DNA newspaper Mumbai - Salman Interview

 

1) What do you think has made Pakistani music click in such a big way in India?

1) Historically India has always been very appreciative of composers and singers from Pakistan because of their diverse styles of singing and composition.In Pakistan traditional and modern musicians are not under pressure from film producers to tailor design a song to suit a particular movie.This gives them the creative freedom to be original and to experiment freely.Its because of this  freedom  that allowed  artists like Nusrat Fateh ali khan( qawwali- pop), Junoon and myself( Sufi-rock) , Nur Jehan,Nazia Hassan,Abida Parveen,Mehdi Hasan,strings,fuzon,jal and others to sculpt a sound which is unique and appeals to listeners all over the subcontinent.

2) Be it  music like yours or sufi music by Rahet Fateh Ali Khan, Indians have accepted it very well. How do you think you differentiate yourselves from Indian musicians?

2) Music is my passion first and then a source of making money.I was trained to be a doctor but found my calling as a musician.I think in India too much emphasis goes to having a hit song and so Indian artists are under too great a pressure to come up with something that clicks with the masses and can be in danger of getting into a creative rut.There are a lot of very talented artists in India who suffer because of the narrow demands of Bollywood cinema.Additionally In India the Bollywood star gets all the mass attention while In Pakistan, Music icons are much bigger celebrities than the film stars.

 

3)  What according to you do Indians prefer you in? Live acts or albums?

3) Well ever since the success of Sayonee and now Ghoom Tana from my new album INFINITI (universal) ,I've always found the Indian audience to be very appreciative, knowlegable and supportive of my music.Coming to India has given me the opportunity to meet great artists like Naseer ud din Shah,Asha Bhonsle Shubha Mudgal,Nandita Das ,Kajol,Shahrukh and AR rehman and we connected because of our mutual admiration for each others work.I hope that we can continue to collaborate together in the future because it will help entertain people on both sides of the fence.

 

4) What encourages you to play for an Indian audience and make music in India?

4) There is a greater sense of professionalism in the Indian music industry which Pakistani record companies lack.My company Universal (India) has given me the support to be able to reach out to a very wide audience. Despite the fact that I live in New York,they are in touch with me and help in coordinating my interviews and appearances in India.In Pakistan, artists mostly have to do everything on their own which is very energy sapping and soul destroying.

 

5)What do you think is the future of Pakistani music in India?

5) Pakistani musicians will continue to entertain India because they provide an alternative choice to  Bollywood's "jhatka" style of music.I think India is a big enough country to have a Bollywood culture as well as a robust indigenous live music scene in which live Concerts become as big as playback Bollywood shows.In comparison to Bollywood,Hollywood and western rock culture are on an equal footing as both genres provide fuel to the west's entertainment industry as well as  more choices to the millions of fans of film and music.

 

6)  I need to include certain interesting factoids about you in the interview as an add-on. Could you share some instances or facts which are not known to people in India?

6)The other big change thats happening in world music is that the west is opening itself to South Asian music,My song Ghoom Tana is in an upcoming Hollywood movie by Ron Frank based on Deepak Chopra's book "HOW TO KNOW GOD".Ghoom Tana is featured on the music soundtrack along with Madonna's "Om Shanti".The world is becoming a smaller place and music is helping to define the new relationship between east and west,Pakistan and India.

7) In North America MTV has launched a southasian channel called MTVdesi to cater for the southasian diaspora and my song ALVIDA (infiniti) is number one on the MTV charts despite the fact that it's music and video is about HIV/AIDS awareness and woman's empowerment.Our southasian audience's tastes are constantly changing and they are sensitive to  global issues like HIV/AIDS and look towards pop culture,films and music to put a human face to these issues.

8)  Being a UN Goodwill ambassador ,On June 1st, I performed in New York at the U.N. general assembly and shared the stage with Richard Gere,Naomi Watts,Whoopi Goldberg,Wyclef Jean and Kofi Annan.The United Nations is providing a bigger platform for artists like mysef,Angelina Jolie and others who want to express their social activism through their music and films.I'm planning to tour colleges in India,Pakistan and Bangladesh later in the year to reach out to students about the millennium goals and to inspire awareness amongst them so that they are able to make the wise choices.

9) My new album, Infiniti, is dedicated to the people of Patiala ( my mother's family comes from there).I had the special honor of having Shubha Mudgal,Nandita Das and Naseer ud din Shah participate in the song/video of Ghoom tana. Ghoom Tana is a unique collaboration between Bollywood,classical and rock music and can serve as a vision for future collaborations.