Abhay to croon more

Abhay Deol, after singing Senorita… in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara with co-stars Farhan Akhtar and Hrithik Roshan, has decided to take singing seriously. However, he says that singing is not the biggest challenge in his career.

Abhay Deol, after singing Senorita… in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara with co-stars Farhan Akhtar and Hrithik Roshan, has decided to take singing seriously. However, he says that singing is not the biggest challenge in his career. “Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy told me it was a rehearsal. When I went to the studio, I figured that they were actually recording,” he smilingly recalls, adding that he recorded his part in one day without a single rehearsal. “Shankar said that technology could do wonders. So I shouldn’t worry about how I would eventually sound.”

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The actor asserts that his ability to catch notes worked to his advantage. He admits he’s not a singer but that wasn’t a cause of worry for him ever. “That way, the audience doesn’t expect me to be an expert crooner. They understand I’m an actor and most actors don’t do their own playback. And when an actor sings, it’s only to add novelty,” Abhay elaborates.

It was reported recently that the fourth Deol was extremely nervous before he went on stage to perform before a live audience at the music launch of the film last Saturday. “I get a bit nervous when I’m going on stage, regardless of whether I sing or not. The feeling is different when you are doing something alone and when you have to do the same thing before a thousand people. But once I’m on the stage, I’m fine,” Abhay explains.

Tell him it’s hard to believe that he has bouts of stage fright even after being an actor for six years now, and he points out that it will always be there to make sure he doesn’t make a ‘big boo boo’ up there. “It’s good to be confident, but one shouldn’t be overconfident either,” he argues, explaining, “It’s your own protective mechanism. I don’t want to go there being cocky and thinking that I’ve been doing it for so long. I prefer going with the attitude that ‘Hey, I’m going to be just fine.’”

So does he find himself singing more often when just chilling out by himself at home? “Now that you ask, maybe I will be,” Abhay enthuses, adding that now he’s sung a song, he wouldn’t mind doing it again for another film. “I think I’d be fine as long as it’s not a song with extremely high and low notes. That would require a trained crooner. I’ll be content with simple tunes. Maybe I should take classes in singing next.”