READY TO SHOW HIS HISTRIONICS 
Kumar Sanu was at the peak of his singing career when he decided to turn producer-actor with a Bengali film Gane Bhubon Bhariye Debo (I will fill the sky with my songs). Many warned Sanu not to make such a sucidal move but he nevertheless went ahead with the project “because the story appealed to me.”

Gane Bhubon... is the story of a small town singer who eventually makes it big. Happily married his only regret is that he has no children to share his joys with. He gets drawn into a brief and passionate affair with a co-singer. The girl gets pregnant and now the singer is in a fix. He loves his wife who refuses to divorce him when she learns about the baby, he's fathered. Inevitably, drama, tears and fights... follow. “But just because this is the story of a singer, don’t think it is autobiographical,” Sanu hastens to clarify. The story, incidentally, was written by his elder brother Tapan Bhatacharjee who has also given the music for the film.

Since it is the story of a singer, the film is, not surprisingly, a musical with 14 songs, two of which are in Hindi. The two heroines are Rituparna Ghosh who plays his wife and Sharmilee Roy who plays his co-singer-cum-lover. How was it serending two lovely ladies? “I didn’t have to act. I was myself throughout the film,” Sanu smiles. Director Putul Guha admits he was surprised to find that Sanu was so natural in front of the camera. "He sailed through in the emotional, charged scenes without a hitch,” Guha applauds.

Sanu chose a relatively new director, Guha, to direct his debut film as an actor because “Putul is young and he wanted to do something". Sanu admits that he was wary of established directors who have preconcieved notions about how to treat a story. “They want to do things their way and more often then not end up filming a different story altogether. The story of Gane Bhubon... is very close to my heart and I didn’t want anybody tampering with it. Putul has done a wonderful job,” Sanu compliments his director.

One would have thought Sanu would have wanted to start out as an actor with a Hindi film. After all didn’t they give him his celebrity status? “I agree, but my mother tongue is Bengali. I am more comfortable speaking Bangla. This film is dedicated to the people of Bengal who have given me so much love and effection,” Sanu explains.

There is no doubt that Bengal is proud of Sanu. Whenever they went out of the studios for a shoot, an endless stream of people would flock to watch their favourite singer act. “Once or twice the crowds got so unruly, we had to almost announce pack up." But Sanu stepped in on both occasions with a mike in his hand and controlled the mobs with amazing results,” Guha recalls. However, Sanu had no control over the forces of nature. The unit was shooting in Sikkim when it started snowing heavily. Only one song was left to be shot but the snow-flakes continued for four succesive days. “The sky finally cleared on the fifth day and we wraped up the whole song that day itself,” Sanu reminisces

The film is complete and Sanu is hoping the masses will like him in his new avtaar. “I gave one precious year of my singing career for the film. I hope it is a hit," he says fervently. Sanu insists that no way has he given up his singing career. “I haven’t left singing. It will always remain my first love,” he states emphatically. In fact, when Sanu returns to Bollywood, he would also like to compose music. “I want to make my debut as a music director with a big banner.” Best of luck, Sanu.