Expect great music

Expect great music

For the first time, Bollywood music directors and brothers Salim and Sulaiman Merchant will be in town for a one-night-only concert.

The Merchant brothers will also be performing live with singer Benny Dayal, who sang the popular song Badtameez Dil from the movie Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and various other Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam songs. Joining them on stage will be Sufi singer Shadab Faredi, who was featured in the television music show Music Ka Maha Muqqabla, and playback singer Shraddha Pandit.

Speaking to tabla! over the phone, Salim said that fans can expect a night of fun entertainment.

"The music tour has been to the UK, US and so on and we have our fans and well-wishers in Singapore asking when we're going there. Now that we are, we will be performing our biggest hits from movies like Fashion, Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl, Chak De India and Aaja Nachle," said Salim.

Salim and Sulaiman belong to a family with a long background in music and are the sons of veteran music composer Sadruddin Merchant.

The brothers started off in the music industry by composing jingles for advertisements but were later given the opportunity by film director Sanjay Gupta to record the theme music for the 1997 Kajol and Saif Ali Khan-starrer Hameshaa.

From then on, the duo paved the way for themselves in the Bollywood music industry and today they are one of the most sought after music directors. They are the only music directors from India to have worked on a Bollywood remix for Lady Gaga's songs Born This Way and Judas.

They have also collaborated with South African singer Loyiso Bala and Kenyan singer and songwriter Eric Wainaina to record the anthem for the 2012 FIFA World Cup.

The brothers can also boast of a Daytime Emmy Awards nomination for Outstanding Original Song in a children's series called Wonder Pets. And Salim is a judge on the popular reality show Indian Idol. The duo were also the music directors for the musical Taj Express that premiered in Singapore last year and was presented by tabla!.

Besides the concert, the brothers are also working on a project for the Hollywood film Sold, produced by Academy Award winner Jeffrey D. Brown. On the Bollywood side, they are looking forward to the release of Satyagraha and Krrish 3 for which they have composed the music. Their upcoming projects include Karan Johar's Unglee and Subhash Ghai's Kanchi.

Salim expressed his excitement for the concert. "I travel to Singapore often for events and work trips. It's the first time I'm coming to perform and I'm very excited about it," he said. The concert, titled Salim Sulaiman Live In Concert, is being brought to Singapore by Arte Compass.

Salim Sulaiman Live In Concert will be held on Sept 7, 7.30pm at the Esplanade Concert Hall. Tickets are at $205, $165, $125, $85, $65 and $45. To book, log on to www.sistic.com.sg. For enquiries, call 8249-5341 or 6578-7111.


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