MUMBAI: "Works of art make rules; rules do not make works of art," said Claude Debussy, a renowned French composer. The adage is rather relevant to the music scene today as many artists do not follow a set formula when it comes to composing or writing songs; they are more than open to embrace changes. Composers and lyricists who are usually behind the mic, as an extension to their creative experiments, have also sung songs in the past. For e.g. Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay was primarily a composer, but sang a few songs like ‘Bekarar Karke Hume’ from the film ‘Bees Saal Baad’ in 1963, and ‘Tum Pukar Lo’ from the movie ‘Khamoshi’ released in the year 1969. Radioandmusic.com brings to you; the list composers/lyricists who have also share the duties of crooning.

Ankit Tiwari: One of the most successful singer/composers of 2013, Tiwari made it to the top by not only singing on his own compositions, but also by singing for other composers like Himesh Reshammiya for the song ‘Sheeshe Ka Samundar’ from the film ‘Xpose’, ‘Dhoomdhaam’ for ‘Action Jackson’, and for Jeet Gannguli for 'Ishqedarriyaan'. “People have heard my music and they have loved it. They are also well versed with my singing style. The thing is I do not want people to say that I can only sing for my compositions. People say I am picky about the projects I sing, but it is not so. I have sung for Himesji and Arko for a few of their upcoming projects."

Shekhar Ravjiani: Shekhar Ravjiani, one half of the Vishal Shekhar composer duo, is another musician who has sung for his own compositions and crooned for other music directors. The first song he composed and sang was ‘Dil Se Mere’ from the film ‘Jhankaar Beats’ in 2003. His first Filmfare Award nomination as a singer came for ‘Zehnaseeb’ from the film ‘Hasee Toh Phasee’, which he co-composed with Dadlani. Ravjiani is also open to singing for other composers. “Singing for someone else is a big challenge and a great learning experience. I am open to singing for other composers too,” he added. Recently he sang a Marathi track ‘Saang Na’ from the film ‘Classmates’, for which the music was composed by Troy Arif. 

Mithoon: The ‘Tum Hi Ho’ composer has also tried his hands at singing with songs like ‘Mausam’ and ‘Woh Ajnabee’ from the film ‘The Train’ in 2007. In the same year, Mithoon also sung the track, ‘Ke Bin Tere Jeena Nahi’ from the movie ‘Aggar’. He has also attempted lyric writing with the songs like ‘Phir Mohabbat’ (Murder 2), ‘Tum Hi Ho’ (Aashiqui 2) and three songs in ‘Ek Villain’. As of now he is not open to singing or writing for anyone one else. “The need for writing came as Sayeed Quadriji was not available during that song. For now, I am not open to write lyrics or sing for anyone else because I feel it is not my calling. I will write and sing only for my own compositions,” said the singer/composer.

Amitabh Bhattacharya: Primarily known for his lyrics in films ‘I Am’, ‘2 States’ and ‘Dev D’, Bhattacharya also has also rendered his vocals for many films. His first singing project included the songs, ‘Ek Lau’ and ‘Ha Raham’ from film ‘Aamir’ in 2008. Having worked with various composers like Amit Trivedi, Pritam, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, he has always been open to singing and lyric writing.

Salim Merchant: The music composer of the duo- Salim Sulaiman has composed music for various films like ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’, ‘Fashion’, ‘Ungli’ and many others. While his brother and partner- Sulaiman limits himself to only composing, Salim has his interests in singing and has sung a number of songs like ‘Shukran Allah’ from ‘Qurbaan’ and ‘Maula Mere’ from ‘Chak De! India’, amongst others. He has also rendered his vocals for compositions by Vishal Shekhar for ‘Ishqwala Love’ from the film ‘Student of the Year’.