After working for a while for Leading Edge Systems, Shankar ventured into the field of music.[5] He earned his first award as a playback singer in a Tamil movie, collaborating with A. R. Rahman and winning a National Film Award for his song in Kandukondain Kandukondain. A prominent star in the Kodambakkam film industry, he gained further recognition upon the release of his first music album, Breathless, in 1998. On the title track of the album, his vocals are edited together so that he seems to sing through the whole song in a single breath. He later got into music direction and became a part of the Shankar Ehsaan Loy trio, composing music for Hindi films.
