BT spoke to Nadeem Saifee about the composer duo’s plans for their reunion show and future film projects
Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; January 28, 2019)

In an interview conducted in June 2017, composer Nadeem Saifee, one half of the composer duo Nadeem-Shravan, told Bombay Times, “Shravan and I are still like brothers and I miss him. We were very close, but we drifted apart. It happens with so many close relationships. We couldn’t help our circumstances. He was trying to build his sons’ careers. And when I was away, grappling with life, he took up albums and started composing on his own. Slowly, I moved on, too. Even today, we occasionally send out greetings to each other. And if an opportunity ever arises, I’d be the first one to say ‘yes’ to team up with him.”

A year-and-a-half later, the composer duo is indeed reuniting, but this time, for a series of concerts. Confirming the news to BT, Nadeem said, “Our fans had been urging us to do something together. So, we decided to start by thanking them for their endless support through the years, irrespective of our circumstances. We have decided to start with shows across the UK, USA and the Middle East. For many years now, Shravan and I have been doing our work individually, but after the tour, we will even consider doing a couple of film projects together. The shows will give us a start.”

The composers, who delivered some of the most popular songs in the 90s, were forced to part ways when Nadeem slipped into exile, following Gulshan Kumar’s murder case. He has been shuttling between the UK and the Middle East for years now. In June 2017, he made a comeback of sorts with Suneel Darshan’s Ek Haseena Thi Ek Deewana Tha. Shravan Rathod, in the meanwhile, prepared ground for his sons, Sanjeev and Darshan, to make their foray into Bollywood.

When asked how and where Shravan and he met to plan the tour, Nadeem said, “Technology! It’s the greatest boon. We stayed in touch over the phone and now we have so many facilities to meet people virtually. Shravan and I exchanged notes over voice and video calls. I haven’t met him in person in a very long time, but technology has really made it possible for people to stay in touch without travelling the distance.”

The concert is still being planned and it is expected to kick off some time later in the year. For now, the composer duo is fine-tuning the details of the show. Nadeem adds, “It will be great if we get a chance to perform in India together; after all that is where we began. That will be the best culmination of our tour. Saans toh chalti hai par woh jeene jaisi baat nahi, dil toota hai mera bas aur koi baat nahi... I am yearning to come back to India to my parents, friends and fraternity. I want this vanvaas to end. It’s gone on for too long.”