Himesh Reshammiya Fanclub PART 6!!woohoo! - Page 15

With Himesh Reshammiya joining the bandwagon of singers-turned-actors in his debut film, we explore the trend.

While many actors have tested their vocal chords in films and quite a few of them have succeeded also, it doesn't seem to work the other way round. Here's a recap: Singer Sonu Nigam tried his hand at acting in films like Nigaahein and Love in Nepal , but failed to prove his calibre. Shaan acted in Daman directed by Kalpana Lajmi but failed miserably. Much before them, singercomposer RD Burman acted in Bhoot Bangla (1965) and Pyar Ka Mausam (1967), but couldn't create the same magic as he did with his music.

And now, it's the turn of composersinger Himesh Reshammiya, who's all set to make his acting debut with the film Aap Ka Surroor - The Film. As Himesh joins the bandwagon of singersturned-actors, LT tries to find out why singers fail to make a mark as actors, and whether they should stick to singing only?

Singer Udit Narayan feels that it's only Kishore da (Kishore Kumar) who was successful in both acting and singing. "If one can do justice to both the fields, he's eligible to pursue both," maintains Udit, who has acted in a Nepali film. "It happened while I was struggling and had no work. My wife advised me to act in the film, which eventually became a super-duper hit.

However , the film's success had nothing to do with me, as I wasn't the lead actor. But soon I realised that acting wasn't my cup of tea," says the singer, adding that he still has offers from Bhojpuri, Bengali and Malayali films, but he's not interested . "I take pride in what I'm doing currently. All the singers who go in for acting should first figure out whether it's their forte or not."

Even actor-turned-singer Raageshwari feels that one must know where one's potential lies. "Though I got good films, my acting career didn't take off. So, I took to singing. One should do what makes him/her happy. Though there's always scope for improvement, anything you do will be a good learning experience," avers Raageshwari.

Singer Shaan can't agree more when he says, "I tried to act in a film but singing is my first choice. Sometimes one does things just to try. It's risky but there's a thrill too! If things work well, good for you and if they don't , it's a lesson learnt."

Unlike Udit, Raageshwari, Shaan, Sonu, and now Himesh, some singers choose to limit their roles in films to guest appearance, and that too 'as themselves' . Like Pankaj Udhas appeared in the film Naam singing his evergreen song Chiththi Aai Hai, Daler Mehndi sang Oye Hoye Ki Kudiyan in Arjun Pandit, and Sade Naal Rahoge Te with Amitabh Bachchan in Mrityudata and Pritam (Chakroborty) of Dhoom fame was seen with his band in Life in a Metro.

Are these singers averse to acting? Denies Pritam as he says, "Everyone is free to give it a shot but it has to be an individual choice. Like, I'm not interested in acting." But isn't it an attempt to cash in on their popularity? "Singers who turn to acting, do put their fame at stake. If they don't perform well, they face the flak," opines Pritam. Concludes Pankaj Udhas, "It's true that most of the singers who've tried acting, haven't done really well, but that doesn't mean singers should confine themselves to singing only. If they are interested and are getting a chance there is no harm in trying."

SINGERS WHO'VE TRIED ACTING

Udit Narayan: Nepalifilm Kusumey Rumal

Kumar Sanu: A Bengali film in 1990

Palash Sen (of Euphoria): Meghna Gulzar's Filhaal

Baba Sehgal: Miss 420 (1998)

Roop Kumar Rathod and wife Sonali Rathod did a cameo in the Aman Verma starrer flick Koi Hai...

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

Babul Supriyo is all set make his acting debut in a Bengali film to be directed by acclaimed filmmaker Tarun Mazumdar

Sunidhi Chauhan who appear in a Malayalam movie called Anthiponvettom