There were reports that Shilpa Shetty actually learnt to play the violin for Sunny Deol's "The Man", but the actress admits that she couldn't go beyond holding the musical instrument properly.

"It takes years to master the violin. All I did was to learn how to hold the violin properly so that I don't look stupid with it. Also, let me tell you when someone who doesn't know how to play the instrument actually puts the fiddle on the string, it sounds like a donkey braying. So I'd never dare," Shilpa told IANS.

The actress was all praise for those who had really learnt a skill to play a film character convincingly.

"Learning a new instrument takes years, forget about mastering it. I believe Mr Dilip Kumar actually learnt to play the sitar for the song 'Madhuban mein Radhika' (in 'Kohinoor') and Shabanaji ( Shabana Azmi) sat down with a Carnatic singer to learn the ragas for 'Morning Raga'. Hats off to them. For me not looking stupid with the violin was enough," she said.

The others who have brushed up their musical talents for movies include Arjun Rampal and actor-director Farhan Akhtar. While Arjun learnt how to play the guitar to essay the role of the lead guitarist in "Rock On", Farhan has himself sung six of the nine songs in the film. We also have Katrina Kaif who took cello lessons to look convincing as a classical musician in Subhash Ghai's "Yuvraj".

However like Shilpa, Katrina cautions that she's not an expert cello player.

"I've taken lessons to look convincing holding and strumming on the cello. But I'm not really playing it in the film. I'm not some great musician. But I do have a sense of melody and rhythm. I guess that will see me through this cello-playing role," Katrina said.