New Delhi, Aug 19: Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan, who were set to make their acting debut with director J P Dutta's untitled film, were barred from making public appearances till its release. But now the Bangash brothers have returned to giving sarod recitals as their movie has been put on hold.

"We played (the sarod) after a sabbatical of one year. We were quite happy and it was a special moment since I have been playing for 15 years now, and this was one year when I didn't play; so I was really looking forward to this performance," Amaan, who performed with brother Ayaan at Delhi's Malhaar Festival Monday, told IANS.

Sons of sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, Amaan and Ayaan teamed up with model sisters Tapur and Tupur Chatterjee for their Bollywood launch vehicle. After shooting major parts of the film, the makers have reportedly shelved it due to financial issues.

"We were under a contract of 'no public appearance'. But when we realised that the film is facing some problems and will take some time to release, we spoke to J P Dutta and told him that we can't keep waiting. It is not financially viable for us to avoid all our music concerts," said 32-year-old Amaan.

"We had shot for the film for five-six months and almost 50 percent of the film was completed. We worked hard. I lost 18 kg for it. Shooting was supposed to be completed by July, but unfortunately it has now been postponed. I don't know the current status of the film," he added.

Asked why they shifted from music to movies, Amaan said: "Music is my first love, cinema just my hobby.

"We wanted to be involved with something different, yet be creatively involved. Since acting is also a creative medium, we decided to explore that aspect of our personality. We have done music videos before...also every show is a performance on stage in itself."

But Amaan stresses that they don't hold any grudge against Dutta, who has made acclaimed films like "Border" and "Refugee".

"We felt really lucky that we were approached by a director like Dutta. The film and the role he offered didn't require us to run around trees or remove our shirts. It required acting. So both of us thought it's a good opportunity for us to try out something different. But music will always be our first love and cinema our hobby," he said.

The brothers are now working on a Sufi album. Amaan revealed that they would also like to compose music for films though nothing has materialised on that front right now.

"Once Kabir Khan had approached Ayaan for a project, but nothing materialised. I too got a few offers, but none of them matured. Maybe whatever happens happens for the good. We would love to give music for a film, whenever we get a good opportunity.

"We have many friends in the industry, but I don't want to mix my friendship and my profession. I don't want to use my friendship to endorse myself; so we will wait till we get something worthwhile," said Amaan, who had composed music in 2005 for academy award winner Rodger Christian's film "American Daylight".