A current crop of playback singers, including Shankar Mahadevan, Sukhwinder Singh, Adnan Sami and Shibani Kashyap, are doing this with aplomb. Something Hemant Kumar had done with much ease in the past, and Himesh Reshammiya made a career from, when not wearing greasepaint. Not to forget veterans like S D Burman, son R D Burman and A R Rahman-though the number of films they have composed music outdoes the host of songs they have lent their voice to.

After winning plaudits as a singer, Mahadevan teamed up with Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonca to form the troika of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy to make music for Dus. Since then Mahadevan has added Dil Chahta Hai, Kal Ho Na Ho, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Taare Zameen Par to his film graph as a composer while lending his voice to chartbusters like It’s the time to Disco and Bum bum bhole.

For Kashyap, composing is an extension of her musical career, while Singh needed Rahman’s prodding to make tunes. A trained classical singer, Kashyap of Zinda hoon mein (Zinda), Sajna aa bhi ja (Waisa Bhi Hota Hai) feels, “There is a composer hidden in every singer. I have composed all the songs I’ve sung and the latest is for Sirf-Life Looks Greener On The Other Side.”

While composing, Kashyap often follows her heart. “Upcoming singers should do what interests them and not just follow the trend,” she says. For Mahadevan, composing comes naturally while singing is in his blood. The Breathless singer says, “By composing a song, I get a creative high. But when I sing the same to a large audience, I feel I’m on top of the world. The blend is just perfect.” Amol Palekar’s Dum Kata, Farhan Akhtar’s Rock On, Zoya Akhtar’s Luck by Chance and Anil Kapoor’s Shortcut will keep Mahadevan and his two music directors busy in coming days.

Known for his earthy voice, Singh turned a full-fledged music director with Halla Bol and Black & White. Earlier, he had given music for some tracks in Nagesh Kukunoor’s Iqbal and Bombay to Bangkok. Composing, however, is not a cakewalk for Singh. “As a singer, it takes just two minutes to understand the tunes. But while composing, I polish and rework till satisfied. I get ideas for the song in my dreams too,” says Singh who used to write lyrics when in school.

The best compliment for the Omkara singer came from Rahman. “I had offered my inputs while he was composing Chaiyya Chaiyya for Dil Se, and he said two composers made that song. That really inspired me,” says the singer.