All about Himesh.!!!!!!!! - Page 13

Excerpts from the Interview:

Why choose London and bring the media from India to attend your concert?

This is my first-ever concert tour of Great Britain after a hugely successful series of Aap Ka Suroor concerts in the USA. I have to make three very important announcements. The first is of the launch of the H.R.School Of Music. We have state-of-the-art malls and multiplexes but no such school for music. My father, Vipin Reshammiya, who is the backbone of my success, had dreamt of this way back in the '70s when he was a musician and composer and had pioneered the use of electronic instruments in Indian film music. I have been fortunate enough to be in a position to make his vision a reality.

What kind of training will be imparted here?

Broadly, we will have about 10 divisions - Rock, Sufi-Rock, Indian classical vocal, instrumental, pop etc. Each in turn will have three kinds of curriculums - one for the professionals, one for the amateurs, and one for those who want to learn music as a hobby. I have known some great God-gifted talents who are into business, medicine, engineering or even journalism. They could be groomed well enough to make their hobby a profession too. We are going to have the best of teachers from India and abroad.

We are planning 8 schools, each on a 25,000- sq.ft.premises in the four metros. The Future Group, a leading corporate entity that owns brands like Pantaloon and Big Bazaar have liked my concept and joined hands, and from 8 we can now expand to 50 over the next few years. We are beginning with Kolkata within 2 months.

Will this be a mission or business?

It is both business and vidya. God and the industry have given me so much that it is payback time, definitely. Making money is not at all the agenda and so the fee structure will be very economical. I want to change the lives of the youth in our country. Music is achieving incredible dimensions.

What is the second announcement?

In association with Future Group, we are launching a line of clothing with four fashion labels named Aashiq, Jhoom, Suroor and Jhalak. These are songs that every young Indian relates with today. There will also be some merchandising of caps, jackets etc. I will also be promoting their DJ&C range of Denims and cool casuals.

The third announcement was to be a surprise, but reports have already come in from the grapevine.

There is amazing guesswork going on. The third announcement is what I want to make on stage in front of the people. Yes, I am acting in a love story called Aap Ka Suroor - The Movie directed by Prashant Chadda and produced by Vijay Taneja. I will be portraying HR, a rock-singer. I will also be composing nine new tracks for the film.

It is a big-budget film shot across nine countries with two new female faces, one of whom will be Indian. Yes, there are some parallels in the storyline to my life.

What happens to Himesh Reshammiya the prolific music director with all these extra activities?

I will now limit myself to 3 films and maybe one album a year. My habit of composing at least 2-3 tunes in a day continues, but now I will be selective about work.I have had the good luck to have 90% hits right from my first film Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya till today and I do not see the need now to do so many films after what has happened to my last few releases. My well-wishers have advised me in any case to turn choosy and maintain my quality and success average.

To what do you attribute such a stratum of success?

It's all God's will. Believe me, I have always thought that and will continue to do so. Success is a combination of talent, blessings, good wishes and hard work. But without destiny and God's will nothing happens. I know that there are people who are as talented or hard-working as I am, may be more, but they do not reach where they should because God and destiny wills otherwise and they do not get the necessary blessings and good wishes. So success is itself a sign of being blessed. In my case, 90% of the media has been solidly behind me all along. This tour is also my expression of thanks and gratitude for the huge hand they have in my success.

And the remaining 10%. What have you to say about them?