Bollywood Actors Take to Singing – Are Playback Singers Insecure?

Bollywood actors are taking to singing their own songs, so are playback singers feeling insecure? Read more here to know what some of our popular playback singers think about this recent development in Indian cinema.

When Aamir Khan sang ‘Kya Bolti tu’, which became an instant hit (and more recently the Dhaakad song in Dangal), only few of his contemporaries tried doing the same. Shah rukh khan did it, and only recently Salman Khan did the same in his movie Kick. And these guys have been in the industry for several years, before they tried doing something different.

But the newer generation of actors seem to have no qualms about singing, in addition to acting. Well, after all, isn’t that the way Hollywood works?

Why would Madonna play back for Julia Roberts, or Jennifer Lopez sing for Halle berry?

Also Read: Top Bollywood actors who have sung for their films.

Although playback singing has been quite successful in Indian cinema for several years (decades in fact), the trend seem to be changing in recent time. Some singers feel that the trend had to change because it doesn’t do justice to the actor nor the singer.

I guess that’s the reason why newcomers like Shraddha Kapoor, Ali Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Ayushmann Khurraana have already sung their own songs.

In the initial phase of Indian cinema, directors used to prefer actors who could sing, but then the trend later moved towards playback singing which was quite successful for several years. However in recent times, with music directors and filmmakers open to experimenting, the trend seems to be dying.

So what do our established Bollywood singers have to say on this recent trend? Here are some comments.

Arijit Singh
Although he doesn’t feel threatened by actors singing for their films, Arijit thinks that top Bollywood singers have a shelf life in the industry, and they fade away after a few years.

Hariharan has been singing for the past four decades, and has sung hundreds of songs, But of late you don’t hear him much singing for Bollywood films.

And the reason for that? “Because I don’t get playback offers [anymore]. The voice USP for film numbers has changed,” says Hariharan.

Tu Hi Re from Bombay (Singers: Hariharan, Kavita Krishnamurthy)

Mohit Chauhan: “It’s a fantastic trend! We get to hear a variety of new voices and experience a new facet of an actor’s talents. Our film industry has always had singing stars. So this would just be an extension of an existent trend. Having said that, I must also say that we must seriously look at some serious role reversal, with singers being signed up to act.”

Also Read: When Salman Khan Replaced Sonu Nigam as Singer

Alisha Chinai: “Can you imagine Julia Roberts lip-syncing to Madonna? It is happening here. Playback singing was never a credible trend. The trend of ghost voices had to change, as it does justice neither to the actor nor the singer. I am glad actors are waking up to the possibilities in their own voices. Now every Bollywood actor is a wannabe singer….great!”

Kailash Kher: “Trends in the film industry are cyclic, like life itself. In the beginning our cinema had actors who would sing like K L Saigal, Surendranath, Tun Tun (Uma Devi), Noorjehan, Suraiya and Kishore Kumar. During those days filmmakers preferred to sign actors who could sing. Today actors and musicians are successfully blurring the lines between singing and acting. It’s all good as long as they sing as well as they can act.”

Adnan Sami: “Why not? If they have the talent to sing they should and must. God has blessed us with many talents and it’s our duty to harness it and share it with the world. If you got, flaunt it.”

Wajid (Sajid-Wajid): “It’s a great trend. Actors and actresses singing shows that the craze for film music is growing by the day. Stars singing expands their claims to versatility. I am glad our film stars are following the pattern abroad were actors sing their own songs in musicals.”

Alka Yagnik: “(tongue-in-cheek) Anything is possible these days. So I too have decided to get into acting now.”

Anand Raj Anand: “As long as stars sing as a diversion and not as a rule it’s okay. In Kaante I requested Sanju Baba to sing a song with an attitude ‘Collar Ko Thodasa Upar Chadhake’. It was a hit.”

Sunidhi Chauhan: “I think it’s totally cool for actors to sing their own songs in films. Why shouldn’t they, if they sound good?”