Set to don the greasepoint

Jithin, just put it like that, he says, not so fond of his last name. But then there are no other Jithins singing, so this young man is known to all by his first name, after that Indian Voice show when he came in second place. Life before that, Jithin narrates in a couple of lines, has been about going to school youth festivals as a boy from Malappuram and coming back with prizes for light music.

There has been a bit of carnatic music too. Then came the engineering college days in Madurai, and the detour back to music with the reality show Indian Voice. But that’s old news now, what’s new is he has taken yet another role, of a lead actor in a Tamil musical by James Vasanthan.

Perhaps it is that little ring he wears on his left ear or maybe it is the French beard, but something about Jithin the singer, makes directors call him to act. There’s been one offer to act in a Malayalam film, which however failed to work out later. So the acting debut happens in Tamil, the same language he has sung three songs in.

“It is really not that different, because we are all musicians singing and acting in the film, a first of its kind in Indian cinema,” says Jithin. He met James Vasanthan, the music director of Subramaniyapuram, after his friend Ragini introduced him as a singer. James called Jithin for an audition and he became one of the three leads in the film. “There’s also Cassandra Rachel Premji and Janani Rajan, all of us singers.”

Others acting in the film are also singers or instrumentalists. There are 17 songs in all, with 10 or 11 characters.

Jithin’s first film song has been a duet with Shreya Ghoshal for the film Sigaram Thodu. He then sang a title song for James Vasanthan in Sandamarutham and another duet for D Imman in Rajini Murugan.

Now, he’s just made his singing debut in a Malayalam film called Mariya Mukku for Vidyasagar. “My biggest dream is always to be a singer, and maybe make my own singles one day. But I am open to trying out new things that come my way.”

He is also part of a band called Prayaan, singing medleys and making their own compositions. For now, Jithin is waiting for his Valentine’s Day release of the musical Vaanavil Vaazhkai.