Multiple collaborations and a decade of passionate and soulful music but the musical duo Salim-Sulaiman still assert that their journey has just begun. Be it the chart-popping numbers of Rab ne Bana di Jodi (2008) or soul-stirring Maula Mere Lele Meri Jaan (Chak de India, 2007), they have done it all. “We kept our feet on the ground and head in the right place and worked really hard,” asserts Salim, even as they prepare to fly to the US to perform at the 9/11 Peace Concert.
These days more than their Bollywood work, the duo is recognised for their regional and international collaborations. They have also had a successful start in Hollywood, composing music for Jeffery D. Brown’s Sold (2014). Recently, they collaborated with Pakistani legend Abida Parveen and a Canadian music choir for Noor E Illahi, a melody celebrating the spirit of Eid. What is interesting is Salim-Sulaiman’s fascination for technology and their emphasis on soulful timeless compositions. Sulaiman points out that they use technology to complement the music than to create it. Once they are done with the digital track, they make sure that they record the sequences and instruments live. Their motivation is derived from a belief that music is about people and should be real, and not synthetic.
Their work regime and division of labour is interesting to note. They have contrasting tastes. “Fortunately, what has happened is we play different instruments…We both do different things, therefore it is natural for us to come together,” relates Salim. Each time they head into making a melody, Salim sits on the keyboard, writing base lines and does the ‘raga-based stuff’ while Sulaiman does the drums, base line and electronica. Then when they sit on the mix, it is Salim who sits with singers and collaborates.
Their passion for music gets reflected in using music as a tool for activism and emotions alike. Their notable compositions ‘Broken World’ in collaboration with Vishal Dadlani, Bismillah apart from their patriotic numbers such as the title track of Chak De India! have always been widely appreciated. Sulaiman says music has always reflected the behaviour or situations of a particular country. “In good times we get to hear songs which have that happy element, in war situations we always hear songs which have the patriotic feeling and songs which reflect the spirit of the Freedom Movement. So be it agitation or any other form of emotion, music is always reflective of the kind of environment that a country is going through,” he says.
A large chunk of the music that we get to hear presently is from Bollywood. Salim says there is a change, and points out to Coke Studio and a popular music label (T-Series) releasing four to five singles every month, roughly, a single every week that isn't a part of a film. “There is a lot of music releasing which is non-filmy . And the fact that Honey Singh and Badshah are now featuring in films is basically because they have done a lot of non-film stuff... and the fact that people heard it and liked it,” he states.
They are missing from mainstream movies. “We are just waiting for the right kind of film,” states Sulaiman. They are composing for Poorna releasing later this year. It is the biopic on Malavath Poorna, the youngest girl to climb the Mt. Everest.
