Himesh Reshammiya performs at London’s Wembley Arena along with the finalists of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005 on Sunday night

Himesh Reshammiya is turning actor. The music director who has broken all norms by consistently giving voice to his own compositions and beating established singers to the top of the charts and awards trophies, will be starring in a film called Aap Kaa Suroor, The Movie, based on his own life, of course.

And it promises to be right up there with Bollywood’s mega-budget projects. If that is music to the ears of his fans, they can wear a bit of Himesh too as a fashion label is also being launched in his name. The music director chose London’s Wembley Arena to make the announcement on Sunday night, which took the huge concert crowd by surprise.

The two-hour film featuring him as “HR” is being directed by Prashant Chadha, who has done all his music videos, and will be produced by Vijay Taneja, who has invested in films like Hum Ko Tumse Pyar Hai and Yeh to Hona Hi Tha.

“The film will answer all the questions people have been asking — why I wear the cap, why I never smile, why is there so much pain in my songs, why the girls always leave me in the music videos… It will deal with the enigma that I am,” declared Himesh, standing on a stage that had hosted Tom Jones 24 hours before him and will have Christina Aguilera rocking next week. After all, for whatever it is worth, Himesh is being projected as the “first Indian rockstar” on his UK sojourn that follows his 18-city US tour.

Aap Kaa Surroor, The Movie will revolve around “the real luv (sic) story” of the man. “But it will be a fast-paced dramatic thriller, not boring,” promised the nasal singer, back at the Wembley Plaza hotel after a high-decibel performance. “I am not playing a Jaggudada ya don. It will just be me,” he added.

Prashant Chadha, the director, explained that the composer-singer’s love story had been dramatised “so that it follows the classic Act I-Act II-Act III pattern”. The biggest draw of the film would be nine new tracks that the ‘capped’ composer claimed would be his best work.

Aap Kaa Surroor, The Movie, eyeing a June 2007 release, will straddle continents as the songs would be shot in different countries. “The film will feature a world tour and one sequence will be a concert. But we will recreate that experience and not use archival footage. So that would involve a lot of money,” said Chadha. Two fresh female faces would be introduced as eye candies.

“Himesh would not need any workshop. He is a very quick learner. Once you tell him what he needs to do, he gets it in a flash. We will at best have a line-reading session with everyone,” said Chadha.

On the fashion front, Himesh has joined hands with Kishore Biyani’s Future Group to launch a brand called Mega Music Movement (M3). The labels would be available under Suroor, Jhalak, Aashiq and Jhoom, key words in Himesh hit songs, at Big Bazaar.

“I owe it to my young fans,” said Himesh. The other initiative from this combination would be eight branches of a Himesh Reshammiya School of Music, across four metros.

“It will have 10 departments on rock, sufi-rock, jazz, classical, symphony and even club mixes. There is need of talent in the industry today. No longer shall two or three names rule for 25 years.” The launch happens in Calcutta in two months as Himesh, an RD admirer, loves “Bengal music”.

But won’t all this give his critics much more to aim their pot shots at? Himesh, on a high, does not really care. “When I started producing serials at the age of 16, people said yeh ladka kya karega? Andaz became a huge hit on Zee TV... When I started singing, they laughed me off. I produced 36 hits and people started taking me seriously. Apna mazaak banane ke liye main music industry mein nahin ayah hoon.”

If there is more of Himesh on these fronts, there will be less of him in another. Himesh will cut down on the number of films he would compose for to two-three projects a year, other than cutting a solo album. “Himesh Reshammiya should not be available to everyone,” he declared, with composer father Vipin Reshammiya standing by him.