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Rahul not lying Idol
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June 29, 2009
 By Debashine Thangevelo
Rahul Saxena may not have walked away with the Indian Idols title in 2004, but he did walk away victorious nevertheless - choreographer-turned-director, Farah Khan, signed him on to sing a track on the soundtrack of her second film, Om Shanti Om.
Since then he has composed songs for many artists and hopes to launch his debut album soon.
On the genre he is partial to, Saxena said: "I love music, whether it is hip hop, jazz, the blues or rock. We keep on learning from these different styles so I can't say that I am stuck on a particular tempo."
Born in Saharanpur, a small city in Uttar Pradesh, Saxena, who studied at Delhi's Shyamlal College of Arts and Commerce, moved to Mumbai in 2003. He knew the road ahead would not be easy as the city teems with hopefuls as hungry to succeed as he is.
But it looks as if lady luck was smiling on him as Saxena made it on to Indian Idols and left an indelible impression on judges Sonu Nigam, Anu Malik and, of course, Khan, before he was voted out of the Top 11.
As for Khan's flattering gesture in signing him on to sing in Om Shanti Om, he smiles: "In this Bollywood industry too many people make promises and never deliver. Farah is a nice woman and a nice director - she appreciated my talent and gave me the chance to work for a blockbuster.
"I recorded a song for Shah Rukh Khan - he is my favourite actor. While Deewangi Deewangi was a normal song, the enjoyment of my talent was inspiring."
And Saxena is tipped to croon again for Happy New Year, Khan's next movie with SRK.
"They haven't started shooting so I don't know which song I am going to sing. They have yet to decide on a composer for the soundtrack," he points out.
An admirer of heavyweight playback singers Nigam and Shankar Mahadevan, Saxena aspires to one day be as accomplished as the are.
As for what one can expect from Om Shanti Omm - Saxena says "a big time Bollywood party".
The concept of merging singing, dancing and comedy skits has been a challenge for him, fellow singer Jankee Parekh and the other 13 cast members.
"Basically, we are covering the essence of the film in a compressed form on stage. Right now we are working long hours to fine-tune the show. I guess, it is harder, for me, because it isn't easy to sing and dance at the same time," he admits.
Om Shanti Omm runs at the iZulu Theatre at Sibaya from July 9 to 12 and July 16 to 19 at 8pm. Sunday shows are at 3pm. Tickets cost R100, R130 and R150.
The show then moves to Boardwalk Casino in Port Elizabeth, from July 24 to 26, Wild Coast Sun on July 31, Ladysmith on August 1 and the Patidar Theatre in Johannesburg at 4.30pm on August 2. For more information call Veesham Maharaj at 083 544 5949, Mike Narsey at 082 444 6599 or Logan Moodley at 082 786 7604.
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