Manu Narayan - the name may not ring a bell right away, but you've probably seen him more often then you know.  The young actor/singer/musician has been seen in such television shows as, 'The Sopranos,' 'Law and Order,' and 'As the World Turns.'  More notably, he was the the lead in A.R. Rahman's Broadway musical, 'Bombay Dreams.'  He's also an acomplished singer, performing alongside his band DARUNAM, for the Queen of England!  And as he's about to embark upon his big screen debut in the 'Love Guru,' we decided to sit down with him and get a little insight into where he's been and where he's going. 

To get an idea of where Manu is today, you have to understand where he's been.  The young actor grew up with music all around him, singing songs at the age of 2.  And when he was 5 he began taking lessons and performing at various places.  And Manu tells us he's fortunate to have his parents support from the very begining.  Singing and performing is what parlayed Manu into acting as well.

Manu has performed alongside names like Cyndi Lauper and performed for everyone from Queen Elizabeth, Tony Blair, President Bush, and Senator Clinton, as part of his band DARUNAM.  Manu along with band mate, Radovan Jovicevic performed and wrote the song, 'Have Me,' for the film 'And Then Came Love.'  DARUNAM has also released an EP, 'All That's Beautiful Must Die.'   Manu's been trained in classical music and interestingly when he was in college, he went to India and studied in an Ashram with a Guruji. 

The musical aspect is what led to Manu's role as Akaash in the A.R. Rahman and Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, 'Bombay Dreams.'  Manu tells us he learned a great deal from the experience of performing one to two shows per night.  

But most recently is 'Love Guru,' which Manu couldn't be more excited about.  Manu tells us the environment on the sets was like a party, everyone got along well and Manu was able to learn a great deal from the experienced actors, namely Mike Myers.  He describes Mike as being very passionate about his craft, who also made sure the whole crew was taken care of while filming... this film really is his baby.  And the controversy behind the film, with certain Hindu groups conducting protests, doesn't bother him.  He tells us he feels it's uncalled for especially with those who are protesting not having seen the film.  The film is meant to be a light hearted summer comedy and shouldn't be thought of in any other way.  Manu hopes to parlay this role into more big screen film roles. 

We for one are excited to see the direction that Manu will be heading in and we'll have much more on Manu's first big screen role in 'Love Guru' this week, including reviews, videos and much more!  So stay tuned.

Plus did you know Manu is featured on the 'Love Guru' soundtrack?  You can CLICK HERE to get your copy from the Desi Hits! iTunes store.