Acting for a song
It’s tempting, even when it is a gimmick: actors, whether cajoled into singing or willing to do so, were always into singing, and some like Amitabh Bachchan have almost made a parallel career out of it, thanks to his deep baritone and love for the microphone. And we are not counting the dozens of names back in the ‘30s and ‘40s who had to sing as well as act because there were no recording studios and playback had not even come in. We are not even thinking Kishore Kumar, who started out almost simultaneously - he first acted before his debut as singer, which was not for himself but for Dev Anand in Ziddi (1948), hit big-time as actor till the ‘60s and then reigned as singer till the ‘80s. Finally, we do not also include in this list the names that attempted to become singing-stars later - names like Sulakshana Pandit in the ‘70s and Salma Agha in the ‘80s and Lucky Ali later.

Amitabh Bachchan, of course, first entered the recording studios when he recited a few lines for Adalat (1977) as Mukesh sang the rest of the song Humka aisa waisa na samjho, followed by his lines in the song My name is Anthony Gonsalves (Amar Akbar Anthony in the same year) in which Kishore Kumar sang the song. But his first full-fledged rendition was Rajesh Roshan’s Mere paas aao mere doston (Mr Natwarlal) in 1979. Since then, he has sung several hits in films like Laawaris, Naseeb, Silsila, Pukar, Mahaan, Jaadugar, Toofan and so many others all the way to Baghban, Nishabd, Baabul, Bhoothnath, Aetbaar, Aladin and many more.

Apart from dozens of cases where artistes recited a few lines within a song (like dialogues or shaayari), so many actors sang in the proper sense - Nutan in Chhabili and Yadgaar, Mala Sinha in Lalkar, Hema Malini in Haath Ki Safai et al, Rekha in Khubsoorat and Shabana Azmi in Anjuman among the ladies and Shatrughan Sinha in Kashmakash, Amjad Khan and Deven Verma in Josh, Deven Verma in Doosara Aadmi, Kamal Haasan in several Hindi and dubbed films (Appu Raja, Sadma and others), Dilip Kumar (Musafir and Karma), Anil Kapoor (Chameli Ki Shaadi), Asrani in Alaap and many more.
Mehmood was a regular here, singing hits from Bhoot Bungla to Humjoli, Do Phool and Sabse Bada Rupaiya all the way to his swan song in Dushmun Duniya Kaa.

From the ‘90s, the new breed of music directors began following the dictum of veterans Kalyanji-Anandji that actors, being emotionally nuanced at delivering their spoken lines, naturally excelled in singing and so were assets because they made their songs sound novel. Aamir Khan rendered the cult Aati kya Khandala (Ghulam) as the first of several songs. Himesh Reshammiya made Salman Khan sing in Hello Brother first, while Anu Malik made Shah Rukh Khan face the microphone in Josh. Govinda and Sanjay Dutt became regulars, even as Abhishek Bachchan delivered the hit Right here right now in Bluffmaster!, in which Priyanka Chopra too sang a line. Kareena Kapoor (Dev), Sridevi (Chandni, Lamhe) and Madhuri Dixit (Devdas) were others whose renditions proved popular. Vishal-Shekhar, among younger composers, made so many actors sing, and Sanjay Dutt sang in Home Delivery, in which he did not even act!

Stretching boundaries
And so we came to the bold names that dared to go beyond: Mehmood sang for a junior artiste in Do Aur Do Paanch. Danny Denzongpa first sang playback for Johnny Walker (the hit Lata duet Mera naam Aao for Yeh Gulistan Hamara) before singing in a few films for himself. Shatrughan Sinha (for Prem Krishen in Alibaba Marjinaa), Leena Chandavarkar (for Meenakshi Seshadri in Lover Boy) and Arun Bakshi (for several actors including Akshay Kumar and Sanjay Dutt in the ‘90s) actually sang like regular playback singers.
Dev Anand dared to write a rap song in Hindi as well as English with the as song of Mr Prime Minister and recited the number, recording it under the supervision of Bappi Lahiri. Salman Khan wrote a thematic song in Wanted. Manoj Kumar turned out to be a brilliant lyricist, beginning with Shirdi Ke Sai Baba and Kranti. In later films like Kalaakaar, Lootere and Tehelka, he wrote only the lyrics but was not involved otherwise.

Finally, Amitabh Bachchan, Govinda and many smaller actors (Raageshwari, Rajeshwari Sachdev, Vikas Bhalla et al) cut private albums of their own, with Bachchan even singing in Adnan Sami’s album. Leena Chandavarkar wrote lyrics for Amit Kumar’s albums. And heredity beckoned when Neil Nitin Mukesh, son to Nitin Mukesh and grandson of the legendary Mukesh, sang a remix version of Aa dekhen zara in the film of that name - the only song as yet lip-synched by him in his 4-film career.
Among supporting artistes, Harindranath Chattopadhyaya wrote everything from rap (Aashirwad’s Rail gaadi) to English lyrics in Hindi films (Julie’s My heart is beating and obscure songs in Paapi and Swarag Narak).

Musical interludes
And it’s not just on-screen talents who are infatuated with music, lyrics or singing. Cinematographer Manmohan Singh, who is also an acclaimed film director, has sung in several films like Laila (Saath jeeyenge with Lata), Lava and others. Subhash Ghai turned lyricist with two songs in Jogger’s Park, while Prakash Mehra may have found his true calling in filmmaking but continued to write lyrics in many of his films as well as outside ventures like Imaandaar (Aur iss dil mein kya rakkha hai).
Writer-producer-director Saawan Kumar began to write lyrics for others (the hit Barkha rani from Sabak) but soon went on to do most of his own films’ songs, continuing to do the occasional outside film like Kaho Naa...Pyaar Hai. Dharmesh Darshan chose to write songs for his own films like Lootere and Mela. Govinda’s filmmaker brother Kirti Kumar sang in some of his own films (notably Hatya) besides outside movies like Duty starring his brother as well as fo Mithun Chakraborty in Waqt Ki Awaz, where Bappi Lahiri used him for a song that was earmarked for Kishore Kumar who passed away then.
Most of these cases were about practical logistics like inspiration, remaining true to the situation and indulging in a flair, like Kamal Amrohi choosing to pen a song or two in films like Pakeezah and Razia Sultan.

Ashutosh Gowariker used his natural talent and sang in his own films Swades and What’s Your Raashee? , but it is Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who gifted music directors Ismail Darbar and Monty Sharma to the industry, who has done a Satyajit Ray - after doing one song in Saawariya and making unofficial contributions to his earlier films (like Raj Kapoor and reportedly V.Shantaram also did), he is turning into a full-fledged composer with his Hrithik Roshan-Aishwarya Rai Bachchan biggie, Guzaarish.
Farhan Akhtar, in that order director, writer and producer, turned actor and singer too with Rock On!! and even participated in live rock performances.
Incidentally, Raj Khosla came into the film industry to be a playback singer, though he landed up making films, but not before singing in Devendra Goel’s Ankhen, Madan Mohan’s debut as composer.

Beyond the raags
It is still not widely known that Mukesh had also acted as hero in Nirdosh (1941), his debut film as playback singer. Not successful as an actor, Mukesh even produced a film. But Talat Mahmood was simultaneously a successful singing star for a while.
There were so many singers and composers who were seen on screen playing themselves, from Lata Mangeshkar in Pukar and Shankar-Jaikishan in Main Sundar Hoon to Pankaj Udhas in films like Naam and Yeh Dillagi. But among those who played regular roles (as in with a bit of a performance) were Laxmikant as himself in Teri Kasam (with music by R.D.Burman!).

Recently, Bappi Lahiri acted as a shop-owner in Main Aur Mrs Khanna - incidentally he also produced films like Rock Dancer and even a National award-winning Bengali film! Anu Malik (like so many other music artistes) appeared as himself, including as judge in music shows, in some films, but also acted in Luck By Chance and played a pandit in Bride And Prejudice.
R.D.Burman chose to etch comic characters in both Bhoot Bungla and Pyar Ka Mausam while Aadesh Shrivastava acted as a club singer in the well-known Dhadkan zaraa ruk gayi hai in Prahaar. Music director S.N.Tripathi was well-known as an actor. Wajid of Sajid-Wajid has played a key role in Wanted.
Shaan tried his hand rather apprehensively at acting with Daman, while Sonu Niigaam tried his hand at being a full-fledged leading man in three films, Jaani Dushmun - Ek Anokhi Kahani, Kaash...Aap Hamare Hote and Love In Nepal. Kumar Sanu produced a Hindi film, Utthaan, and a Bengali one, while Udit Narayan produced several Bhojpuri films.

Among lyricists, Gulzar chose to move towards scriptwriting and later direction rather than keep struggling as lyricist. Rajendra Krishan invested his huge income in backing his producer brother Hargobind, whose hit films include Doli and Jwar Bhata. Veteran Kaifi Azmi turned to acting late with Naseem, while Amit Khanna went on to produce, write and direct films. Interestingly, lyricist Farukh Kaiser was assistant to director Raj Khosla but never directed a film. And Shaily Shailendra wrote the story of the hit thriller Khel Khel Mein and his legendary father Shailendra’s health took a tumble after he produced the critically-appreciated flop, Teesri Kasam and suffered losses.

Hridaynath Mangeshkar produced Lekin, a Lata Mangeshkar presentation - Lata, incidentally, has also produced films in Marathi. Another producer was Anup Jalota, though his films did not do well, while Talat Aziz’s Dhun, whose music made a mark, never got a release after being completed.
Salil Chowdhury co-wrote Bimal Roy films like Do Bigha Zamin, Parakh and Naukri and even directed Pinjre Ka Panchhi, Anil Biswas acted in Ladli, and Naushad wrote the story of Palki (officially) and many others unofficially, besides producing films like Babul and Udan Khatola. Hemant Kumar produced so many films, notably Bees Saal Baad and Khamoshi, besides being a singer and composer in demand.

But the really ambitious names were Vishal Bhardwaj and Himesh Reshammiya. Vishal Bhardwaj first ventured into making serials and then took to writing, directing and producing even internationally-applauded films like Makdee, Maqbool, Omkara and Kaminey. Himesh Reshammiya started his career producing and scripting television serials because getting a break in music was difficult and then, after peaking as music director and singer, went on to don the hero’s role, beginning with the hit Aap Kaa Surroor. Today, Himesh is doing five films as a composer-singer and actor, with Radio hitting the screen early next month.