Dhaval Roy (DNA; July 9, 2019)

Life has come full circle for Armaan Malik in a number of ways this year. To begin with, he is teaming up with Sunidhi Chauhan to sing the Hindi version of Can You Feel the Love Tonight in the upcoming movie, The Lion King, and he recalls opening for her at a concert when he was about 12. “Now, I share vocal duties with her on this. It’s crazy,” he smiles. Then, 2019 started with him mentoring contestants on The Voice. “I started my journey as a participant on Zee TV’s Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l Champs when I was nine; at 23, I was on the other side,” he points out. Incidentally, he is also going to Los Angeles, USA, in the next few days for the world premiere of The Lion King and meeting its director, Jon Favreau. “He also directed the movie Chef and I had a song Tere Mere in the Bollywood adaptation starring Saif Ali Khan. So, yes, it feels like the ‘circle of life’ is complete,” he says, alluding to another track by the same name in The Lion King. “It’s going to be such a huge trip for me,” he says excitedly.

INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS
Armaan has also sung Hakuna Matata in The Lion King. He says that his and the Kamli hitmaker’s westernised vocals were necessary to pull off the tracks in the musical. “I’ve been singing English songs since I was about 14. And these numbers needed someone with a similar background and who could really feel them. Also, The Lion King is such an iconic movie and we’re taking its legacy forward. What’s better than that?” he quips. This is the second international project that Armaan has sung for this year — he also crooned Ek Naye Jahan Mein (A Whole New World) in Aladdin earlier.

SONGS IN BOLLYWOOD, TOO
For Armaan, the year so far has also been great in terms of Bollywood songs as well — Pehla Pyaar in Kabir Singh and Intezari in Article 15 releasing recently. Armaan points out, “One is such a commercially-successful movie and the other, critically acclaimed. As a singer, it’s not just about the songs; projects on a whole are equally important. It makes my discography look better.” He is also gung-ho about singing for Vishal Mishra and Anurag Saikia respectively for the first time.

But singing for various composers isn’t different from lending his voice to his brother Amaal Mallik’s tunes. “Since I was 10, I had been singing with multiple composers before I worked with any of my family members. From that age, I’ve known what a composer demands out of a singer. So, even when it comes to Amaal, it’s not a comfort level kind of a thing. It’s just that he can shout at me if I go wrong (laughs); that is the only familiarity factor.” He further adds that it’s his duty to fulfil what’s expected from him, “I’m completely a composer’s singer,” he states.

WORKING WITH A R RAHMAN
Armaan has worked with the best in the industry, whether Shankar Ehsaan Loy (Bum Bum Bhole in Taare Zameen Par, 2007) or now A R Rahman in 99 Songs. “I kind of pinch myself to even think that I’ve been able to sing not only one but also the second song with Rahman sir,” he enthuses. He tells us that ever since he sang for 2.0 (Mechanical Sundariye), he hoped that ARR would repeat him. “He is the pride of our nation. Just being in the same room as him is such a big thing. And I’m glad that I’m singing for his passion project. I think all the top singers have sung some songs for this movie. I’m excited about that as well.”

MORE ENGLISH MUSIC
Armaan is currently working on a lot of original, non-film singles. “I’ve always wanted to take India to a global level, which is why I have been working on English music as well. For instance, I was the youngest Indian singer to perform at Wembley Stadium in the UK. I’ve been travelling to LA as well as London and will be going across half the globe for these projects,” he tells us. So, while he has Bollywood tracks in the pipeline, he promises to soon reveal what he’s working on. “It’s something that has been my lifelong dream. I didn’t think I’d become a Bollywood singer and it just happened to me. I always wanted to croon in English. So, life is veering me in the direction that I want,” he signs off.

WORLD CUP, PRE-RAMZAN EID PERIOD TO AFFECT COLLECTIONS

Less than a week is left for the release of the Eid biggie, the Salman Khan-starrer Bharat. Since its releasing on Wednesday, any film releasing tomorrow would just have a five-day week. Moreover, the Ramzan period is going on, when a section of audience stays away from cinemas. Also, the ICC Cricket World Cup begins from tomorrow. Although India’s first match will be directly on June 5, it can affect collections to a small extent especially when coupled with Ramzan and shortened-week factors.

A horror film, Khamoshi, starring Prabhudheva and Tamannaah Bhatia, was to release tomorrow. But it has been postponed to June 14. Now only one A-grade Hindi film releases tomorrow, Nakkash. It reunites the Filmistaan actors Sharib Hashmi and Inaamulhaq. It also stars Kumud Mishra and Rajesh Sharma. The subject seems relevant and political but forget buzz, even awareness is practically zero. The film hence is bound to have a disastrous run at the box office, even if it turns out to be a good fare.

The film that would have some respectable collections is Godzilla 2: King Of The Monsters. It is the sequel to Godzilla, which released in 2014. It releases today and hence will have a four-day weekend. This isn’t a big franchise but opening can be decent, of around Rs. 1.5-2 crore. For cinemas, it’ll be an ideal film that will get some footfalls in this dry week before the gigantic Bharat takes over.

The other film that will excel is also a Hollywood film, Aladdin. It released last Friday but has held well in the weekdays. It’s a grand family entertainer and hence it can see an upswing in collections from tomorrow. As for Hindi releases, De De Pyaar De will fare best. PM Narendra Modi and India’s Most Wanted, both which released after that and with Aladdin, will fare poorly in Week 2.

Aladdin is a grand musical entertainer which works well and it’s also aided by the nostalgia value. The city of Agrabah is very well depicted and becomes like a character of the film. The manner in which Aladdin is introduced and his interaction with Jasmine make for a nice watch. The real mazaa begins once the Genie enters the narrative. He’s highly entertaining and hilarious and adds so much to the film. The confrontation and climax however should have been much more dramatic for a better impact. The other issue with the film is that songs are forgettable and that’s not good news for a Disney musical. To an extent, this is compensated by Prince Ali song…very imaginative and spectacular! Talking of performances, Will Smith takes the cake. His character is very well written and he adds his charm beautifully. Mena Massoud is quite dashing while Naomi Scott gets to play a superb character and she pulls it off with finesse. Marwan Kenzari looks every inch a villain. Navid Negahban and Nasim Pedrad are decent. All in all, Aladdin is a fine entertainer and yes, it definitely deserves a big screen watch!

My rating - *** ½ out of 5!

Voice of the Hindi version of Aladdin, Armaan Malik on why singing posed the biggest challenge in the offering
Sonia Lulla (MID-DAY; May 13, 2019)

“You say ‘gham’, from the epiglottis,” says Armaan Malik earnestly, before breaking into a laugh on re-tracing the words from the popular 2010 offering, My Name Is Khan. Chronicling the toil of learning urdu for his dubbing act in the Hindi version of Guy Ritchie’s American musical fantasy, Aladdin, Bollywood’s promising singer found himself a neophyte again as he went behind the mic to lend his voice to the protagonist, played by Mena Massoud.

Even though many may suggest this is an unexplored territory for Malik, he reveals his first dubbing stint traces back to the time he was eight. “It’s mentioned online, but not many know that I’ve had a journey in dubbing. When I started, there was no training given to people. Kids, who could sing and had appealing voices, were tested. The learning was on the job. So, the more I dubbed, the more fluid I became. It’s because of that experience early on that this is now part of my skill set,” says the singer, who also has films like My Name Is Khan on his resume as a dubbing artiste.

A ’90s kid, and a fan of live-action flicks, it was easy for Malik to be attracted to the offer. A 15-second audition of the character won him the trust of folk at the Disney headquarters, and the chance to blend two arts — dubbing and singing — that he had his heart set on. “Ironically, singing posed the tougher challenge,” he says, pointing to the manner in which musicals treat the art. “I’d have to speak the words rather than focus on the tune. It’s more like a spoken song. A song will break out from a dialogue, and must be rendered with expression; acted out. They didn’t want the character to sound like a singer, but yet be appealing when he sings. So, not singing was tougher than dubbing for the dialogues.”

Ritchie’s offering may have opened to mixed reviews on international turf, but with powerful names like Will Smith as the genie, and Princess Jasmine finding her face in Naomi Scott, Malik knew that the film’s fate also depended on how appropriately his voice did the acting. “We are essentially voice actors. My tonality had to align with the reaction of the star. I had to jump around in scenes that sees Aladdin panting, to make the act genuine. For scenes, I also had to make several facial expressions, and would switch the lights off to keep others from watching my stupidity.”

It was his tryst to pull off a promising act that made the singer focus on his acting skills. Having “jumped into” the dubbing on day one to save time, Malik admits he failed to connect with his on- screen avatar throughout the 40-minute-long dubbing session. “It took me a day to get into the mood. On the first day, I was focusing on completing as much as possible. However, on day two, I decided to read the material twice to understand the character better before stepping into the studio. I learnt a lot about dubbing and the role, by the end of the four-day session. So, after the fourth day, I decided to re-record the material of the first day because it was disconnected from the rest.”

Tara Sutaria on why she crushes on two Students; reveals she was to do Guy Ritchie’s musical with Will Smith but ended up shooting a Hindi song with him
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 6, 2019)

There is a definite hangover of the original in Student Of The Year 2. The audience’s tastes have evolved in seven years…
I admit there are many similarities, but the differences are also huge. For example, the focus is on a not-often-seen-before sport like kabaddi. Even the music, dances and Tiger’s (Shroff) action is unique. Despite evolving tastes, there are some films we want to watch and SOTY 2 is one of them.

You debuted as a child star in 2010 with Big Bada Boom, did sitcoms like The Suite Life of Karan & Kabir and Oye Jassie and Raell Padamsee’s stage version of the John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John 1978 musical Grease. Was movies the logical next step?
I’ve trained in music and dance all my life, so I wanted to be a part of the arts but wasn’t consciously thinking of Bollywood. Theatre was my home, I was raised performing on stage, there’s nothing more beautiful than that. Grease, which you mentioned, was my favourite stage production, and to play Sandy Olsson was a dream. I wish someone would adapt it on screen, I’d jump at the opportunity to feature in it again. To answer your question, I wanted to be a singer. But when I was 20, I met Karan who asked me if I was interested in acting, they were scripting SOTY 2. I instantly agreed as I’m a huge fan of the original and after graduating in Bachelor of Mass Media (BMM) from St. Andrew’s College, I auditioned for the role. It’s been a whirlwind since.

Tiger and you must bond over Michael Jackson?
We do, but I have many other idols like Priyanka Chopra who has made us proud as Indians and as women.

Why do you keep saying Tiger’s ‘good boy’ image is a facade?
(Laughs) Tiger has two sides to him but it’s only when he is comfortable with you that he reveals his true self, which is funny and naughty. He is also very sweet. On my first day of shoot in Dehradun, during a dance sequence, I sprained my ankle. He pulled up a chair, put my foot up and massaged it. We hardly knew each other then and I wasn’t expecting it. As my first co-star, he’ll always be special. It’s no secret that I have a crush on Tiger.

But on Karan’s talk show you confided that you don’t have a crush on a current student but on an ex-student. Sidharth Malhotra?
Sid and I live close by so we hang out together. He’s very busy and so am I but it’s nice to have someone close by. We have a lot in common, he’s wonderful! We are friends… good friends.

Reportedly you were dating Rohan Mehra earlier?
Rohan and I have known each other for a very long time. We have a lot of mutual friends too.

Your second film, Marjaavaan, is with Sidharth…
There’s a third film now (Hindi remake of the 2018 Telugu action-drama RX 100), which I kick off in two weeks with Ahan Shetty. It’s a blessing to be doing three films in my first year. I’ve just wrapped up Marjaavaan, an emotional, dramatic, violent love story which was quite a change from the light-hearted SOTY 2. When I heard the script for the first time I wondered if I’d be able to do it as it’s such a different world. The girl in the RX 100 remake is also completely different.

Buzz is, you’re singing in the RX 100 remake too.
I want to do everything related to music. I love singing and I hope I get to do it in the film.

Why did you let Shahid Kapoor’s Kabir Singh get away?
It didn’t work out because we had so much left to shoot of SOTY 2, but I am glad I did Marjaavaan soon after.

Weren’t you supposed to play Princess Jasmine in Guy Ritchie’s upcoming musical fantasy Aladdin with Will Smith as the genie?
I’d even started training for it in London but SOTY 2 was on, and there was a lot happening here. Still, training with everyone there was a lifetime’s experience while SOTY 2 is a dream come true.

But you ended up doing a song with Will Smith in your debut film.
(Laughs) Yeah, it was such a pleasant surprise. Life works in funny ways.

Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 1, 2017)

After storming Hollywood with famously swashbuckling Brit hits like Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and RocknRolla, following it up by helming a Sherlock Holmes film and Charlie Hunnam-starrer King Arthur, Guy Ritchie is now India-bound.

The 48-year-old filmmaker has entrusted acclaimed casting director Tess Joseph (Life of Pi, The Namesake, Lion), who has earned a reputation for scouting pitch-perfect actors for Indian parts in Hollywood films, with the task of finding Aladdin and Jasmine, the protagonists of his next project, in India.

The Mumbai-based casting director has been touring Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi to conduct auditions since the last few weeks and the team is hoping to zero in on the leads in the next few days. A source close to the development told Mirror, “The basic requirement are actors who can sing like Broadway artistes. While some popular actor-singers have already auditioned, the team is still looking for its leads. The live-action film will be shot in London later this year.”

Titled Aladdin, the film is an adapted screenplay penned by Grammy nominated John August and is based on the animated classic about a poor young man who vies for the love of a princess by using a genie’s magical powers to make him seem like a prince.