They seem like the perfect jugalbandi jodi - one calm and the other restless. They have their share of differences, but believe that music is a freedom of expression which needs to be respected. What makes their combination potent is their passion for the art form and their body of work, which ranges from popular soundtracks to melodious songs to Sufi numbers. In a conversation with BT, Suleiman and Salim Merchant talk about their junoon, the intolerance debate and the 'flash in the pan' brand of music in Bollywood these days.

The Hindi film industry is going through an interesting phase with new voices and varied subjects to experiment. But the current flavour seems to be Sufi. Do you think people are using this genre loosely while composing songs?
Salim: We don't want to comment on what genres people are using because music is a freedom of expression. For us, it has been a conscious effort. It's good that people do it, but it would be nicer, if people felt the power of Sufism. And I don't blame the composers and the lyricists because there is so much of pressure from the filmmakers. Some of them say, 'Sufi type ka gaana chahiye'. When music comes from your heart and soul, you know it is so powerful, it gets timeless. Then a flash in the pan song comes and stays for a few days and is replaced with another track. Music should not be made into a commodity that works because once it gets into that category, it's the end. What is this formula of a hit song? We always follow the formula of making a good song. If it's good, it can become a hit, but first try and make a good song.

You seem to have a certain junoon when you compose songs or perform on stage...
Suleiman: We have composed songs on hope, inspiration and women's equality. We composed Khalipan just after the Peshawar attacks (December 2014) where school kids were gunned down by terrorists. We realised that someone needed to talk about it. It doesn't matter whether it happened in Pakistan or Afghanistan. There are human beings dying. Imagine if your closed ones are taken away from you, there will be a sense of emptiness. When we wrote Chulein aasman... for Farhan Akhtar, it spoke about women's equality. We started with old sayings - Kehte hain padh likhkar aakhir kya karogi, tumko toh kisi ka ghar basaana hai... It was about the misconceptions and the need to change the mindset of people. These causes are close to our hearts. And when the audience reciprocates, we get the junoon, it comes from within. We are also collaborating with Abeda Parveen for a qawaali which we intend to release during Eid, this year.

Your last Bollywood outing Jai GangaaJal was in the news for its eclectic numbers and background score. How was it working with Prakash Jha?
Salim: This is our third film with Prakash Jha. We were aware that the subject of his films usually revolve around social issues. We had initially composed four songs but Jha wanted us to see some portions of the film and compose tracks for every action sequence. We were a little skeptical, but when he showed us some folk songs he had used as reference, we realised that the music was making the scene look different. It was unique and we took up the challenge. We used desi, Bhojpuri along with electronic... it was entertaining.

What is your take on the new-age popular Bollywood numbers? You had said in an interview that Honey Singh kind of music has a low shelf life...
Salim: The new-age Bollywood numbers are doing what they are supposed to do. They are attracting the audience's attention to a particular film, but will never have a shelf life. Of course, there are popular dance numbers that will always have a recall value. But Honey Singh is a smart artiste. He has given power to the people to sing. The regular people, who cannot sing, will be able to hum his numbers, because there are three to four notes.
Suleiman: People often ask why the current music generation does not have timeless songs. We feel there are artistes who do compose and sing numbers that are timeless. Our song Shukran Allah... is still popular. We have been performing the number for almost five years and we continue to get the same kind of reaction. Fifty years later, I am hoping it will be the same. But a hit number does its job - it creates the buzz for a film, ringtones, downloads and the trend will continue. It's like a factory. If at some point in time, you are unable to do these kind of songs, you will be replaced with someone else. The journey continues...

What do you feel about the intolerance debate? Both of you are active on social media but restrict yourself to talking only about your work.
Suleiman: Social media are used by approximately two-three per cent of Indians. Music has the ability to reach millions of people not just in India, but across the world. It is a powerful force and if you use it in the right way, you can communicate with so many people.
Salim: I am blessed that I am born in a country where I have been able to bring every faith to my heart and soul through my songs and I have practiced my faith without any prejudice. As musicians, we've done so many songs which have Krishna and Shiv bhakti. We are born with a secular state of mind. This debate is ridiculous. I can't speak about others, but we are fortunate. Our music is our religion.