Salim-Sulaiman show to benefit Aga Khan Foundation & underlines Vancouver’s rising Bollywood cachet

Not only have they produced “big Bollywood hits,” from the award-winning Iqbal, to Shah Rukh Khan’s Chak De! India or Abhishek Bachchan’s Dhoom. They’ve also made a name for themselves within Sufi music and have performed for the Aga Khan himself.

“What they have done, what they have composed, what they have sung over the years has been appreciated by all — it’s why they have such a huge following,” said Sharma.

As a result, there’s already been a “tremendous” response to ticket sales for Saturday’s show — in which $1 from the sale of each ticket goes toward the Aga Khan Foundation — and Sharma expects it to sell out soon.

According to Sharma, the west coast kickoff show is one of only three Canadian stops, as well as six other performances throughout the United States.

Indian Bollywood music director and playback Salim Merchant (R) and Sulaiman Merchant participate in the Cancer Patient Aid Association (CPAA) musical evening on World No Tobacco Day in Mumbai on May 26, 2013. (Photo credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Via Vancouverdesi.com
Indian Bollywood music director and playback Salim Merchant (R) and Sulaiman Merchant participate in the Cancer Patient Aid Association (CPAA) musical evening on World No Tobacco Day in Mumbai on May 26, 2013. (Photo credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images)

By LARISSA CAHUTE for VANCOUVER DESI Published: October 29, 2014
lcahute@theprovince.com twitter.com/larissacahute

With big-time Bollywood composers Salim-Sulaiman set to kick off their North American tour at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Saturday, it seems Vancouver truly is becoming one of Hindi filmdom’s A-list destinations.

“It means a lot to choose Vancouver as the opening city … That shows how much regard and respect they have for Vancouver and British Columbians and how much Vancouver has come up as a city to promote and showcase Bollywood music.

- Kamal Sharma, of Surrey-based Kamal’s Video Palace and promoter of the local Salim-Sulaiman show

According to Sharma, the west coast kickoff show is one of only three Canadian stops, as well as six other performances throughout the United States.

The brother composers aren’t the first Indian celebrities to flock to the west coast either — only last month the so-called King of Hindi Film, Shah Rukh Khan, alongside Deepika Padukone and Abhishek Bachchan, chose Vancouver as the only Canadian stop on their North American tour, SLAM 2014, which was also hot on the heels of the Times of India Film Awards that came to Vancouver in April 2013.

According to Sharma, who compares Salim-Sulaiman to Indian composer A.R. Rahman — known worldwide for his work on the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack — the musical duo are “the first Ismaili composers and singers who have made it really big in Bollywood.”

Salim-Sulaiman will also be performing alongside Indian singers Shweta Pandit, Raj Pandit, Indian Idol winner Vipul Mehta and Shiamak Davar’s Vancouver dance team. Tickets range from $35 to $200 and can be purchased online at vtixonline.com or in person at Kamal’s Video Palace.

For more information visit http://www.salimsulaimanliveshows.com/

via Salim-Sulaiman show underlines Vancouver’s rising Bollywood cachet | Vancouverdesi.com.

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