In Hollywood, musical stars are expected to both sing and dance. In Indian cinema, singing is mostly done by playback singers - musical stars in their own right - allowing the actors to focus on interpreting the song for their on-screen performance.
In the soundtrack of the 2014 Sajid Nadiadwala film Kick, actor Salman Khan has jumped into the musical spotlight by providing mellifluous renditions of three of the songs "Hangover", "Jumme Ki Raat" and Tu Hi Tu". This isn't the first actor to both sing and act in his films. Farhan Akhtar, Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, Abhay Deol, Alia Bhatt and Shraddha Kapoor have also stepped behind the musical microphone for a song or two. But on the Kick soundtrack, Salman Khan's presence looms large.
Singing comes naturally to Salman Khan, who can be seen singing snippets of songs in many of his films. In addition, he performed the song "Chandi Ki Daal Par" in his 1999 film Hello Brother as well as the song "Most Wanted" in his 2009 film Wanted. While he doesn't consider himself a good singer, he will often croon a tune for his own enjoyment.
The Kick soundtrack presents a more mature Salman Khan singing with a voice that is very much suited to the songs he performs. This makes the soundtrack an extra-special treat for fans and lays the groundwork for potential musical performances in future films. Fans would certainly be receptive to hearing more dulcet tones from Salman Khan.
According to an Indian Express article, Salman said it helped his performance that composer Wajid Ali would frequent the recording sessions:
"Since Wajid and I have worked together earlier, it’s easy to understand him. He would sing one line of the song, make me understand the tempo and I would just follow him," revealed the actor, adding that had Wajid not been there it would have been difficult for him. Khan doesn’t deny the fact that it’s technology that has made the songs better. "The entire credit goes to the technicians for making the songs sound so beautiful," said Salman.
The songs sung by Salman Khan were composed by Himesh Reshammiya and Meet Bros Anjjan. While three songs are performed by Salman on the soundtrack, the song "Hangover" is getting the most attention as it was the only Khan-sung song that was used in the film. In an Indian Express article, Salman explained that the recording of that song was tough:
"Once it was complete, it was sounding very bad. But the composers were saying, 'It's superb, don’t worry'. They were confident about their technicians and said the song will get refined and by the time it comes out, it's going to be 70 percent better. Usually, a trained singer does it (records a song) in an hour or so. I took three days,” he quipped.
The following three playlists feature collections of the official and "making of" videos for the songs that Salman Khan sung for the Kick soundtrack and film.
"Hangover"
"Jumme Ki Raat"
"Tu Hi Tu"
If you liked this, check out our other Music Monday posts.