MUMBAI: Singer-actress Amika Shail from Uttarpara, who had her first brush with the entertainment industry at the age of 9 when she participated in Little Champs. She has recently worked in Akshay Kumar starring “Laxmmi Bomb” which will have its OTT release on Disney +Hotstar.
She also took part in singing reality shows like ‘Bengali SaReGaMaPa’, ‘Indian Idol’, ‘Voice of India’ and ‘SaReGaMaPa’. She has also been a part of ad-films for brands such as Max Fashion, Bajaj Nomarks, Inorbit Mall, Dabur, Colgate, Santoor, Ujala, etc.She has also been a part of web shows and television series such as ‘Madam Sir’, ‘Laal Ishq’, ‘Shaadi Ke Siyappe’, ‘Gunah’ ‘Abhay’ , Baal Veer and Divya Drishti .
During an exclusive interview with Radioandmusic.com Amika Shail unveil her lockdown experiences and how drew herself towards acting “‘Udaan’ boosted my confidence and motivated me to go for more” said the singer.
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Check interview below:
How have you been primarily spending your time in quarantine?
When the lockdown began, I started to feel claustrophobic. As a television actor shooting daily, it becomes very difficult for us to be in solitary confinement at home. We are used to seeing and meeting so many people on the sets daily. It started to affect me and I always thought for the lockdown to get over soon. However, after a period of 3 weeks, I started to introspect. The realisation that it is not going to end soon had percolated by then. I started utilising my time to do yoga, pen down my thoughts, try my hand at cooking and cleaning, etc. These activities kept me busy. I also utilised the time to watch a lot of online content which I do not get to watch normally due to the challengingly long shoot schedules.
How would you describe your music to people who haven’t heard you before? What does your act consist of?
I’m just a girl next door who attempted to sing and has pretty much done it all in the music business with some successes. I would request all those reading the article to go to YouTube and listen to me there. The truth is that since the day I have started acting, I do not get time to develop new musical content and sing. I am optimistic that one day I will be able to do justice to my singing as well and have as much success for the same that I have with acting.
I would describe my music as soulful music that you can enjoy in solidarity as well as with a bunch of people. I like melody than mechanical banter. However, as a person, I listen to everything, no matter what the genre, and try to see the beauty in everything that is music, despite personal preferences.
Which came first, singing or acting? How did you get into both careers?
Singing came first, I am a trained classical singer. My orientation towards music was through my mother, who is a school teacher. I began my musical journey by learning Hindustani Classical music at the age of five. I am now a postgraduate in Hindustani Classical Music and a Sangeet Visharad. Born and brought up in Uttarpara, in Hooghly district of West Bengal; I had my first brush with the entertainment industry when at the age of 9 years I had participated in ‘Little Champs’ reality show. Later in my journey, I was a part of Bengali Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Indian Idol, Star Voice of India, Doordarshan Talent Hunt and The All India Radio Show. I have done playback singing for the Mahie Gill-Nana Patekar starrer Bollywood movie ‘Wedding Anniversary’.
I bagged my first acting assignment in the Colors TV series ‘Udaan’. After which I landed a role on Star Plus series ‘Divya Drishti’ and then there was no looking away from acting.
Do you find that acting and singing complement each other? Do you ever draw on acting while singing, or vice versa?
Yes, I strongly believe acting and singing complement each other. Being a singer has helped me in doing powerful dialogue deliveries and essay the right emotions in my tone while I narrate a dialogue. This gives me an edge over someone unable to impact dialogue deliveries. After being a singer, I realised that I could try my hand at acting. I was very fascinated by the television industry right from the time I participated in singing reality shows. I admit that I came to Mumbai intending to be a singer, but acting drew me towards itself. ‘Udaan’ boosted my confidence and motivated me to go for more. I could not believe my ears when I heard that I was finalised for the character I auditioned for the movie ‘Laxmmi Bomb’. Acting in a movie was like a dream come true. When I look back, I realise that it has been a great journey from Little Champs then to Laxmmi Bomb now, I thank the almighty for the same.
You have been in web shows and television series, any plans to explore more?
Yes, I will love to surely explore myself more as an actor. My ultimate dream is to do playback singing for my own character in a film. I have sung the cover of Gandi Baat title track for Alt Balaji. It will release on 15th October 2020 and will be uploaded on their You Tube channel.
Share with us about your upcoming projects?
Laxmmi Bomb is a project that I am waiting for with bated breath along with all Akshay Kumar fans. I am a part of 2 more web series which will be announced
