BANGALORE: As the semi-languid strains of Smells like Teen Spirit echoes through the oaken interiors of Hard Rock Cafe, all eyes are fixated on the frontman religiously playing the role of late Kurt Cobain.
“I'm quite a big fan of Nirvana. They've been very influential,” says Luke Kenny, at the tribute to Nirvana organised by Hard Rock Cafe and Rolling Stone India.
With Luke’s backup band supporting him for the past one year, the man is seemingly excited as he talks about his future plans. “We are currently in the process of recording. An album should be out soon,” he says. A neat lineup of originals — that's what he reveals.
After impressively playing the role of Rob in Rock On!, Luke is now busy finishing a 3D horror movie. “It’s in the early stages of pre-production. The movie is about vampires. It's a genre that people don't generally appreciate. But it's all about swimming against the tide,” says Luke conclusively.
His English looks that come in the way of Hindi movies isn’t a problem for him anymore, he says. “Rock On! changed the perception. We are not giving any explanation for the character’s looks. He is accepted for who he is,” says the first Indian male VJ of the country.
In 1997, Kenny had performed a small role in Kaizad Gustad’s movie, Bombay Boys, playing the leader of a rock band, and it was widely criticised as a movie that gave a contemptuous view of the NRIs. “It was just a story. Different people have different opinions,” he dismisses.
But the passion that he can never dismiss from his life is music, he confesses. The musically fine-tuned family that he hails from is responsible for straightening out his path to the music industry, says the man. “My grandfather was a jazz drummer. And my dad used to play in a band. My grandmother used to take to watch all the Hindi movies. I was influenced by all what I listened to,” he says.
Growing up in the suburbs of Mumbai, Luke says he was fascinated by the glitzy showbiz ambience that hovered over the city every time he went with his father to town. “I knew I had to get out of where I was living. So after completing school, I chose to go to a college in the city,” he recalls.
That's where his glam metal band, Greek, did some experimentation with original music. “People only wanted to listen to covers. So we were pretty disillusioned,” he says. The band members went separate ways, but opportunity kept knocking on Luke’s door.
“Arshad Warsi saw me at one of the dance events I was taking part in, and he asked me to join his dance company,” remembers Luke. One of Arshad's friends asked him to DJ at a local club and soon he found himself spinning the records in glitzy Mumbai's parties.
“One of the guys from Channel [V] saw me at one of the parties and that's how I made it as the first Indian male VJ of India,” smiles the man. Recalling the first time he went on air, he says that he was nervous. “There were no scriptwriters or telepromters then. I had to think on my feet,” he says.
“I'm just keeping my eyes open now,” he says. After making The 13th Floor, he has plans to make more movies. “It's a challenge. There are people who have all the lineage in the industry. I have to cut through all that. I'm just looking at making inroads,” he signs off.
elizabeth@expressbuzz.com