Abhay was nervous about singing: Shankar

New Delhi, June 9 (IANS) Getting three popular actors to sing in one song is no joke - but composer trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (SEL) managed to convince Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar and Abhay Deol to do it for the catchy number "Senorita", and how!

Of the three actors, who feature together in Zoya Akhtar's "Zindagi Naa Milegi Dobara", Abhay had traces of nervousness, according to Shankar, who is gearing up to host a music workshop June 25, the last day of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) weekend in Toronto, along with Ehsaan and Loy.

"It was great fun recording the song. Farhan has sung previously in 'Rock On!!' and Hrithik is a fantastic singer. Abhay was no problem at all. Granted that he has never sung before and he was a bit nervous, but we created a comfortable environment for him and let him do his thing," Shankar told IANS on behalf of the trio.

The song has a Spanish influence, and is quite catchy. From what comes through the trailers of the film, the picturisation is also quite colourful and fun. The film is releasing July 15.

"All the three actors have really done an amazing job and the song has turned out great," Shankar added.

Apart from looking forward to the official music launch of the movie and getting the listeners' response for it, the trio is hoping to take Bollywood music across the shores to North America through their workshop at IIFA, an annual event organised by Wizcraft International Entertainment.

"We want to communicate to the students and the audience at large about the entire process of music creation in Bollywood as the process is quite different from that in the west," said the singer-composer, popular for songs like "Breathless" and "Jhoom barabar jhoom".

The workshop, to be held at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel June 25 morning, will open with a brief history of Hindi film music and will be followed by a discussion on the integral role it plays in Bollywood films. It will be an interactive session, which will also see the hit trio use inputs and recommendations from the audience to compose a song during the course of the day.

Shankar feels IIFA is a great platform for promoting Bollywood globally.

"It's great to see Indian cinema go global on so many different levels and be appreciated. We do look forward to the weekend celebrating with our fraternity and meeting all our fans. The IIFA weekend (June 23-25) is always packed with fun," he said.

While the trio has been nominated for the best music direction for the song "Sajdaa" from "My Name Is Khan", Shankar is competing for the best playback male singer award for his rendition of "Uff teri adaa" from "Karthik Calling Karthik". They hope they can take home the awards.

"Awards mean a lot! It's great to have your work recognized and appreciated," he said.

Shankar, who now also owns an online music academy and imparts education on the basics of Indian music to foreigners through it, is also in talks with the organisers to put up a stall and display some brochures of his academy to spread awareness to students in Toronto.

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Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara