MUMBAI - It’s time to meet the man himself. “Aap Kaa Surroor - The Movie” has had the biggest opening of 2007, became a major hit and confounded the “intellectual” critics. So what is Himesh Reshammiya’s game-plan now? Will he return to music, having proved his point? Will he only act? Will he go into acting overdrive just as he did as a singer? And - dare I think of it - will he make a sequel?
India-West talks to the over-busy composer-singer-actor caught in a frantic schedule. When a face-to-face isn’t possible, we fix up a phone chat. That does not happen over four fixed appointments - he is still busy in promotions in other centers and basking-in-the-success interviews. Finally, he leaves for Hyderabad one morning, moves to Chennai by noon and we finally talk as Himesh is driving to his hotel from the airport - on the phone, of course.
Excerpts from an interview follow.
Q: You have vindicated yourself.
A: The hype is one thing, the genuine success another. I want to talk money to give a resounding answer to those critics who slammed my film. It feels great that my film has been declared the biggest opener of 2007. The distributors have earned five times their investment already - which makes it qualified as a super-hit. At another level, I also want to win over that one percent of the media that has always been against me, has never been able to accept my success and for whom everything about Himesh Reshammiya is s**t!
Q: To what do you attribute such a phenomenal degree of success? You had announced the month of release and even the release date long back.
A: June 29 is my mother’s birthday and it’s my parents’ blessings apart from those of God as well as the support and best wishes of all my fans and well-wishers that has done the magic. We planned everything astrologically as well as according to the needs of the market and the expectations from my fans. Prashant Chadha’s concept, script and direction were also brilliant.
Q: What about the contribution of your talent and hard work?
A: Yes, I did work hard, as I have always worked on every film of mine, which is why so many albums of mine have always been profitable for the music companies even when the films did not do well. But by itself, I think that talent is bull-s**t!
Q: That’s a drastic remark. Explain.
A: Everything is about destiny - which primarily means God’s will and your parents’ and everyone’s goodwill. It is only when you have this base that you start doing successful work. Without such forces, even a more hardworking and talented person will not be able to deliver the kind of work that leads to success. God has been very kind to me. Someone told me that even legends like Mukesh-ji and Talat Mehmood-ji failed as actors, and that I am the first male singer after institutions like K.L. Saigal-saab and Kishore (Kumar)-da to become a success as a star. That makes me doubly blessed.
Q: How did you manage a decent performance without any training? And what made you so confident about acting as a leading man?
A: Prashant is more like a brother, I know him for 16 years and he has directed all my videos. He was supremely confident of his script, and he was supremely confident about me! He and my producer Vijay Taneja made the film with conviction and since it was even more important to Prashant that he could not afford to let me down, I never worried about that angle, because I also blindly trust his judgment.
As for my performance, all the legendary actors have been and are like my gurus. And I knew just one thing - since I compose from my heart and sing from my heart and so I had to act from my heart!
Q: What has been the industry’s feedback?
A: It has been very supportive. Salman-bhai congratulated me for excellent work, putting an end to current rumors by that same section of the media that we were having problems. For me, he is simply my mentor. Without Salman-bhai, Himesh Reshammiya would not have been here in films.
Q: Has Sonu Nigam called you?
A: No, but I still won’t believe that he said all those things against me till I meet him. I have never spoken a word against him. He has sung so many of my songs and is the best singer in the country.
Q: What do your detractors have against you?
A: I wish I knew. Even now, when we were showing two promos with Mallika (Sherawat)-ji, they insisted on writing that Mallika had only an item song and was charging Rs. 1.5 crore. When we had all along planned a new face as heroine, they said that I had approached Priyanka Chopra!
Q: What are you planning now?
A: I will do three films in the next twelve months as a complete package of actor, composer and singer - my fans and our distributors want this now and I cannot let them down. Prashant has begun work on the sequel to “Aap Kaa Surroor,” there will be a second film in which I will not be HR but another character, and a third might be a two-hero project. I plan to restrict my work to three films a year, and that means just 18-20 outstanding tunes. My fans have given me all this though I am not a great looker or a great actor and have an unconventional voice. I have to give them something new musically as well within the indispensable format of melody.
Q: What happens to your stock? Do you still compose a song a day?
A: I must confess that there are days now when it is not possible because of my schedule. But yes, I still compose a tune every day whenever possible.
:by indiawest
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