Siddharth Menon is on a roll. Siddharth, a vocalist of Thaikkudam Bridge, is set to turn filmstar in V.K. Prakash’s (VKP) romantic comedy Rockstar , which releases in theatres today.
He plays Anand Abraham, a musician who is an extrovert. “Anand is a playboy, who likes living life to the fullest. The film is about Anand’s journey in life. For me, a rockstar is all about attitude and Anand has oodles of that. The ‘reel me’ in this film and the real me are different; I am an introvert,” says Siddharth.
With his curly locks, ‘cool’ looks and powerful voice, although he was approached with several roles in films, it was VKP’s Rockstar that he finally picked to make his debut in. Siddharth who is rather ‘protective’ of his mane says: “VKP sir had earlier offered me the lead role in Nirnayakam but it required me to chop off my hair! Also, I found the role a bit too serious and did not feel I could do justice to it. I said yes to Rockstar , as the role of a musician was something I am familiar with.”
Although he is no stranger in front of the camera, having shot for several of Thaikkudam Bridge’s music videos, standing in front of a movie camera was a daunting thought when he signed up for the movie. However, attending a workshop organised by VKP helped him rid his fears.
“It was a 15-day workshop, which taught me to shed my inhibitions and helped me gain confidence in front of the camera. My coach Jayaprakash Kuloor sir and I did various exercises. For instance, he would make me act like a lion the entire day. That exercise made me feel like a king. I was dominating in terms of attitude and speech. I was like, “Listen up, I am king!”
The first shot that was shot for the film says Siddharth, was that of him performing live with Thaikkudam Bridge. “As it was me in my comfort zone, the shot came off well.”
A huge fan of Aamir Khan, Siddharth admits he did try to emulate his idol on screen. “But each time I did so, VKP would stop me and say, “Be yourself!”.
Getting his comic timing right for the film, he feels, wasn’t a problem. “I laughed seeing myself in the rushes and I think the audience will feel the same when they watch the movie.”
While shooting for the film was a breeze, dubbing was a challenge. Raised in Mumbai, Malayalam does not come easy for him. “As my audience is familiar with my voice, they wouldn’t have accepted someone else dubbing for me.” The 25-year-old, is humming with glee with the success of Thaikkudam Bridge’s debut album Navarasam. The album contains nine songs of different musical styles, languages and themes.
So, has the dynamics in the group changed now that he is a movie star? “No. I am still the same old Siddharth to them and to myself. We are not a band of musicians; we are friends. It was our audience who turned us into a music troupe. We were a group of friends who got together to perform songs on Music Mojo . We never expected to make it big, but we did,” says Siddharth. He adds that though he set out to be a playback singer, the independent music scene is the one to be in right now.
“New playback singers will find it tough to make their mark in the industry as there are so many of them. Even if their song is a hit, not many will know them. Face value is important these days and that is why music videos are doing well. Social media platforms have made independent music accessible and popular,” feels the singer, adding that he enjoys listening to Arabic music although he can’t understand the lyrics. “Music knows no language. That is why our music has appealed across states.”
Siddharth is now looking forward to performing at the Weekender Music Festival in Bangalore and to a music tour with the band in the United States. So, what about acting? “I don’t know. Let’s see how the audience reacts to my role in Rockstar , first,” he says, signing out.
