Emraan Hashmi in Gangster and (above) Akshay Kumar

Picture this: You dial a friend. The caller tune’s just changed from Aap ki kashish to Bheegi bheegi, say hello, and hear Jhalak dikhla ja in reply. Or, you get out of the auto listening to Bheege honth tere, on your way home the neighbourhood loudspeaker unabashedly declares, Jawani diwani, reach home and flick the remote only to find Emraan Hashmi contemplating his Aadat, or admitting Prem rog laagi on almost all the channels. Frustratingly familiar?

Variously described as poker-faced with literally a stiff upper lip (if there is an upper lip), and at best, the Bhatt camp’s pint-sized wonder, there is no escaping this guy. Notorious reputation apart (he even wore a T-shirt in Jawani Diwani calling himself a ‘serial kisser’), the massy chart-busters he appears in with assemblyline regularity now, plays no mean a part in the Hashmi recall value, spinning off into smiling directors, and laugh-rolling producers. For those who’d like to believe Emraan Hashmi has arrived, clearly, he has done so riding on the airwaves. So what is it with our men and their music, and how far does it take them?

Zip back a few decades and the answer at first is all too apparent. Don’t we all remember the original heart-throb, Shammi Kapoor Yahoo-ing his way into manic popular imagination? His seriously long solo career and his larger than life image are best traced through the biggest of the Mohd Rafi hits, especially for Shankar-Jaikishan. And then there is your papa, chaacha, sasur, mousi, the works, who still swear by the legendary Rajesh Khanna-Kishore Kumar combo. (Not that your teenaged son will worship them any less, but maybe in remix mode.) Theirs was the chingaari which no saawan could ever put off, setting millions of feminine hearts aflutter and making Romeos out of the sensible men of the world.

Even our Angry Young Man’s rise to fame was scripted up Kishore Kumar’s ladder. The writing on the 70’s wall was loud and clear: If you ain’t got a voice to flatter your Missus, pack your bags! And be it good ol’ Dharmendra, the sophisticated Shashi Kapoor, rakish Vinod Khanna, white-shoed Jeetendra, Mithun the Pelvis or Mr Love Rishi Kapoor, they all followed suit.

There’s nothing like some great melody to polish up a new star and those who’ve rustled themselves up with care, have had the last laugh. Think Aamir Khan admitting Papa kehte hain in QSQT or the vested and oh-so-cute Salman Khan waltzing to Mere sawaalon ka jawaab do in Maine Pyaar Kiya. Similarly, while Akshay Kumar got ahead by whispering Dekha teri mast in Ayesha Julka’s ears in Khiladi or Chura ke dil mera to Shilpa Shetty in Main Khiladi Tu Anari pretty early in his filmy journey, the hugely talented Akshaye Khanna, making a not-so-melodious entry with Himalaya Putra had to wait for a Taal to get noticed. And, of course, the girls won’t ever forget getting empowered by Hrithik Roshan egging them on Kaho Na?Pyaar Hai, for a long, long time.

Thus the biceps and brooding eyes apart, every actor worth his salt will hunt around for a voice to match, and for those striking a partnership, it is as good as striking gold. While Aamir and Udit Narayan were synonymous, the mellow baritone of Balasubramaniam worked wonders for the love-to-love image of Salman. And although Shah Rukh has been more experimental with his voice, you bet he sounds best with Abhijeet Bas itna-sa khwaab hai.

But that is not to say that men of steam fizzle out without the music. Or where would Sanjeev Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, Raaj Kumar or even our yet to grey (amazingly) Anil Kapoor and Govinda be; they are folks whom we remember even without the background score. Cut down to the multiplex scene, with smaller, more experimental flicks mushrooming by the day, not all directors need music to make things move and shake. Why, even the magician of musicals, Sanjay Lela Bhansali, gave melody a miss in Black. Then, again, going by the huge ‘hummability quotient’ of a Salaam Namaste, Roobaroo or Tu hi meri shab hai, the age of the Here & Now Anthem it seems, is far from over.

So whether Himesh Reshammiya’s nasal overtures or the various Pakistani dudes’ octaves, who’ve been taking attention away from Emraan’s ‘just good for one thing’ face, have also been thrusting Emraan into the big league. Remember, hero banaaya aap ne, so, Emraan, sing on!

EXTRA FREE

Emraan-Shahid Hits (Shemaroo; DVD Rs 199), the name is enough to have you foot-tapping. Emraan Hashmi, is not just the Kissing King, he is also the Remix Raja and has the maximum number of superhit shake-a-leg songs picturised on him. And, boy, do we love seeing him doing Juda hoke bhi (Kalyug), Woh lamhein (Zehar), Kaho na kaho, Bheege hoonth tere (Murder) and many more. You also have Shahid Kapur, no doubt a visual treat. This chocolate boy hero is a dancer of great skill, too. So his songs are essentially dance numbers like Teri yaad yaad or Pyaar mein tere (Vaah! Life Ho To Aisa), Ek main hoon, Nazar nazar (Fida). There are seven bonus songs that include Jiya dhadak dhadak (Kalyug), Ishq di gali vich (No Entry), Ek dilruba hai (Bewafaa) — and some more.