Playback Singing by Actors

Playback singing is a huge industry for artists who lend their vocals to popular film / TV / Albums / Singles.  It demands a lot of rehearsal, discipline and care for vocal chords. Many sacrifice certain foods which may come in the way of their singing talent.  Some give us goosebumps while others have us lost in a trance. But it is a profession, which is truly respected and loved.

 List of Actors who have given playback for their films / songs.

      1.      Salman Khan 

      Salman has a great voice, which is seen in his films and TV shows. But when he takes to singing, he creates his own style and sings from his heart. He sang 3 songs in Kick, Jumme Ki Raat Unplugged, Tu Hi Tu Har Jagah unplugged and the most popular Hangover. His latest song Hero was absolute magic to the ears, he sounded different, more melodious and took a different route of visualization, by being behind the mic. All his songs have been chartbusters and the man is definitely multi-talented.

      2.      Sonakshi Sinha 

      The young breed of actresses are certainly not shying away from the limelight and embrace it at any given moment. They exude confidence and show their talent through films, interviews, social media presence and events. One such lovely actress who has recently taken to singing is, Sonakshi Sinha, she sang one line in the song ‘Let’s celebrate this moment’ from her film Tevar, alongside International Pop Singer Imran Khan.  She has debuted as a Pop Singer with her single ‘ Ishqaholic’ , under the T-Series Music Label , set to the music of the sensational Meet Bros duo. She sounds promising as a singer and was interestingly seen as a judge on a singing reality show recently.

 3.      Akshay Kumar 

      The superstar who has been ruling the box office for around 3 decades, recently ventured into singing.  He has sung for two of his films, Special 26 and Entertainment and provided much support to the album by lending his stardom to the playback .  For Entertainment’s song he did a LIVE recording in front of the media as part of his promotional strategy. The man has many facets to him and makes for a profitable and entertaining artist.  

  4.      Priyanka Chopra 

      This lovely actor never fails to surprise us, be it with her acting skills, versatile roles and even singing. She worked extremely hard to train to become an International Pop Singer and released singles alongside Pitbull and Will.I.Am .  She is known to be a successful American Television Actor as well and is quickly being recognized for her talents in the west.  Among her Indian Films, she has sung a song called Chaoro in her sports biopic Mary Kom.

       5.      Parineeti Chopra 

      This gorgeous young actor was off the screen last  2 years, but she is back again with a sweet love story titled, ‘Meri Pyaari Bindu’. In fact she came up with an innovative film announcement by humming a song from the film, which will see her in the role of an aspiring singer alongside Ayushmann Khurrrana. She has earlier sung Unplugged songs for web promotions of her film. Not many know that Parineeti Chopra is a trained singer who is utilizing her full potential in Meri Pyaari Bindu.

      6.      Shahrukh Khan 

      This superstar will go on record to be the only actor who plays his own fan in his upcoming film ‘Fan’. Knowing his passion and love for cinema, we are sure in for a treat by him. The actor has tried to attempt varied roles and used his complete potential to be perceived as an ultimate entertainer. As a singer, he lent his voice to the dynamic Apun Bola Tu Meri Laila from his film Josh and indeed did justice to it.

     7.      Alia Bhatt 

     The youngest Bhatt to have entered filmdom, is the most popular one among her family. She has a beautiful voice which we witnessed in her unplugged ‘Main Tenu Samjhawaan Ki’ for her film Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania. Additionally, not many know but she sang Sooha Sooha from her film Highway.  Seems, like old times are back when actresses actually sang their own songs. Alia is surely an all-rounder.

       8.      Shraddha Kapoor

      This young actor aces her game at acting, dance and even singing. She has a beautiful gift of talents, which seem like they came to her naturally. She debuted as singer for ‘Teri Galliyaan’ and even bagged a few reputed awards for the same. Her role in Rock On.2 requires her to sing. We can’t wait to watch her hum with the band.

     9.      Hrithik Roshan | Farhan Akhtar & Abhay Deol 

      It is very rare for 3 leading heroes to feature in a song as well as lend their voices to it. When the trio of Farhan, Hrithik and Abhay did this for Senorita from the film, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara , it worked magically. As authentic as friends would sound on a boy’s night  out singing and performing with a beautiful local in full public view. This one made for a great party song.  Farhan has interestingly sung all the songs in Rock On, and we can’t wait to see him rock again with Rock On. 2

      10.  Amitabh Bachchan 

      From being rejected as an RJ at AIR to becoming the most successful star of Hindi films. We all know the glorious career Amitabh Bachchan has earned with his hard-work. As a singer, he sounds so good, mature, lively and suits himself the best.  He has tried his hands at various genres and some of the most memorable ones are Rang Barse, My Name is Anthony Gonsalves, Mein Yahan Tu Wahan, Yeh Kahan Aa Gaye Hum.

We congratulate all the actors who have put in efforts for the songs of their films and help made them a success! 

Bollywood Sports Biographies

Life of Sports Celebrities make up for great film narratives. As they live a unique life dedicated to hard core training, discipline, achievements and failures all at the same time. Makers often take us on an emotional roller coaster along the lines of the strict demands of their profession. We come out with immense respect for them.

Let’s begin with some of the Best Sports Biographies :

1.) Bhaag Milhka Bhaag 

Despite having a tough childhood, Milkha who loses his parents to the civil war,  becomes an international Sports Icon. He earns the title of ‘Flying Sikh’ owing to his talent in running. He broke many records, many hearts along the way  but emerged as a true athlete. The title of the film is derived from the last words spoken by Milkha’s father to him, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, where he instructs his son to run away from the partition’s tense riots.  He loses one of the biggest Olympian race in 1960 but redeems his position by breaking the world record in a 400m race. Jawaharlal Nehru declared a national holiday in his name to respect his contribution in the field of sports.   

There could not be another actor who could have transformed into Milhka Singh.  Milkha Singh personally gave inputs of his life for the screenplay of the film.

     2.)    Mary Kom 

      When her enraged father asks her to choose between him or boxing, the passionate Mary chooses boxing.  She  excels during her training sessions with her coach and makes him proud by winning several women boxing championships. While fighting a local boxing match she meets her future husband, Onler Kom, who is a footballer by profession. They grow fond of each and he proposes marriage to her on the condition that she’ll never leave her talent behind and pursue her career the same way. When she gets pregnant her career takes a backseat briefly. She is frustrated when people don’t recognize her, which is when her husband Onler, suggests she pursues boxing once again. She goes back to rigorous training sessions and while competing for an International Boxing Championship, she hears of one of her kids heart defect. Saddened by the news, she is not able to perform well but fights back to win. While receiving the prize, she learns her son’s surgery  has gone well. 

The film is based on an autobiography, Unbreakable written by the real Mary Kom.

      3.)    Paan Singh Tomar 

      The story dates back to 1950 when Paan Singh served the Indian army, but was so good with his athletic skills that his seniors urged him to join sports. He does it only for the unlimited diet they provide and goes on to win the Indian National Games in steeplechase for 7 times in a row.  He has a forced retirement when he learns about a certain Bhanwar Singh invading and acquiring his property illegally. He discusses the matter with local police and the District collector but to no avail. Bhanwar attacks his family and kills his mother brutally. Paan Singh sets out to avenge his mother’s death and becomes one of the most dreaded dacoit in Chambal Valley. 

A heart-breaking story of a respected Indian Army Soldier turned Top Sportsman turned Dacoit. The film puts forward the thought of helplessness from society.

      4.)    M.S Dhoni 

      A leading Bollywood Film, titled M.S Dhoni – An Untold Story will be made after the most sought after cricketer M.S Dhoni. It covers Dhoni's struggles and journey to victory. How we served as a Train Ticket Collector to becoming the nation's cricket captain. The Indian Captain has managed to make India victorious in a number of T20 , World Cups and Champion Trophy’s.  Interestingly, the supporting cast boasts of John Abraham as Yuvraj Singh, Fawad Khan as Virat Kohli, Ram Charan as Suresh Raina, Gautam Gulati as Zaheer Khan and Prince Narula as Pathiv Patel. Sakshi’s character will be played by newcomer Kiara Advani. Sushant Singh Rajput will essay the Title Role and has even learnt the real sportsperson’s famous Helicopter Shot to look believable.  The film will release on 2^nd Sept , under the direction of Neeraj Pandey.

       5.)    Azhar 

      Mohammed Azharuddin had a glorious career in International Cricket, but events led him to be accused of match – fixing in 2000. Though he has been provided a clean chit from Andhra Pradesh High Court, BCCI has imposed a life-long ban on him.  Nargis Fakhri plays the role of Sangeeta Bijlani , Prachi Desai plays his first wife Naureen. 

    We are in awe of these sportsperson and will remain so for eternity 

Relationship Learning with Romantic Films  

We are here to make your weekend a memorable one.  The thought of spending quality time with your partner on a weekend is just too tempting.   As it’s an ideal time for togetherness and bonding.
We suggest you take a look at the films below and set out to make your relationship stronger. 

 Set your relationship goals with these :

Saathiya 

Learn the art of flirting and chasing the woman of your life, albeit in the cutest possible way, like Vivek Oberoi in Saathiya. He floored Rani with his continuous charm, attempting to bring a smile on her face with compliments. Though they faced a little trouble in their matrimony, they resolved all their issue by the end and all’s well that ends well.

Relationship learning – No matter the problems you may face, pursue your love.

Shuddh Desi Romance 

Sushant Singh Rajput plays a commitment phobic young lad who walks out of the Marriage Altar at the last minute. He meets an interesting match in Parineeti Chopra and moves in with her. Their love flourishes in cute situations and songs. However, Parineeti walks out on him, making him feel the same way as Vaani earlier did. He briefly falls for Vaani’s charm, but events lead up to his chance meeting with Parineeti and they decide to not marry, but just live in together.

 Relationship Learning -  You may fall in love multiple times with different people, but you must realize who you really love.

Aashiqui 2 

Aditya Roy Kapur falls in love with the simplistic nature of a great girl, played by Shraddha Kapoor. They share the same profession. Aditya helps Shraddha to build a successful career but his own suffers owing to his drinking habits. As singing involves your vocal chords to function at their best, Aditya loses out on his career. He suicides so that Shraddha doesn’t  give up her career due to his problems.

Relationship Learning -  Your partner is incomplete without you. Never think in extreme.

 Jab Tak Hai Jaan 

Shahrukh Khan is a commoner who does odd jobs to make ends meet, while living in London. He falls for the innocent girl, played by Katrina and they get into a relationship.  She confesses her love to her father and calls off her engagement. However, Shahrukh meets with a deadly accident while on a bike. Katrina prays for his recovery by swearing to Lord she will never meet him again if Shahrukh recovers.  Meanwhile, Anushka has a chance encounter with Shahrukh in India and she develops a crush on him. They work together on a bomb disposing documentary and she calls him to London to promote it. He meets with another accident and loses his memory. He only retains the memory of a previous decade gone by. As he is the younger version of himself and madly in love with Katrina then,  Anushka sets out to unite the separated lovers.

Relationship Learning – Never make promises which are hard on you both.

 Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge   

Shahrukh and Kajol fall in love while on a vacation and become serious about each other. But Kajol’s marriage is already planned by her father, whose given his word to the groom’s family. Shahrukh comes all the way from London to India to impress Kajol’s father by helping out in her marriage arrangements and many interactions with Amrish Puri. Their love wins.

Relationship Learning  - Don’t give up, convince your to be in-laws.

Fanaa 

Aamir flirts unabashedly with Kajol as they discover the beautiful landscapes of Delhi together. He uses Shayaris to impress his lady love and wins over her. They spend a night together and return home to get Kajol operated for her blindness. She regains sight but doesn’t get to see her lover, as he is supposedly dead in a terror blast. Turns out, he has joined the Indian Army several years later and they meet again.  They get married in an intimate ceremony but events reveal that his identity isn’t what he claims and in actuality Aamir is a terrorist in the guise of an army man. His mission is to free Kashmir from the interference of India and Pakistan.

Relationship learning – Be careful of the true identity of your partner. Always know them well before you consider marriage.

Hum Tum 

Saif flirts with Rani while they’re on a flight. They get acquainted and explore Amsterdam together, yet they depart on unfriendly terms. Years later they meet at Rani’s arranged wedding and become friendly. The story shift to Paris, where Saif comes to visit his father and has a chance meeting with Rani, who is now a widow. They eventually fall in love and get married.

Relationship Learning – If you meet someone again and again, that person is in your destiny.

Chalte Chalte 

An adorable love story of Shahrukh and Rani who have contrasting personalities and backgrounds, yet fall for each other. They get married and life isn’t fair at times even to couples who love each other. She borrows money from her ex-fiancee when in a financial crisis and Shahrukh takes major offense on her decision to do so. Yet, their love brings them back together and the credits roll while they have a new argument.

Relationship Learning – Don’t get bogged down by fights, if you’re meant to be, love will unite you two.

Love Aaj Kal 

A modern couple, Saif and Deepika, choose their career over their relationship and have a mutual break up. Years later when they’re dating other persons, they secretly spend time with each other.

Deepika realizes her true feelings for Saif on the day of her marriage. Years later, they reunite and become a couple again.  Simultaneously, the Kal is represented by Rishi Kapoor’s era of love where they pursue their love in during hardships.  

Relationship Learning – Realize who your true soul-mate is and never let them go.

Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam 

 A dreamy love story brews between Aishwariya and Singer, Salman in the film. They face family opposition and she is married to another man, forcibly. She tries to be normal but can’t forget her lovely past relationship. The husband comes to terms with this and decided to unite them. Though, in the process she falls for her husband.

Relationship learning – No one can replace the love and respect given by a husband.

Have a happy weekend! 

Biography on Salman Khan 

Salman Khan aka Bhaijaan / Bhai as he is popularly called is a mainstream Hindi Film Hero and the most profitable star for producers today. His fan-following is immense nationally and grows tremendously with every project he associates himself with.  He is the only actor with seven/ eight films to his credit, which have entered the prestigious 100 crore club and beyond.

Born as Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan, he retained his name Salman for show-biz.  Besides his acting, Salman Khan is also known to do be involved in Charity Organization, Being Human which raises funds for several charitable donations.  He is a great painter and often paints portraits of Lord Jesus.  Unfortunately, his name is linked to two unlawful activities, one of killing wild animals / black bucks and the other in drunken driving.

He somehow always falls prey to controversy with the women in his life.

Salman is the most loved reality show anchor and Colors has worked with him repeatedly on their Bigg Boss Franchise, as he lends major star power and entertainment to the show, hence, generating revenue for the makers. His impromptu and easy going hosting style is appreciated by housemates and viewers alike.  He had two big releases in the year gone by, Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo which turned out to be the highest grossing Hindi Films.  His next film, Sultan will see him essay the role of a wrestler. Interestingly, Anushka Sharma who is much younger to him will be seen as the lady wrestler in the film.

Salman as a kid

Salman from his younger days

Salman Khan’s debut film, Biwi Ho To Aisi (1988)

Salman started off as a Supporting Actor in his debut film, Biwi Ho To Aisi, alongside iconic stars like Rekha, Farooq Sheikh and Bindu. Then moved on to lead roles with his next film, Maine Pyaar Kiya for which he won the Filmfare Best Debut Award and even sealed his name in the Best Actor category.  

His film with Baagi is being remade in 2016 with Tiger Shroff and Shraddha Kapoor in the lead roles. His most celebrated work happens to be Hum Aapke Hai Koun with the diva Madhuri Dixit, which established him as a leading star.

More films like, Andaaz Apna Apna, Khamoshi, Karan Arjun maintained his stardom and run in the industry.

He kept experimenting with roles in Comedy, Action and Romance with Judwaa, Auzaar and Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya and proved his versatility as an actor. He continued to be the most loved chocolate boy with Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai and a special cameo in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. His favorite director, Sooraj Barjatiya cast him once again in Hum Saath Saath Hai  which became one of the most successful family films. He climbed the ladder of success with Hum Dil De Chuke Samam and Biwi No. 1. His shift to various genres made him one of the most likeable stars.

With Khamoshi, he showed a vulnerable side to him and successfully achieved critical acclaim. Salman proved his mettle amongst other talented co-actors and earned his Superstar status.

From 2000 onwards he did multiple films starring Rani Mukherjee and Preity Zinta opposite him which were Box Office hits. 

Salman fell in love with Aishwariya during the shoot of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, as they put up one of the greatest romances on celluloid. However, in the narrative,  they break up under familial issues and Nandini ( Aishwariya) goes on to marry another man.   It is also known, that while the attempt to have the lovers united by the sacrificing Husband ( Ajay Devgan), Salman requested the end to be in his favor, although it didn’t come to fruition.

Salman then went on to do a sensitive love story with Tere Naam and impressed Critics with his ability to play a mentally unstable man who gets brutally attacked as he pursues his love.

He was applauded for playing an AIDS patient in Phir Milenge, which interestingly, had Abhishek Bachchan in the cast too. With this film, he got the issue of AIDS out in the open and brought more acceptance to patients suffering from it.

All of Salman Khan’s recent work stands out from his peers. His films are distinct and promise wholesome entertainment. He makes his films festive by reserving the Eid Week each year and satiating his true fans large appetite for entertainment. His songs turn out to be chartbusters and his unique dancing style gets imitated by his huge following.

Salman has earned a place with his Wax Replica at the renowned Madame Tussauds in the UK.

Fights in the Industry :

The highly talked about fight which Salman had with Shahrukh Khan, on the occasion of Katrina Kaif’s birthday is now a thing of the past. Apparently, both got into a verbal argument of the respective shows they were anchoring then.

He later had a major fall out with Vivek Oberoi, when the latter conducted a press conference stating that he got a death threat from Salman. This was at a time when Vivek and Aishwariya were a couple and apparently, Salman called up his ex-girlfriend about 41 times.

Even after many apologies by Vivek, Salman didn’t budge and their rivalry is still the most talked about. This has majorly affected the career and growth of Vivek Oberoi as an actor.

Personal Life :

Known to have a medical condition by the name of Trigeminal Neuralgia, a facial nerve disorder which is also known as the Suicide Disease, Salman suffers with this persistent illness and has even undergone treatment in the US for the same. Yet, sources say the pain hasn’t gone and it has affected his voice too.  Salman braves the illness with his smile and has never been vocal about his personal issues.

Reports say he is likely to marry his current Romanian Girlfriend, Iulia Vantur in 2016.

Like his brothers, Salman too, has ventured into production with his company Salman Khan Being Human Productions. The money generated from his films will be donated to his charity, Being Human.

Another production house he manages is called, Salman Khan Films which made Bajrani Bhaijaan and Hero in 2015. He believes in promoting new talent and often takes newcomers under his mentor-ship.
All the people close to him vouch for the fact that he has a Heart of Gold.
  

 Films Rejected by Katrina Kaif 

Katrina Kaif is a highly successful actress, who mainly has been part of commercial massy films.  But little are we aware of the films she could have done, but rejected. Interestingly, most of her films would have been with Ranbir Kapoor, which eventually were taken up majorly by Deepika Padukone.

Here’s all you need to know :

       1.   Chennai Express 

       Katrina had to turn down Chennai Express as she was unconvinced to enact a South Indian native.  The meaty role was taken by her competitor, Deepika Padukone.

       2.   Bajirao Mastani 

      The biggest success of 2016, Bajirao Mastani was initially offered to Katrina Kaif.  She would have looked lovely as the brave warrior Mastani , but destiny got it back to Deepika Padukone.

      3.   Gunday

      The first choice for Gunday’s lead was Katrina Kaif but citing date issues, the role went on to be played  by Priyanka Chopra 

      4.    Barfi 

      Anurag Basu wanted Katrina Kaif to play Ranbir Kapoor’s love interest in the critically acclaimed film Barfi, as it needed a lovable yet glamorous character. The role was eventually played by debutante Ileana D’cruz

5.  Yeh Jawaani Hai Dewaani and Ramleela 

      Sanjay Leela Bhansali really wished to make Katrina Kaif a part of his cast, but things didn’t work out for them. Both diametrically different films were done by Deepika Padukone. Let’s hope we see Katrina playing an intriguing character with SLB soon.

6.  Rockstar

      Apparently, Katrina was the first choice for Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar, but due to unavailability of dates, the role was given to newcomer Nargis Fakri. 

       

Let’s hope Katrina doesn’t reject such gem of movies in the future. Tell us a film she should have really done.  

Inspired Posters 

Posters usually give out a Unique Selling Point of the film or an important aspect of the plot line. However, some designers seek references in Hollywood and go on to Indianize the poster designs.

Presenting a list of loosely inspired to completed ripped posters remade for Bollywood. 

We found these exact replicas of posters.  Well, someday they may seek inspiration from our originality too.  We must add not all Hindi films stick to this formula for coming out with creative ideas.

Tell us your thoughts. 

Films which could have had a different end.

Don’t we just hate climaxes of films, we could have sat through all our life. Or feel upset if the film’s end doesn’t satisfy us. We bring to you a list of films which could have had different endings.

 1.       Rockstar
 

A truly passionate film on love, musicians and a career in the music industry.  The belief which kept the film alive was to get your heart-broken once to be able to become a supreme singer and convey lyrics straight from the heart. When Jordan gets his heart-broken he does get to the top of his game but his lady love, Heer who marries an NRI suffers a deadly illness. She copes well with Jordan around her but the climax sees her getting pregnant with Jordan’s baby and therefore, losing her life. The end could have been a happier one.

      2.       Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam

   

Salman Khan wished Sanjay Leela Bhansali would change the climax and make it in his favour too.   But the magnum opus maker did otherwise as shown.  So the leading lady Aishwariya, eventually fell in love with her husband, who she got married to forcibly.  But had they shown a flashback of Sameer and Nandini’s beautiful love story, may be the end could have been tweaked a bit.

       3.    Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge

Imagine if Simran would not have been allowed to board the train with Raj in the climax and would have to marry Kuljeet forcibly. We would have surely had an interesting sequel to this one. May be, a reconciliation between Raj and Simran after many years or Simran falling for Kuljeet’s love

 4.       Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu

We knew Rahul ( Imran Khan) and Riana ( Kareena Kapoor) accidentally marry each other after a drunken night. But we wish they had kept their marriage in the narrative, instead of annulling it.

Even the climax has Rahul confessing his feelings to Riana, but she only wished for a friendship. May be a nice sequel to this can follow. Hope you’re reading this Mr. Shakun Batra.

 5.       Hum Aapke Hai Koun

Guess if Nisha ( Madhuri) would have married her brother in law, Rajesh and never reveal her true feelings for Prem with everyone. A sequel of their adjusting marriage would have made for an interesting watch. The baby could have grown up to look just like Salman and Prem could have got himself another girl, just like Nisha.

Make up your interesting stories / endings and we’ll be happy to read them.