Sajid and Wajid, who made their debut as music directors with Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya, have composed music together for 22 years
Tanvi Trivedi and Debarati Sen (BOMBAY TIMES; June 2, 2020)

Wajid Khan, of the music composer duo Sajid-Wajid, passed away on the night of May 31. The 42-year-old composer, who was battling kidney-related issues, succumbed to COVID-19. The final rites were conducted yesterday in the presence of family members and a few close friends. Condolence messages poured in from the music fraternity as well as actors and filmmakers, who Wajid had worked with over the years.

Brothers Sajid and Wajid came from a family that is rooted in music. Their father Ustad Sharafat Ali Khan was a tabla player. The two composers, who made their Bollywood debut with Salman Khan’s film Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya (1998), have been close to the actor. Their 22-year-long journey in the world of music saw them composing many hit tracks for films, including Chori Chori (2003), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004), Partner (2007), Dabangg (2010), Rowdy Rathore (2012), Ek Tha Tiger (2012) and Satyameva Jayate (2018).

Recalling how Wajid and he started their careers together, Sonu Nigam says, “We knew each other since our struggling days. While I used to wait outside recording studios, he had access to these places as he belonged to a musical family. Sajid and he composed the music for my album Deewana, and I have sung several songs for them over the years. They are like family to me. I knew Wajid from the time he was dating his wife. In fact, whenever they had minor fights, like most couples do, I would mediate between them.”

Besides composing music for Salman’s films, Sajid-Wajid recently gave the music for his single, Bhai Bhai, which the actor released amidst the lockdown on the occasion of Eid. Alka Yagnik says, “I had sung many songs for Wajid, including some for Salman’s film Hello Brother. Wajid looked up to Salman Khan, who was like his godfather. Wajid was full of life and a prankster. He would crack jokes during our recordings, too. In fact, I had to scold him at times and say, ‘Wajid, ab kaam khatam karte hain.’ He was a good singer, too.”

Singer and composer Adnan Sami, who knew Wajid for over 20 years, had met him last at his residence for dinner a few months ago. He said, “I had invited many of my friends from the industry for dinner. We had a great time catching up. The first song that I recorded for him, was the qawwali, Ruthe Yaar Nu Mana Le for the film, Chori Chori. My first meeting with him set the tone for the wonderful relationship that we shared over the years. He had a lot of josh for life.”

Like Sonu and Adnan, singer-minister Babul Supriyo has had a long association with Wajid, too. He shares, “A few months ago, when I was in Mumbai, Sajid, Wajid, Shaan and I spent quality time discussing music over a lot of food at Shaan’s home. I also spoke to him a month ago about his kidney transplant and told him to take rest. His death is a big loss to the music industry.”

Remembering the composer, Shaan says, “We would play cricket together and were great buddies. I remember many things about him… like how he got my kids to sing. He said, ‘Arre bacche gaa rahein hain? Chalo, I should be the first to give them a song’. Wajid created a situation in the film Himmatwala (2013) and got my sons to sing a song along with me. Since 2010, Sajid-Wajid made sure that I was a part of most of their projects. Wajid was someone who would always look out for a friend.”

Salman Khan discusses the idea of starting up his production house and how he wants to take SKF forward…
Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; March 26, 2016)

Salman Khan launched his own production venture last year. Bajrangi Bhaijaan, their first film went on to become not just his biggest blockbuster till date but also the most watched film of recent times. Their second venture, Hero couldn’t live upto the expectations but the team is already gearing up for their third pet project ­— Jugalbandi. Here, we have Salman Khan discussing the idea behind starting his own production house and how he plans to take his own brand forward in the coming years…

Idea kya tha?
Ask him about how this idea germinated and he tells us, “People have loved me crazily and made me who I am. It’s just to give it back. That’s what I want to do. Also, when you have your own home productions, you can take your own decisions. Now that Bajrangi Bhaijaan has done so well, we will be on a roll!”

Not the first one!
Salman’s banner is not the only one in the khan-daan. “As it is, I have a home production. There’s Arbaaz’s, there’s Sohail’s and there’s Baby’s (Atul and Alvira’s)! Then we started with Being Human and now we have started Salman Khan Films (SKF). We thought Bajrangi Bhaijaan was the right film to kick-start the production house. I have been launched by Sooraj Barjatya, I launched Sooraj Pancholi. So it’s a full circle,” Salman smiles.

There’s so much more!
His production house started its journey with a bang. Bajrangi Bhaijaan broke all records last year and was the most loved film of the decade. Now, there’s no stopping team SKF. “I have a fabulous team led by Amar who’s a dear friend. We won’t waste time and we will fatafat make more films. Definitely some more great films,” Salman promises.

Newcomers, welcome!
Salman launched Sooraj Pancholi aand Athiya Shetty with Hero. His production house has been set up with the intention of giving a chance to newbies. He says, “Today, we are in a position where you can launch people who you think will make your head turn around. Whether it’s someone from the industry or outside the industry.” But Athiya and Sooraj are both star-kids. Any plans to launch someone with no filmy connections? Pat comes the reply, “After this, I am launching someone who’s got nothing to do with the industry at all.”

Accha script chahiye!
While setting up his own banner, Salman was very clear. The only thing that matters is the ‘script’. That’s the ‘only pre-requisite’, he reveals. “If you feel the script is like (makes a face), you don’t do it. If you think it’s sweet, don’t do it! But if it’s like (surprised expression) great, then you do it! It may turn out right, it may turn out wrong.”

Don’t do it for wrong reasons
Salman makes sure of one thing — the reasons to do a film should be proper. “The only reason for you to produce a movie or be a part of a movie can’t be to have fun on the sets or because the maker is a friend of mine or ‘Oh, I have dates, yaar’. If you calculate your per day to do the film — these are all wrong reasons to do a film. You should do it because you should believe that it’s the best film ever.”

Can’t preempt success
Bajrangi Bhaijaan clicked with the masses, whereas Hero didn’t. But that has never bothered Salman. “Success isn’t the only reason why I am making these films. You can never preempt success. It’s only till the Friday comes and the film releases that you think of the results,” he explains his point clearly with a few examples. “Like for Sholay, when they were making the film, they knew that their film was one of the biggest films ever. It would be a blockbuster ,they thought. But it was a disaster for two weeks! Andaz Apna Apna and Hello Brother, we thought would break boundaries. Both of them didn’t do well. Andaz Apna Apna was out of theatres in three days and look at it now. It’s a cult film. Today, Hello Brother is a film which people watch on TV and keep saying what a funny film! You can’t tell what will work, what won’t,” he signs off.