Salim-Sulaiman

Bollywood music directors and film composing duo Salim-Sulaiman is comprised of brothers Salim Merchant (born in Mumbai, India on March 3, 1974) and Sulaiman Merchant (born in Mumbai on December 21, 1970). Outside of their work in Hindi cinema, they are best known for co-writing “Africa – You’re a Star,”, the 2010 FIFA World Cup anthem. During their career, Salim-Sulaiman has been the recipients of many awards including Best Music Directors. The sons of musician and bandleader Sadruddin Merchant, they grew up in a musical household with each brother studying different instruments: Salim studied the piano and attended Trinity College of Music in London, England while Sulaiman was trained on the table. Initially composing for Hindi pop artists in the early 1990s, they branched into film composition for a variety of Bollywood productions. They came to prominence by writing songs for such films as Bhoot (2003) and Kaal (2005). Salim-Sulaiman also wrote songs for such films as Neal ‘n’ Nikki (2005), Roadside Romeo (2008), Fashion (2008), Aashayein (2010), Heroine (2012), Mardaani (2014), Janaan (2016), Coolie No. 1 (2020), and The Power (2021). They also worked on many pop projects outside of the film industry including being involved with the long-running Bhoomi project, which celebrates music from India in new and exciting ways. The Bhoomi 2022 release includes tracks composed by the duo including “Laut aa Mere Des,” which featured lyrics by Shradha Pandit and vocals by Shreya Ghoshal. The song was streamed on social media over five million times in the first month.