Manishaa R (DNA; May 27, 2017)

After recording a cover version of Salman Khan’s song Jag Ghoomiyan, Iulia Vantur is now officially set to make her full-fledged Bollywood debut as a playback singer. The actress, who recently rendered a solo track for Mahesh Manjrekar’s FU (Friendship Unlimited), has now recorded three other songs for two forthcoming Hindi films, all of which are composed by music director Vishal Mishra.

Distinctly different
Incidentally, it was Vishal, who was instrumental in getting Iulia to record a solo number in FU (Friendship Unlimited), “She recorded the solo Hindi track in FU very confidently and the song shaped up really well, after which Iulia has recorded three other songs for me in various forthcoming films. She is an immensely talented singer and has a magical quality to her voice. Moreover, her voice is distinctly different from any of the other female singers in Bollywood. I can confidently say that hers will be the most-talked about voice in the days to come. She can make a very successful playback singer,” says the young music director, who is also known to be close to Prabhu Dheva and had last scored the music of his film, Tutak Tutak Tutiya.

Positive influence
It was Vishal, who was also instrumental in recording the Gachi song in Salman’s voice for FU, though the song was composed by another music director Sameer Saptiskar. “I had initially sung the song before Salman could dub it. He kept telling me that it would have been great in my voice. That was very kind of him. Eventually, I rendered a few lines in the song and got the opportunity of singing with Salman. He is a very positive influence on those around him,” Vishal revealed.

When asked about the possibility of getting Salman and Iulia to record an album together, he added, “There is no such plan at the moment but it would be a great idea if such a possibility comes up in the future,” he says.

Superstar makes regional language debut as singer, recreating aclassic for friend Mahesh Manjrekar’s film
Soumya Vajpayee Tiwari (MID-DAY; May 16, 2017)

That Salman Khan has lent his voice to one of the songs in Mahesh Manjrekar’s upcoming Marathi movie, FU – Friendship Unlimited is known. But composer-singer Vishal Mishra, who worked on the film’s soundtrack cannot stop gushing about the superstar’s musical prowess. “Salman’s grasping power is great. I was amazed when he completed recording of the song, Gachi, in 45 minutes flat,” Vishal says. Gachi, he informs, is a recreated version of the old classic, Panchi Banu Udti Phiru (Chori Chori, 1956), which is among Salman’s all time favourite tracks.

To make it easier for Sallu, the composer first recorded the number in his voice. “He had heard the song so many times that he picked it up quickly. His voice had more energy than mine,” he adds.

Like in the case of Salman’s previous playback outings, was auto-tuner used this time round as well? “Auto-tuner is used in almost all songs these days because it enhances pitch accuracy. I have composed 16 songs for FU and used auto-tuner in each of them. In Salman’s case, we used it to enhance the edge. Had any other singer sung it, I would have used technology even then. But Salman was the best choice to sing it,” says Vishal.

The composer recalls being rebuked by Manjrekar after listening to the recorded track, but thanks his lucky stars that Salman came to his rescue. “I was happy post dubbing with Salman, but Maheshji felt the Marathi words sounded wrong and asked me to dub it once more. I approached Salman and he gracefully agreed to re-record the song,” adds Vishal.

FU stars Sairat actor Akash Thosar in the lead.

Akash Thosar is being mobbed by fans, even as he shoots for Mahesh Manjrekar’s next
Subhash K Jha (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 16, 2016)

His debut film Sairat catapulted Akash Thosar to instant fame. And that sudden popularity is affecting the shoot of his second film, Mahesh Manjrekar’s FU. The film, being shot in various parts of Maharashtra, has a heavy security bandobast to keep Thosar from getting mobbed.

“The film’s team has tried to keep the actor’s presence in FU a secret, to no avails. Everywhere they go, hundreds gather to get a glimpse of Thosar and incessantly mob him for selfies. Shooting with him has become a problem,” says a source from the unit.

Manjrekar calls FU a film about the young. “The title says it all. The abbreviation is self-explanatory. For the Censor Board, however, it stands for Fun Unlimited. We don’t want trouble,” he says.