And Himesh isn't the first singer/composer to showcase his acting skills. Here's a look at Reshammiya's legendary predecessors.

KL Saigal

Saigal, a school drop-out, worked simultaneously as a railway timekeeper and typewriter salesman with the Remington Typewriter Company. However, his love for music bought him to Hindi cinema.

He was Bollywood's first superstar. Though not conventionally good looking, he developed a great fan following. Reportedly, the balding star always wore wigs.

Saigal's first three movies -- Mohabbat Ke Ansoo, Subah Ka Sitara and Zinda Laash -- were flops. His star status came after the success of Chandidas, followed by PC Barua's Devdas. Rumour mills claim Lata Mangeshkar wanted to marry him after seeing his performance in Chandidas. A fast learner, he learnt Bengali and acted in Bengali films as well.

By 1938, playback singing had started but in Street Singer, Saigal sang Babul Mora live in front of the camera. He cajoled director Phani Majumdar, saying he would sing better live, in front of the camera. So an orchestra played in the background as the camera followed Saigal in the studio.

In 1941, he came to Bombay and joined Ranjit Movie Tone, delivering hits like Bhakt Surdas and Tansen. But by then, Saigal had become an alcoholic. However, it was at the end of his career that he gave his biggest hits with Naushad -- including the immortal Jab dil hi toot gaya in Shahjahan.

He died in 1947 in his hometown Jalandhar, Punjab. After his death, B N Sircar made a documentary film, Amar Saigal, featuring 19 songs from Saigal's films, and had G Mungheri playing Saigal.

Text: Patcy N | Design: Reuben NV

Next