Hitting the high note

Chart topper

Salim Merchant, of the Salim-Sulaiman pair, has been doling out a number of hits through films. Bindu gopal rao speaks to this successful singer on his journey till date.

Salim Merchant, the composer and singer of the duo Salim-Sulaiman, needs no introduction. His body of work includes composing for some big films, including the likes of Band Baaja Baaraat, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Fashion, Aaja Nachle, Pyaar Impossible, Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year, Kurbaan and Luck among many others. He is also a superlative singer with hit numbers like Shukran allah from Kurbaan, Mar jawaan from Fashion, Maa da laadla from Dostana and Aye khuda from Paathshaala under his belt.

And to top it all, Salim is a performer like no other and anyone who has watched him perform live will vouch for it.

So, how does he look at his journey to date, dotted with so many success stories? “Success is an objective word. For some people, it means achieving a goal and for some others, it could mean getting into a new territory. For me, it means excellence. We like to do our best and don’t really look for success as it is something that follows when you do good work,” is his modest reply. And this is obvious when you know that the music of their latest movie, Jodi Breakers, is topping the charts. He is naturally pleased by this.

“Today, music is watched as much as it is heard. It is also being promoted heavily,” he adds.

Story-based selection

Being a name to reckon with in the music industry, Salim Sulaiman obviously get offered a lot of work. But, how do they choose projects? “It is the story that excites us.

Nowadays, the actor or the banner do not matter as much when it comes to making such choices.” Again, with the advent of contemporary new age movies into Bollywood, music has also changed. Being the more vocal of the duo, Salim says, “I am open to doing all kinds of movies. In fact, movies that are different and off-beat have more value. I actually look for a different concept that will allows us to score music differently. The hatke vibe is important. For instance, Band Baja Baraat had a whole new approach to weddings.”

With the all pervasive Internet, music has gone digital. Technology today allows you to listen to music differently. “I think it’s a great thing for the music industry as people today are always on the move and listening to songs on their phone or iPod. In fact, Kolaveri Di is the biggest example of how you can make your music reach out to a large audience in such a short time.” Apart from being a composer, Salim is also an accomplished singer, but is clear that composing is his calling.

“While composing, I put down all the tunes in my own voice. We always do check if this can be sung by another singer to suit the situation. However, the focus will be composing. Singing is incidental and I am lucky that I have been appreciated for it.” 

Having judged the fifth season of Indian Idol, Salim is gaga over reality shows. “I think reality shows are a great platform to find talent as we go from city to city for auditions.” Being a performer, Salim is a livewire on stage. “We have concerts in USA coming up soon. There has been a lot of buzz already and it has attracted a massive response. This will be in March and we are planning six concerts.” 

Looking ahead, Salim-Sulaiman have a lot of work ahead of them this year. “Heroine will be our next big release this year. While we always make sure that we work hard to give good music, the music of Heroine is super. We have a couple of smashing songs in the album which I am sure everyone will enjoy.” 

With such a line-up, it would come as no surprise if the coming months witness a musical high like no other.