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One should celebrate life and not just certain occasio
Singer Leslee Lewis grew up with Bollywood around him, as he likes to put it, but he admits he always wanted to dabble in western music, too. Recently, he came out with an English song, Entourage, in collaboration with rapper-singer Omar Gooding.
Leslee feels that a large section of people in India didn’t embrace western music back in the day. “Nobody got it in the ’80s, when I did it here. People said, ‘English mein samajh nahi aata, do lines ke aage kya gaa rahe ho, kya bol rahe ho’,” he recounts, adding, “I would listen to English and Hindi, both. My dad (late PL Raj) was a popular choreographer; he had worked in films such as Sholay (1975) and Don (1978). I grew up with Helen aunty and Laxmikant-Pyarelal. I wanted to do other things. People weren’t getting western music in 80s, so I had to simplify it.”
The 61-year-old, known for the hit number Yaaron and his debut album, Colonial Cousins, with Hariharan, believes that people in India prefer sweetness in music. “Indians need mithaas. Rock, for them, is distortion, something abrasive. By the time I got down to Aapki Dua in my album Pal, it was a sweet rock kind of thing,” says Lewis.
Talking about Entourage ,he says that he is “probably the only Indian” singing in Hollywood, in English. Lewis is happy that his music is being embraced across the world. “I have started my own label, which is all about global music in Hindi. I released a song in June called Chhoda Tune, which did well. It made to three playlists in India, Brazil and Argentina,” he says.
Last seen in the web series The Final Call, actor Harshad Arora believes that it’s time we all learn to slow down as life is an uncertain journey. “The pandemic taught me to slow down a bit and be more thoughtful about life. The race to top is unending but one should learn to be unwavering and decelerate a bit to care for our loved ones. I bought a house right after the first lockdown because at the end of the day stability matters the most! You just cannot rush and run,” says Dahleez and Tera Kya Hoga Alia actor.
Ram Kapoor will be pulling all-nighters shooting, including his birthday. For the actor, who turns 48 today, birthdays are no big deal. “At my age, we don’t do anything really for my birthday. My dad believed this and so do I that one should celebrate life and not just certain dates or occasions,” he says. His father passed away four months ago and Kapoor admits that he remembers him often.The actor had a packed schedule this year, with four projects to shoot for. He wrapped up one, but after the second lockdown, had to juggle his dates for the rest. He explains, “Now, I am working on three projects at the same time. It has been challenging, as I am running from one to the other. No actor wants to take on so much at the same
Arora feels it has been a difficult phase for all and we will have to bear the repercussions for some time. “Actually it is easier said than done. Work has suffered and industry too endured losses, as a result the competition around increased manifold. Income has decreased and costs are high so today if you have a job or work in hand one should appreciate it,” he says.
The actor finds his quality of observing people around the main reason for him to land in the field of acting. “Observing people and copying them comes naturally to me. It was while working in an advertising firm when I got a few modeling offers and options to time. The roles and projects are wonderful and I’m happy with the work that I am doing.”Kapoor has finished shooting for Vipul Shah’s web show, Human, and is shooting for Vikramaditya Motwane’s Stardust, Masaba Masaba season 2 and another web show. With releases like A Suitable Boy, Abhay season 2 and Big Bull on OTT, Kapoor is delighted that he has been getting a variety of roles on the digital platform.
“OTT is one of the best things to have happened to our industry. Films and TV will always have their place, but OTT is the future. This is one of the most enjoyable times of my career. And not just me, whoever is doing interesting work on OTT is getting to experiment and grow. I know of a lot of actors from TV, who are desperately trying to get good work in OTT, but are not really managing,” says Kapoor. audition. I decided why not give acting a try! So, I took leap of faith and reached Mumbai and within a month my first show Beintehaa happened.”
Arora’s earlier two shows were light comedy and this is the first time that he is playing a grey character. “Couple of years back I got a chance to play an intense negative role for a fictional fantasy Mayavi Maling but currently the role I essay in Thoda sa Baadal, Thoda sa Paani is very much a day-to-day character that possess multiple personality traits. A protagonist cannot be flawless throughout. Such characters are hard to find, in fact today we all are individuals living in a grey zone.”