Leaving behind an extremely successful debut with Aap ka Suroor and a dud of a remake, Karzzz, singer-actor Himesh Reshammiya is back in a new avatar, this time as a radio jockey in a film titled Radio.
“In Radio, my character Vimesh is that of a 34-year-old guy who solves other people’s problems on the radio, but at the same time he is going through turmoil in his own life as his wife decides to divorce him. It is a very real and believable character and I think the audience will relate to him,” says Himesh. Incidentally, he was in Delhi to promote MMTC ‘s special collection of traditional and contemporary designs of jewellery at The Ashok. Himesh, who inaugurated the Diwali collection, was excited to meet both the media and the audience present at the event.
A new voice
The Mumbaiite has also donned a new look for the film set for release this December. Gone are the famous cap and long hair that had become his trademark in the film industry. With the new look, he gets a new voice too! Though the singer-composer refuses to comment on the rumours about undergoing a throat surgery, he says, “The two voices are completely distinct. You can’t make out just by listening that they belong to the same person. Like the song ‘Man Ka Radio’ has my new voice while ‘Zindagi Jaise Ek Radio’ has been sung in my patent nasal tone. But the point to be recognised is that both the voices are ultimately mine.” So, which is his favourite? “Well, that would definitely be ‘Man Ka Radio’ in my new voice. It is also my 500th song and I plan to celebrate the occasion soon with bigwigs from the industry,” he replies enthusiastically.
Through he first made his mark in Bollywood as a composer, Himesh now says acting is closest to his heart. “I am extremely passionate to prove myself as an actor. Singing and composing come naturally to me but acting is not natural to me. I have worked at it and have done many workshops to learn the craft.”
The media and a section of people from Bollywood have always made fun of his looks and singing style. Does it not affect him? “I take it in my stride. I think 95 per cent people love me that is why they make my work such a hit, and the rest 5 per cent who don’t, I have to win them over,” he remarks
Himesh admits that “Karzz was a mistake”. “I have learnt from my mistakes and unlike Karzz which was a remake, I am now looking forward to doing original work and playing more realistic characters in my coming films starting with Radio that releases in December. Next in the pipeline are Kajra Re directed by Pooja Bhatt, a new love story by John Mathew Mathan and Ishq Unplugged, a Studio 18 production directed by Swapna Joshi.”
Media reports suggest that the release of Radio might coincide with Amitabh Bachchan’s Paa. “I am extremely confident about Radio and my role in it as it is a very believable character. Unfortunately due to the strife between film distributors and producers earlier, we couldn’t release it earlier and now we can’t postpone it further,” responds Himesh. He signs off stating, “It is a matter of pride that my film is releasing along with such a legend’s film. I have great respect for Mr. Bachchan and wish him all the best.”
