Change of tune: How good are our Bollywood stars as singers?

Sonakshi Sinha, Amaal Mallik, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma, Parineeti Chopra, Richa Chadha

Sonakshi Sinha

When Amitabh Bachchan went behind the mic for songs in Silsila (Rang Barse, 1981) and Baghban (Holi Khele and Main Yahan, 2003), Aamir Khan for Ghulam (Aati Kya Khandala, 1998), Shah Rukh Khan for Josh (Apun Bola, 2000) and Salman Khan for Hello Brother (Chandi Ki Daal Par, 1999), there was not much hoo-ha. In fact, it wasn't even a topic of discussion as it's done nowadays when a star acts as well as croons. An actor trying his or her hand at singing has become a trend of sorts, as more and more of them are testing the waters. Unlike in the past, when singers didn't take offence, nowadays, some senior singers and composers aren't comfortable with the idea of actors turning singers.

A few have claimed that Bollywood stars manage to pull off playback because of the use of auto-tuners. In the past few years, Hrithik Roshan, Shraddha Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Akshay Kumar, Ayushmann Khurrana and Sonakshi Sinha, among others, have turned singers.

Amaal Mallik with Salman Khan

New innings
Several recently released and upcoming films' soundtracks feature songs recorded by actors. Anushka Sharma turned rapper in her latest release, Phillauri. She has sung Naughty Billo with Diljit Dosanjh. Meanwhile, Aamir Khan, who plays a musician in his upcoming production Secret Superstar, will lend his voice to a song. Salman, whose rendition of Main Hoon Hero Tera (Hero, 2015) became a chartbuster, has sung in Mahesh Manjrekar's upcoming Marathi film, Rubik's Cube. Sallu has also crooned for another Marathi film, titled FU - Fun Unlimited.

Aamir Khan in Secret Superstar

While Parineeti Chopra is set to make her singing debut in Meri Pyaari Bindu, Richa Chadha hops on to the bandwagon, too. She will sing in her next untitled film. Amy Jackson is also singing a Punjabi number, Lak Hilaade, with singer-composer Manjeet Ral. Comedian Kapil Sharma, known for his singing prowess, has reportedly sung three songs in his yet untitled Punjabi production. Sonakshi recently shot for the music video of Move Your Lakk from her next film, Noor. She has sung the party number along with Diljit Dosanjh and rapper-composer Badshah.

Anushka Sharma

For the record
Despite divided opinion on actors turning singers, composers are glad to have fresh voices in their studios. Badshah waited for long to record a track with Sonakshi.

"I know she loves singing. We have wanted to collaborate for a while, and I am glad it finally happened," he says. Talking about her playback experience, Sonakshi said, "I love to sing. The song captures the spirit of friendship."

Parineeti Chopra

Composer Amaal Mallik, who recorded the Hero (2015) title track with Salman and Sab Tera (Baaghi, 2016) with Shraddha, says they are passionate singers. But, since actors are not professional vocalists, consistency of scale becomes an issue, and that's when pitch-correcting software comes to the rescue. "There's a mistaken notion that actors depend only on technology. I was amazed when Shraddha Kapoor, for Sab Tera, pulled off some variations as good as Armaan (Malik, singer-brother) did. I didn't use auto-tuner for her," says Amaal, who recorded with Salman for five hours. "He knows he is not a professional, but he understands music. When I'd sing a line, he would easily replicate that. Some notes were off-tune and had to be fixed using Melodyne, an intricate software that fixes each syllable."

Richa Chadha

Composers are content
Composer Amit Trivedi, who recorded Aamir for Secret Superstar, is all praise for the actor. "Aamir is an institution. He is so knowledgeable. If he is talking to me about music, he knows what he is talking," says Amit, who loves it when actors sing for films. "As long as they are singing well, it's great. Shraddha Kapoor and Alia Bhatt are good singers."