Singer Sonu Nigam recently put out a vlog where he was seen talking about favouritism in the music fraternity and also pointed out the “music mafias” in the fraternity. Salim Merchant from the composer duo Salim-Sulaiman, totally agrees with what Nigam has spoken in his video. “It is not just the singers the composers are also going through a tough time. The record labels he is talking about has certain music directors and singers they work with. There are certain artistes they have signed. There is definitely that favouritism for certain artistes and composers, which these labels work with,” he says.
Throwing more light on the topic, he shares, “There are lot of composers like me, who don’t want to do just one song in the film. But there are others who are comfortable with the record labels terms and conditions and are okay to compose just one song in the film. Sonu Nigam has not said anything wrong. Whatever he has said is the truth. There are singers who gets called and they get dumped later on. There are so many directors who want to work with composers like ourselves, but when it reaches the record labels, they have their own conditions and they feel they cannot work with us.”
Ask him have they ever been asked to change any singer, and he says, “No we haven’t been asked to. However, we have got feedbacks from directors and producers to try another singer. And indulged in trying but it has been very peaceful and was done very respectfully. These decisions have been taken mutually. For instance, for Ainvayi Ainvayi Lut Gaya (Band Baaja Baarat; 2010), we had recorded with Master Salim, who has a folk touch in his voice. And Aditya Chopra wanted a lighter voice for Ranveer Singh. And we tried another singer that was me. But this decision was mutual. Yet we kept Master Salim’s credit in the end credits.”
Reflecting on what Nigam said in his video, Merchant feels that such things can “really break you”. He points out that the creative process getting hampered is just one level, but there is more to it. Sharing a personal experience, he says, “Sulaiman and I had worked on a project with a new director. The music turned out so good that it helped them get a really big actor on board. Then they took it to a big production house/record company, and they said, ‘we love the film, but please change the composers.’ They have some personal vendetta against us, I don’t know why. It is about time that people find about it.”
