Ved Shankar was a student of A. R. Rahman’s KM Music Conservatory, and was one of 15 students selected for training in western classical music at North Eastern University, Boston, funded by the U.S. Department of State. He then trained as a sound designer and was nominated for the META award for Most Innovative Sound Design 2012, be completing his MBA at IIPM, Chennai.His first album was for the period film, Paalai (2011), and then worked on the album for Madhubana Kadai (2012). Ved Shankar made his breakthrough with his work in Balaji Tharaneetharan's Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom, which on critical acclaim and performed well at the box office. Moreover, his work in the promotional song "Crazy Penne" featuring Andrea Jeremiah also won critical acclaim, and he was featured in a list of top music directors in a year end ranking by Behindwoods.com in 2012.