Actor Siddarth tests his vocal chords in Striker. Sunday MiD DAY looks at the other stars who have been bitten by the singing bug

Actor Siddarth tests his vocal chords in Striker. Sunday MiD DAY looks at the other stars who have been bitten by the singing bug

IT'S SURE not easy to get behind the microphone, but our multi-talented bunch of stars have risen to the challenge well. For listeners, the novelty of having their favourite actor do the playback has always been a huge thrill.

The best part about an actor emoting for a song is that he brings so much more of himself into the film. Of course, while classic Hindi cinema had giants like Ashok Kumar and Devika Rani who could give the biggest playback singers a run for their game, actors singing in contemporary films don't fare too badly themselves and take themselves less seriously perhaps (as singers that is), adding a whole new edge to film music. Here's a look at how most of the big guns fared.

Aamir Khan
Track: Aati kya Khandala (Ghulam)
Lalitha Suhasini 2.5
Review: The tapori number from the 1998 flick Ghulam held aspirational value, making millions believe if Aamir could sing then anyone else could. Aamir pretty much kicked off the trend for the new wave of actors.

Abhishek Bachchan
Track: Right here right now (Bluffmaster)
Rating: 4
Review: Small B gets down and dirty all right in the Vishal-Shekhar track from Bluff Master that's hypnotic, hedonistic and hotter than the neon green hot pants that Carol Gracias sports in the video. Abhishek bit the rhymes so hard that no one's managed to come close to his 2005 act. We're waiting for the album AB.

Amitabh Bachchan
Track: Rang barse (Silsila)
Rating: 5
Review:u00a0Big B is the indisputable rockstar. He'll do a folk-soaked Rang barse, a burning ballad like Rozana and a fun straight-up Bollywood masala number like Tu maike mat jaiyyo with equal ease. And he'll have the kids squealing in his palm with Mere paas aao and Ir bhir phatte.

Farhan Akhtar
Track: Tum ho toh (Rock On!! )
Rating: 3
Review: The filmmaker turned actor turned singer did almost an entire album and that's no mean feat, especially for a first-time effort. Farhan delivers the psychedelic Tum ho toh exceptionally well daring to bare his frayed high notes, but never awkward in his rendition.u00a0

Juhi Chawla
Track: Chalo jaane do (Bhootnath)
Rating: 5
Review: The actor first lent her vocals for this incredibly gentle ballad along with the Big B. Chalo jaane do is also one of Vishal-Shekhar's underrated gems. OK, so Juhi has the advantage of being classically trained but the actor also pulls off robust folk songs like a pro, with Punjab's powerhouse performer Gurdas Man. Salute!

Kamal Haasan
Track: Raja naam mera (Appu Raja)
Rating: 3.5
Review: The extremely versatile star has come a long way from his shaky playback debut for Sadma back in the 80s to lending his vocals for the Illayaraja composition Raja naam mera for Appu Raja and Chahe Pandit ho for Hey Ram in 2000. His daughter Shruti tells us that he lets it rip when he does Led Zep. While we're yet to hear his classic rock prowess, Kamal is not bad at all in the uptempo, buoyant tracks that he's been doing till date.

Kareena Kapoor
Track: Jab nahi aye the tum (Dev)
Rating: 0
Review: The girl has guts, must give that to her. Her, er, size zero vocals were set to a rather nice melody composed by Aadesh Shrivastav for Dev. There aren't too many modulations but Bebo's straining so much anyway that you end up sympathising with her.

Priyanka Chopra
Track: Right here right now (Bluffmaster)
Review: PC laid down her chops for one line in the Bluffmaster track so it doesn't merit a rating, but we're waiting to hear more from the actor. Some YouTube videos suggest disaster notes on stage, as well as an impressive verse from Tinka tinka (originally sung by Alisha Chinai) from Karam (2005) for the camera.

Salman Khan
Track: Chaandi ke daal (Hello Brother)
Rating: 3
Review: The man has a great ear for music and is probably the best of the Khans. The percussive track from Hello Brother which is a hit at Ganpati pandals every year, was the first to show off his vocal prowess. Salman is completely uninhibited and gives the impression that he's having fun singing, and takes away most of the stars for just that.

Sanjay Dutt
Track: Giri giri (Aladin)
Rating: 3.5
Review:
The star started out with tracks such as Aye shivani (off key) in 1999 but really warmed up only with Rama re composed by Anand Raj Anand for Kaante (2002). He'll breeze through a track like Tez Dhaar from Musafir (2005) that's his style laidback, and sexy cool. Sanju also fits into the low pitched, tracks with a snarl effortlessly. Case in point being Giri giri from the soundtrack of Aladin that released last year.u00a0

Siddharth
Track: Haq se le haq le (Striker)
Rating: 2.5
Review: The actor throws himself into the propulsive sound of Striker easily. Siddharth gets the mean street edge perfectly and the big beats on Haq se le haq le composed by Illayaraja's son Yuvan Shankar Raja offsets Siddharth's boyish vocals perfectly. The actor even manages some cool modulations. He tackles Bombay Bombay composed by Amit Trivedi filled with violent riffs and a lot of jangle without too many bumps, managing to impress the composer too.

Shah Rukh Khan
Track: Apun bola (Josh)
Rating: 2
Review: King Khan oozed B'wood gangsta charge in Josh, but a dud note is a dud note. Credit goes to Anu Malik who didn't really set the new millennium year blazing with this track, although everybody couldn't but sit up when Shah Rukh got behind the mic.u00a0

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels