Kasmin Fernandes & Bryan Durham (BOMBAY TIMES; May 3, 2014)

They are both popular Bollywood singers and music composers-turned-actors, loved by the masses and discussed by the classes. While Himesh Reshammiya is calm and composed, Yo Yo Honey Singh is a restless bundle of energy, we discovered in a candid chat with the two, who are co-actors in upcoming film, The Xposé. Excerpts:


How did the Himesh-Honey casting happen?
Himesh: There’s this character named KD (Kenny Damania), who had to have style, grey shades and yet, also has to sing a song. Hero bhi hai, villain bhi hai. When I thought of Honey, we had been working together for three years. We’ve given some great songs together that were commercial hits. So, I just called him up, he came and I was very happy that he accepted the role.


Since you guys are good friends, did you accept the role dosti-yaari mein?
Himesh: Aisa kuch nahi hai. Kaam toh kaam hota hai. If someone is not comfortable, why will he want to work with you?
Honey: Five years ago, when I was a music director in Punjab, one of my songs was a hit. Himesh had called me in Chandigarh at that time to tell me how much he liked it. No one believed me. He is a second-generation music-maker. His father was a music producer, so he has a vision. Himesh told me I could act in the movie. He showed me how things work. Director Ananth Narayan Mahadevan also helped a lot. He is an institute by himself.


Honey, you’re already settled as a singer. What was the motivation to turn actor?
I don’t believe I’m a singer, I’m an entertainer. I write my own music, my own lyrics and I sing my own songs and act in my own videos. In the performing arts, acting is what I believe to be one of the toughest jobs. It’s lying proper... just looking into the eyes and lie. Ye maine socha ki karke dekhte hain.


Honey, you are making your film debut with a negative role. Why?
Honey: Main acting karna chah raha tha...
Himesh: Shah Rukh Khan sahab ne bhi negative ke saath debut kiya tha...
Honey: Woh toh bahut bada comparison ho gaya. People tell me I’ve become a hero now. I told them I’ve not become anything, I'll remain the same. Main Yo Yo honey Singh hi hoon, wohi rahunga. I loved the acting work. When sir called me, I had been travelling a lot and so, was keeping quite poor health. It might sound strange, but I had a packed travelling schedule. I found the shooting to be quite fun. At least, I got to stay in the same city for 20 days. I was here four days and on the last day, I thought to myself, ‘What am I still doing here?’ It was a very different experience compared to the life I had been living till then. It’s a nice feeling to have 15 people around you, asking you if you want to eat or drink anything.
Himesh: Honey makes 13 entries in the film. And all the entries are clapworthy. The larger-than-life setting helps. You will also feel like laughing at the traits of the stars of that time.
Honey: Unka plus point tha ki uss time paparazzi nahi tha. Toh woh sab kuch khule mein karte the. I thought to myself, ‘These days, the media will find two kids going on an outing and ask them what they are up to’. But in the sixties, when I heard what all was done khule-aam, I was quite shocked. I was told that this was how the industry functioned at that time. I found that very interesting.


Honey, have you been offered more roles after the promos came out?
I did this role with very little preparation, out of masti, to see what happens. I will approach my next role properly. Seekh kar aaoonga. And if people don’t like, I will learn more. Phir toh pukka karoonga. Sab kuch chhodke yehi karoonga. Right now, I want to focus on my music. I have been appreciated the most as a performer. I am doing what I have learnt and worked at for 10 years. Bollywood songs chal jaate hain. Last year, I had given Lungi Dance, Party All Night and Sunny Sunny, but I also gave an independent song called Blue Eyes, so that my young fans have something to relate with. I am working on five of my own singles. I am going to be in Los Angeles for a month for this.


You are also part of a new talent show on TV?
I am giving inputs for a show where they are looking for a raw star, like me, for instance. I tried to learn everything, but I didn’t have money, the circumstances weren’t right or the family wouldn’t let me. Toh main sab kuch chhod ke lag gaya ki yeh karna hai. Jab main sadak pe aa gaya toh main socha survival bhi zaroori hai. I worked as an apprentice for music programmers and sound engineers and learnt along the way. I became a music director in Punjab. When I was making many albums, I couldn’t find good lyrics, so I started writing my own. I started bettering my writing, understanding what slang is and how real people talk. Then I decided to go pan-India, so I started improving my Hindi speaking, writing and understanding. Delhi slang is different from Mumbai slang. I am learning even now.


Himesh, what is common between the two of you?
Honey has a heart of gold. He thinks with his heart. Success inke sar par nahi chadhi. He is a good human being and an intelligent guy. He is someone you can talk to at 2 am about anything. He is also a visionary, he has a different way of looking at things. As a composer, I have done 115 films. I have seen many people come and go, but agar koi lamba tik sakta hai toh woh Yo Yo Honey Singh hai.


Which Bollywood actress would you like to work with in the future?
Himesh: Deepika Padukone. I don’t know whether she would do a film with me, if at all. But she did say on record that if I offered her a film, she would do it. If I get a script that has a role worthy of her, I’d love to work with her.
Honey: Shraddha Kapoor. She is very urbane. The new set of Bollywood actresses can be girls-next-door and divas as well. If I do another role, I will do an urban film like my videos, which I shoot in international locations like LA. But when I talk, I sound like a regular guy talking to a girl. I would act with Shraddha because she knows international stuff as well as local.


Honey, what are these actions you do in your songs?
These were a few of the steps my choreographer had come up with, while we were shooting Blue Eyes. We do this every time we want to say ‘classic’ or ‘wonderful’. This other sign is like a very positive energy sign of the pyramids.


Is that a birthmark on your left arm?
Yeah, it’s a birthmark... stamped by God that I’m his special son.


You must have found the costumes in the film quite interesting...
It was fun. As Himesh said, at that time everybody was larger-than-life, on screen and off screen as well. We were wearing old-school suits.


You’ve become an icon for kids in a very short time...
It might seem short to you, but it takes time to reach throughout India without any help. If everyone knows you in India, it feels like people know you in seven continents. There is a diversity of people and cultures here. It took me time. I was working in Punjab for seven years. After singing in Hindi films, apne gaane bhi dheere-dheere chalne lage hain. Kids who follow me have been doing so for a long time. They know my Punjabi songs too. Now, I want to go international.


Does your popularity limit you in terms of lyrics?
Not at all. I am an entertainer, not a scholar. Main kisi ko sunane, sikhane nahi aaya. I am here to entertain. If I am making songs like Blue Eyes for those over 18, I am also making Bhoothnath Returns for the kids. It is the parents’ duty to tell their kids that Yo Yo Honey Singh bahut achha hai. Uske yeh gaane suno, woh mat suno. I write what I see. I make songs for fans, they relate to them and play them at parties. Aunty pe main gaana bana chuka hoon (Aunty Police Bula Legi), the new song I am making is called Uncle Ka Double Standard. Jitni hypocrisy Hindustan mein hai, woh hum kholenge. Bachche apne papa ko yeh gaana sunayenge.


The 1960s had a lot of big stars. Himesh, why is your role modelled particularly on Raaj Kumar? 
People say that, not me. Somewhere, he has seeped into the character. It was designed by Ananth. He felt that Raaj Kumar’s journey was interesting, from a cop to a superstar to a very arrogant man, always misunderstood. We needed a grey character like him in the film.


You’ve worked with Ananth Mahadevan over a period of time...
He’s a sensible guy. He has worked very hard on our characters, even on the junior actors. He has been lucky for me. I first tasted success when I was 16 years old, working with him on serials. Later, as a composer and singer, my earliest hit Jhalak Dikhlaja was in his film. My music for Dil Maange More was appreciated. In my hit film Aap Kaa Surroor, he was an actor.