With actors increasingly taking to singing and there being hardly any lip-sync songs anyway, is it the end of the road for playback singing as we know and hear it in our cinema? Musicians tell Subhash K Jha
Lalit Pandit: “Actors have always been fascinated with singing and have always tried their hands at it usually with unsuccessful results previously,except for few who actually did sing without the vocal being tuned were, as I remember them, Amitabhji,Govinda, Aamir Khan (for the Khandala song) Sanjay Dutt for Aye shivani in Khubsoorat.!Amitji has sung some of the songs that he did sing very well, like Merapaas aao in Mr Natwarlal. In recent years though since the voice is absolutely tunable,every other actor is trying her or his hand in singing and successfully.But singing is a very specialised art.There are a lot of factors and nuances involved in it and I think it should be left to the professionals who have dedicated their lives to achieve the perfection that is needed to deliver a composition.”
Amit Trivedi: “There is no problem in actors singing their own songs as long as they sing really well. No, lip sync songs are not extinct..Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is one of the biggest hit this year with almost all songs lip-synced.”
Anand Raj Anand: “Singers are also becoming actors so no harm if actors are singing also
Kavita Krishnamoorthy: “Can’t surely say. But pitch-correction technology and auto-tuning and singing short phrases and word by word makes singing easy for people who haven’t had formal training or even non-singers.”
Prasoon Joshi: “Some of these things done in the name of music should be just called amusement not music . In my opinion it’s a transition phase there is no alternative to the great voices,great poetry and compositions,our audience knows the difference.”
Shantanu Moitra: “It’s an all-time low for playback singing …but it’s a passing phase ….directors who know how to direct songs as a narrative have become scarce , there lies the problem”
Baabul Supriyo: I had predicted it 7/8 years back with super-conviction. Shaan and other colleagues are all aware of it and ironically, compliment me today for seeing the bleak future and near-extinction of playback singing.SUR used to be ISHWAR Once upon a time in Mumbai when divinity in singing existed in the form ofKishore/Rafi/Lata/Asha & other great singers till about 2005 after which mediocrity, aided with softwares like Antares & Melodyne, set in to finally destroy the indispensability of ‘Good’ singers.. In a talk show with Late Rituparno Ghosh called ‘Ghosh & Company’, I was ridiculed by him when I suggested all of this.. I had also told them that, not only vocals, but animation is going to equally big if not bigger with animated characters would be capturing market very much like films with actual actors.. The success of AVATAR proved my prediction (or fear) correct too.. people cried to animated & computer generated emotions & facial expressions.. with the exception of Arijit Singh & a few others, unfortunately today, good singing is not a prerequisite to success as a singer in films.”
Sajid-Wajid: I feel it’s a great move. Every actor should learn to sing their own songs as it’ll increase their interest int he overall aspects of music. Nowadays films and filmmaking have changed so there is no lip sync. But I don’t think playback singing will end if actors are singing.”

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Jamuna Had A Love-Hate Relationship With Bollywood

Veteran Telugu actress Jamuna who passed away on Friday, shared an uneasy relationship with the Hindi film industry.She did eleven Hindi films including the iconic Milan in 1967 where Jamuna agreed to play the second lead, or the supporting role if you will, to Nutan.
Jamuna as Gauri was the Other Woman who craved for the hero Sunil Dutt’s attention whereas he had eyes and devotion only for Nutan. In later years Aruna Irani played a similar role in Caravan.
In Milan Jamuna was not keen to do a supporting role. Producer L V Prasad tempted her with three chartbusting songs. Besides, Jamuna had played the same role in Mooga Manasulu, the Telugu original of Milan. But it was the songs composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal which convinced Jamuna to take up the second lead in Milan.
While Nutan had no solo songs in Milan, she did have the chartbuster duet Sawan ka mahina . Jamuna on the other hand, had two splendid Lata Mangeshkar solos: Tohey saawariya naahin khabariya and the magnificent Ghazal Aaj dil pe koi zor chalta nahin.Not only these, Jamuna also had a hit duet with Mukesh based on her character Gauri: Bol Gauri bol tera kaun piya.
But then, fate intervened. After the film released one of Jamuna’s solos, the poignant and memorable Aaj dil pe koi zor chalta nahin was snipped out of the film.
Here is what happened: the Ghazal , one of Lataji’s all-time greats, was very much a part of Milan when it released on 17 March 1967. But then it was seen to hamper the flow of the film and edited out. The beautiful song occurred right after intermission. Producer Prasad, a shrewd filmmaker, got to know that audiences prolonged their loo breaks as there was a song after the break. Hence the sacrifice of a seriously sonorous melody.
Jamuna hardly did Hindi films after Milan. Her last Bollywood appearance was in Raj Kumar Kohli’s Raj Tilak where she was lost in a multistarrer as the royal queen.
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Karan Johar Moves Alia Song From Switzerland To Kashmir

The romantic duet in Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani which was to be shot in Switzerland and which was delayed due to the film’s leading lady Alia Bhatt’s motherhood, is now being relocated to Kashmir.
Purely out of the love for new mom Alia.
Says a source in the know, “Karan loves Alia like his own daughter. He would do anything for her. He postponed the release of Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani as the love duet could not be shot before Alia’s maternity leave. Karan had decided to shoot the song in Switzerland after Alia’s maternity love. But now he has relocated the song to Kashmir as Alia doesn’t want to leave her baby girl behind for long stretches.”
And as Karan Johar argued, snow is snow. How does it matter whether it is Switzerland or Kashmir?
This song would be Karan Johar’s tribute to his idol Yash Chopra. Alia would be dressed in chiffon sarees while Ranveer, for a change, would be seen in formals.
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Bobby Deol’s Switchover To Villainous Roles

After Prakash Jha’s webseries Ashram where Bobby played a sleazy godman, and Love Hostel where he was a ruthless assassin, he is playing the villain to Ranbir Kapoor in Sandeep Vanga’s Animal.
Bobby says it is not conscious career decision to play negative characters but a conscious decision to play interesting characters. “ I don’t look at characters as positive or negative.When I watch films there is always one character that stays with you. I want to play that character.”
Prakash Jha’s Ashram proved a gamechanger for Bobby. He admits finding challenging roles is tough. “I am trying. I am doing Sandeep Vanga’s Animal with Ranbir Kapoor , Parineeti Chopra. Then I am doing the family film Apne 2 which I am very excited about.”
In an earlier interview with this writer Bobby spoke about his long absence from screen before Prakash Jha’s Ashram. “My fans would ask why I wasn’t being seen on the screen.And I couldn’t tell them it was because I wasn’t getting good roles. But my fans stood by me. They gave me the strength to keep looking for the right roles. Thankfully I found the roles I liked. My new films have given me some new fans. I am thankful I am still here. Yeah , I am in a good space right now.”
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Undekhi A Dark Compelling Thriller Set In The Heartland

Undekhi the forthcoming webseries from Applause Entertainment and Sony LIV which starts streaming from July 10, looks like the kind of thriller that won’t let us rest easy until we see the last episode. It is mounted with a stress on growing pressure.
One promo shows a rotund cop investigating a gruesome murder in a dense tribal area.The other promo shows a politician gunning down a dancer on stage in front of the public and the press.
Wild West comes to the North. Undekhi is a thriller set in Manali, Himachal created for Applause by Siddharth Sengupta. It’s a gripping story that sees Harsh Chhaya making an impressive comeback as a drunk Papaji in a super-rich amoral Punjabi family. And Surya Sharma (Prince from Hostages) really shines as Rinku , the main bad guy and Papaji’s nephew. It’s got a terrific cast of other characters, many of whom we all recognize as names .
The talented Harsh Chhaya makes a debut of sorts on the digital medium with Undekhi.
Says Harsh, “I have never played anything so wild and mad. I am looking forward to Undekhi, hope it works for the audience too.This is a debut in a sense that this is the first one I shot for the OTT platform.But the other two I shot for after this was streamed before this one Out Of Love and Rangbaaz, Phir Se.
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