriting and spent years trying to understand what kind of sound felt uniquely hers.

Throughout that journey, Sharon remained her constant. "It’s because of her that I’ve achieved so much, and there’s more to come," Shazahn says. Now, as Raatan Kalliyan marks her formal arrival as a singer, it feels like the beginning of a chapter that has been quietly building for a decade.

For Shazahn Padamsee, music is not simply another career move. It is a deeply personal journey, one that has been nurtured by years of practice and protected by the unwavering love of a mother who knows exactly what it means to live through music. And if Sharon Prabhakar's legacy is any indication, Shazahn may just have inherited more than a love for the stage.