The Indian campaign at the Paris Olympics got a musical flag-off with singer Shaan taking the stage on Saturday. The India House at the Games Village in Paris is a hospitality house that promises an immersive experience celebrating India’s athletes and is expected to draw not just the diaspora and Indian tourists visiting Paris but also Parisians and tourists of other nationalities wanting to get a feel of India’s sporting and cultural legacy.

A first-of-its-kind initiative of Reliance Foundation in partnership with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), India House at La Villette (now designated Nations Park), will host a variety of programmes daily through the length of the Games, from Indian cuisine to yoga to meet-and-greet with athletes, and daily tickets costing €5 are on sale.

Shaan was thrilled to be the star act on the opening night of the India House. “This will be my first Olympics and the first time I will be performing in Paris. It will be another feather to my cap — being the first performer at India House. Though some of the competitions will already have started from Saturday I expect many of the athletes will still be there at the Games Village. I will sing sports-centric songs, not necessarily sung by me (in the films), and try to give them a boost,” he told t2 on his way to the Mumbai airport on Thursday.

Shaan in Paris

Shaan’s songlist included Pritam’s inspiring 83 composition Lehra do, and other high-octane numbers like Chak De! India, Dangal dangal... “I am also very excited to be performing a song for the first time that I had sung for (the recent Kartik Aaryan-starrer) Chandu Champion called Jeet ka geet. With music by Pritamda and lyrics by Kausar Munir, it is the perfect song with the exact sentiment to provide the motivation you need before a big game to give it your best. The song was not used in the film though it was in the soundtrack. So it is the perfect occasion to launch it. It will be my Olympic song,” he added.

It was a 90-minute concert on Saturday, for which Shaan travelled with his band of six musicians. A press meet in the morning was also scheduled, which was addressed by Nita Ambani, who is an IOA member. “I will be singing two or three songs there as well,” added the singer.

Shaan also hopes to catch some of the events at the Games though he hasn’t booked seats yet. “I am going a day early so that my wife and I can see the opening ceremony on the Seine,” he said.

Before setting off, Shaan has uploaded a romantic monsoon song on his YouTube channel. “It’s called Mohabbat ki barsaat, which is garnering good response. I am also working on a ghazal album which should be out soon. I have a show on the 31st in Dubai where I will add some dance steps to my performance.” He has also recorded Shantanu Moitra’s compositions for Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s next film.

Shaan is also supervising work on a second music studio. “I have a studio at home. But with my sons, Soham and Mahi, getting into music, I thought of building a studio for them as well. It will all be in my building. With the traffic situation in Mumbai, it helps not having to travel. I also have a dance floor, which is a multi-purpose space which can be used for rehearsals, dance practice, etc.” Soham is 22 and Mahi, 19 years old.

Shaan protested when asked if his boys were going along on the Paris trip. “Paris is the city of romance. Chhelera ki korbe? It’s me and my wife,” he laughed.