Revellers rock to the tunes of Himesh Reshammiya; (below) a still from the film Aashiq Banaya Aapne

Long coat, carefully-kept stubble, eyes covered with the flap of the cap that seems glued to his hair and a mike held at 180 degrees to a face with that fixed expression.

Huzoor! We are talking about the latest craze in Bollywood who seems to activate his nostrils more than his vocal cords.

If you are still guessing, tune into any music channel and you are sure to find Himesh Reshammiya, the music composer-cum-singer-cum-wannabe actor crooning away to glory.

And step on to any disc floor in town and there’s no missing that high-pitched nasal drone ? groovy for some, grating for others ? to which everyone seems ready to rock.

“Himesh is a music director who has brought in a new concept and that has clicked with the masses. As a result, he has become a rage. Out of 40 songs played in a night club through one single night, more than 20 are invariably composed and sung by Himesh,” says DJ Harish of Dublin.

Himesh hit the high note on the floor from Aashiq banaya aapne, from the film starring Emraan Hashmi and Tanushree Dutta. The current rage, of course, is Tera suroor from his private album and Jhoom jhoom from Tom Dick and Harry. In between, Aapki Kashish (also from Aashiq Banaya Aapne) and Jhalak dikhla jaa (from Aksar) were the dance anthems at the discs.

So what makes people dance to Himesh’s tune?

“You love him or you hate him but you cannot ignore him. Everybody seems to be talking about him,” says DJ Akash.

Some party regulars are not so polite in their praise for the topiwala singer-composer?

“Initially his music was good because it sounded different. But now the nasal sound and the aggressively thumping beats are getting too much. I am off the dance floor as soon as the DJs start playing his tracks,” says disc hopper Saikat Sarkar.

Others suffering an overdose of the Himesh high-pitch even suggest a mid-career switch for the signer crazy about the cameras. “He might as well walk the ramp in the two fashion weeks,” sniggers Priyanka Bedi, at Tantra.

And if that happens, the wardrobe malfunction to watch out for would be Himesh losing his cap!

The DJs, too, fear an overkill. “There is no doubt that Himesh is the current craze and people love to dance to his songs. But like every other thing in the world of music he will immediately have to change his style or face a fadeout,” feels DJ Girish of Shisha Bar.

Postscript: The “change” that DJ Girish has prescribed for Himesh Reshammiya may come about by matters medical rather than musical. Himesh has reportedly been detected with two polyps in his overworked nose and is set to go in for surgery. Is this the last we’ve heard of the high-pitched Himesh?