Chennai, Jan 11 (IANS): Debutant actor Jithin Raj, also a popular vocalist and guitarist, says upcoming Tamil drama "Vaanavil Vaazhkai" will be a musical treat for viewers.

"The film will give Tamil audiences their first experience of a musical. It has 17 songs and I'm sure it will be a musical treat for audiences," Jithin said in a statement.

Jithin, who grew up "listening to various kinds of music", said he "started performing in various music festivals at a very young age".

"After finishing my Engineering, I started my own band and participated in a couple of music reality shows, which helped me a lot in getting into the celluloid industry. I started my career in playback singing," he said.

Upon learning director James Vasanthan was making a musical, Jithin approached him for one of the lead roles.

"He was very much impressed with me. I underwent a session of training in dialogues, dancing and acting. All of us in the film are from different backgrounds but we got united musically."

"Though we were all friends, the zeal to outsmart each other in performing was what kept us hungry throughout," said Jithin.

"James sir was like a father figure guiding us through. Playback singing for a character that I played was a rewarding experience because I can be very much sure that it will suit unlike singing for other actors. 'Vaanavil Vaazhkai' has been a best journey so far," he added.