Shweta Pandit to star in Salim Sulaiman concert
Light & Shadow Enterprises is all set to stage the concert by the well-known Bollywood music composers Salim Merchant and Sulaiman Merchant on February 19 at the Qurum Amphitheatre
MUSCAT: Popular Bollywood playback singer Shweta Pandit will be the lead vocalist at the Light & Shadow Enterprises organised Salim-Sulaiman concert for the first time in Oman. Upcoming singer Raj Pandit will also be joining her, says a press release.
Oman’s premiere event management agency Light & Shadow Enterprises is all set to stage the concert by the well-known Bollywood music composers Salim Merchant and Sulaiman Merchant on February 19 at the City Amphitheatre, Qurum.
The presenter of the concert is Minara, a product of Areej Vegetable Oils and Derivatives which is the first pure sunflower oil in the entire GCC. The concert will be driven by Mitsubishi Motors.
Akshay Chowdhary, director of Light & Shadow Enterprises, said: “We are delighted that Shweta Pandit will join the show. She is among the top singers in Bollywood today. Shweta Pandit has sung a number of songs in Bollywood movies such as Highway, Mohabbatein, Partner, Welcome, Mere Brother ki Dulhan, Neil n Nikki, Naach, Sarkar Raj, Ladies VS Ricky Bahl, Joker, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, Yamla Pagla Deewana and many more chartbusters. Her addition to this grand Salim Sulaiman concert has made it even bigger in scale.”
Shweta sang in various films even as a child, including Mani Ratnam’s Anjali (1991) Dil Kya (1999), Raju Chacha (1999),
(1997) and Saaz (1996) - where she collaborated with world renowned tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain.
Shweta Pandit is also a recording vocalist, songwriter, composer, performing artist and actress. She has also recorded songs for various Telugu and Tamil film songs. Her debut record album
was released when she was only 16 years old with EMI Virgin Records, India. Becoming the youngest Indian pop star she released three videos from this album, featuring herself. Her other albums include She has also sung and featured for various television commercials.
In 2012, Shweta sang her first Tamil song for the movie for composer Yuvan Shankar Raja and
and getting her the finest reviews for her renditions. In 2011, Shweta collaborated with popular Punjabi singer and actor Harbhajan Mann for the song Sun Mere Chann Mahiya for the album Heer Ranjha.
Raj Pandit is the son of filmmaker Ashok Pandit and trained classical and folk singer Neerja Pandit. When kids of his age were playing with gaming consoles, he played with musical instruments. He learnt the tabla first from percussionist Shadab Bhartiya, and then at Ustad Allah Rakha Khan’s Institute of Music. He got guidance from Ustad Zakir Hussain and Taufiq Qureshi.
Raj has sung two songs in Wedding Pullav. One is called
featuring him with Salim Merchant and Shreya Ghoshal, and the other is his solo Before this, he done the title song of the film Rabba main kya karoon duet composed by Salim-Sulaiman.
Siblings music composers Salim Merchant and Sulaiman Merchant have been scoring music for Hindi films for a long time now.
They are among India’s top music composers, having scored for more than 100 films including Band Baaja Baaraat, Kurbaan, Heroine, Fashion, Aaja Nachle and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Fashion, Iqbal among others.
The Salim-Sulaiman concert will have an ensemble of 25 musicians performing on stage.
“You can follow lightshadowintl on Instagram & Twitter and #lightshadowoman on Facebook to get the latest updates on the event, contests and exciting giveaways,” the spokesperson said.
Steeped in a family tradition of music as the sons of composer and veteran of the film industry Sadruddin Merchant, Salim mastered the piano on at the Trinity College of Music in London while Sulaiman took up tabla training with legends such as Taufiq Qureshi and Ustad Zakir Hussain.
Today, Salim and Sulaiman Merchant are among India’s most appreciated music composers, having scored more than 100 films and for around 20 TV shows. They have composed several records incorporating cinematic, folk, electronica and Sufi influences to their music.
“Tickets are priced at OMR40, OMR20 and OMR10 and can be booked online by logging on to www. lightandshadowllc.com or people can buy their tickets from Muscat Grand Mall (main entrance) or R&B Store (Ruwi) from Thursday, February 4,” said Akshay.
“Get your tickets fast before they sell out and enjoy the biggest concert of the year with your family and friends,” he added.