What do singer Sonu Nigam, composer duo Salim-Sulaiman and lyricist Sameer Anjaan have in common? They have all been releasing independent music frequently for the last three years. But did they put their Bollywood projects on the backburner to satisfy their creative indie side? No! In an exclusive chat with us on World Music Day today, the musicians echo a common sentiment, “It’s not Bollywood vs independent music anymore”.

The last three years have seen a sudden rise in the number of indie songs thriving. Ask why and Sulaiman Merchant says, “During the lockdown, there was no film music releasing. So, all indie artistes were sitting at home and releasing music. When film music started releasing again, both forms of music started coexisting and now there’s a beautiful ecosystem.”

Salim Merchant adds, “Today, the treatment of songs is such that you cannot make out the difference between film and non-film projects. When you go on any music streaming platform, you search for a singer or composer or song; you don’t search for an actor. So, that’s been a blessing for indie artistes.” 

However, he feels there’s a “downside” to the rising popularity of indie music too: “Independent music has also started sounding like film music. The makers are trying to be safer and more commercial.”

Sonu feels that the “lines between film and non-film music have blurred, given the top-notch production quality”. He adds that while film songs are synonymous to actors, a single becomes a singer’s identity.

He explains: “When we were working on my ’90s single Bijuria, I requested Saroj (Khan; late choreographer) ji to make me dance like Govinda (actor). Now, when I perform the song at gigs, people look forward to my iconic step and not something an actor performed.”

While he’s done a lot of indie songs in the past, Sameer, too, has started penning more singles of late: “Unlike earlier, when there would be at least 5-6 musical hits in a year, now there are barely one or two. Today, makers don’t even narrate the story to lyricists. So, people like us had to take to independent music to satisfy our creative souls.”

But, Salim stresses that “cinema is in our blood, so the charm of films will always be there”. Sharing how, as composers, their music-making process is similar for film and indie projects, he says, “For a single, Ruk Ja, which we did with Sonu, I created a cinematic situation in my mind while making it, something that’s done for film songs.”