Salim Merchant: ‘Many ways for a musician to be discovered today’

“Previously, we had to go through the labels and films were the only medium. But now, there is independent music. You can release your music on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram. You can do an original song or do a cover. So, there are many ways for an artiste to be discovered today,” the 49-year-old musician told PTI in an interview.

Salim Merchant, also a singer known for hits such as Ali Maula and Ainvayi Ainvayi, said while he is someone who keeps up with the times, he doesn’t believe in blindly following them.

“I am open to all the new trends, in fact swaying with it. It’s good to accept the change… So, don’t want to just go by the trends but create trends too.

“When you want to create trends, you should also have the ability to accept new trends… I have my own music label (Merchant Records), I am doing concerts and producing a lot of new content for TV, and YouTube,” added the music director, whose career spans over three decades in the industry.

For him, music transcends all barriers.

“In my band, everybody is 15-20 years younger to me. When we perform live, sometimes the college audience that we play for is 20 years younger, but we go by the fact that music has no language, no age barrier,” he said.

Salim Merchant, along with his music partner and brother Sulaiman Merchant, is looking forward to the premiere of their musical Disco Dancer: The Musical.

The stage production is adapted from the 1982 hit film Disco Dancer, directed by Babbar Subhash and headlined by Mithun Chakraborty.

Disco Dancer: The Musical will feature the late Bappi Lahiri’s chartbusters tracks in a re-imagined score by Salim-Sulaiman.

The musical is described as a celebration of Bollywood, bringing back the grandeur of the ’80s, unforgettable songs, disco style dancing and memorable dialogues for audiences of all generations to India.

Salim Merchant said he had discussed the idea of the musical with the veteran music composer, who was thrilled about the venture.

Bappi Lahiri, who popularised disco music in India in the ’80s and ’90s, died in February 2022 following multiple health issues at the age of 69

“He (Lahiri) was very happy and excited about it. It’s unfortunate that he’s no more. It was my dream for him to attend the premiere (of the musical),” he added.

The Mumbai-born composer recalled performing Lahiri’s hit song Koi Yahan Nache Nache from Disco Dancer during his school days.

“One of my fondest memories from when I was 12-13 years is, I was making and learning music, playing sports, studying and watching movies such as Disco Dancer two-three times,” said Salim Merchant.

Disco Dancer: The Musical is being brought to India by Saregama and Hindi film star Suniel Shetty after sold-out shows at the UK’s West End last November. It will premiere on April 14 at Mumbai’s NSCI dome.