Los Angeles-based songstress Shannon K, is all set to make her debut into Bollywood with Vivek Sharma’s directorial Chal Zindagi. In an exclusive chat with The Pioneer, the newbie discusses how method acting helped her stay in the character, being a target of trolls, and more.
Amartya Smaran
Shannon K is soon going to mark her debut with Vivek Sharma’s Chal Zindagi. An alumnus of the Royal College of Music, London, Shannon wrote, sang, and has featured in over a dozen music videos. The Los Angeles-based singer-turned-actress and filmmaker Vivek Sharma had earlier collaborated for one of her music videos.
Vivek was on a hunt for a young US-based girl for his road film. Now that he had already seen Shannon’s work, perhaps he thought she’d look great for the part and asked her to give an audition. Alas! He liked the audition and offered her the role. Not only did he offer her the part, but he even signed her up to sing all the songs in the movie
“I’ve done a movie in the US,” says Shannon with an underlying excitement. “But I never thought that I’ll get a chance to work in Bollywood. Working in Bollywood as a singer, yes, it was a dream. But never thought of stepping into acting in Bollywood.”
Shannon K is not new to the camera. As we said earlier, she appeared in multiple music videos like Run, Pehla Pehla Pyar, OMT, et al. Film acting is a lot different. One has to step into the shoes of the character, understand the nuances hidden beneath the character’s layers and emote with sheer naturalism.
The debutant says it wasn’t challenging to stay in the character because she learned method acting.
“I think it was more so the emotions and understanding of what the character is all about,” explains the singer. “Once you get the feel and know who you are, it’s pretty natural to sustain. Still a lot to learn as you get different characters so learning is the key!”
“I’m certainly quite nervous!” exclaims Shannon, talking about how she’s coping with the pressure of debuting in a B’wood feature. “I’ve always been a bit anxious before releasing songs or sharing my projects on social media, because I’ve been through trolls badly, so there’s always a slight fear in me regarding how the audience would take my new project. Their feedback is so important to me that I try not to repeat things they didn’t like. My dad always told me to be grounded and the audience is the one who makes or breaks so listen to them if it’s logical and if they want to be hateful for no reason then let it go.”
Although she shares a lot of similarities with the character in the film, the OMT singer had to prepare herself for Leh Ladakh. She explains that due to the low oxygen levels after shoots, it used to feel exhausting. Now that Chal Zindagi is a travel-based movie, the cast would move from one state to the other by road to feel like real bikers.
When Shannon was 16, she had the rare opportunity to meet her biggest influence— Johnny Depp. The Hollywood superstar happens to be her childhood favorite. In fact, Johnny Depp was the one who encouraged her to step into the acting world.
The Chal Zindagi actress explains: “In general, the actor who encouraged me towards acting is Johnny Depp whom I met when I was 16. He gave me an advice on being a singer/songwriter to write from your heart. Also he suggested I should try acting in my music videos because I have very expressive eyes. That was the biggest compliment I had ever received.”
In the interview, she expressed that she had always wanted to work with the late Irrfan Khan. Anupam Kher is another senior actor whom she’s really keen to work with.
The actor says, “I spoke to Irrfan Sir over the call once and he was so encouraging. He’s an amazing actor and a selfless human being. My dream to work with him was left unfulfilled but he will always be my inspiration. I met Anupam Sir in LA and he’s a dynamic person as well as a great actor! I love Shahrukh Sir and Salman Sir too as I’ve watched their movies growing up. I love Deepika Padukone and Aishwarya Rai. Their acting skills, beauty, dance, everything is on point.”
Her dad, Kumar Sanu is a popular B’wood singer and he’s seen the pinnacle of fame. To date, he’s considered to be one of the most respected playback singers in the country. They call him the ‘King of Melody’ in Bollywood.
When the charming Shannon told her dad that she got a good opportunity, Mr. Sanu seemed iffy! He asked her to drop the film if it had any explicit scenes in it. Later, she asked him not to worry and assured him that she would be working on a travel-based movie.
“He’s very strict about my sister. We always respect and obey his advice. It was the same thing when I told him about joining the fashion biz as an entrepreneur, two years back. He was hesitant in the beginning but now he’s proud of my work. Dad has a lifetime of experience in the industry that’s why I always listen to him carefully. He’s very happy for me and says go for less but good work. It will help in the long term,” enthuses Shannon.
The young actress wants to be a part of films that spread awareness and carry a message. She wants to create an impact with her acting and roles.
“I want to be a part of a change, a movement, not just be a love interest,” concludes Shannon adding, “I want to be able to make an impact with my acting and role. Even in my personal life, I’m an advocate of animal equality and Anti-bullying so I’ll keep working towards that.”
Chal Zindagi is an upcoming road film starring Shannon K, Vivek Dahiya, Sanjay Mishra, Vikram Singh, and Mita Vashisht.
