INTRODUCTION
This is everyone’s story. Growing up in a very different culture and born into a family where one feels that his/her likings for the real beautiful things doesn’t matter to most of the people around. But there is something called nature in each of us that nurtures our own talents. It was waiting for an opportunity to show before we all go from here. As a great Indian actor Shekhar Kapoor recently said :”You born creative, You were born expressing; you were born interpreting the universe around you and you were A Born Artist; somewhere along we all forgot who we all really are!” Lost in the thick of life and living; but that inner creativity can not be extinguished.
Salim is a good friend and an artist who reinvented himself after several years of being in a profession that he was highly unhappy. He dared to say ‘enough is enough’, “I am going to do what my mind says is right”. Read on and we are so happy to have Salim a dreamer and an artist and that too it is coming from his heart.
Introduce yourself
My name is Mohammad Salim Khan. I am goal oriented, focussed and a dreamer. I believe that because we live only once, it is our duty to give everything we have in doing what we love most.” I was stuck in the rut. I used to get up, go to the office and come back home, everyday was the same. One day I came across a video of Jim Carrey’s speech, he said and I quote “You can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.” That changed everything for me. That day I decided to follow my passion. I still had a long way to go but this time I was not going to let go of my dream.
Describe your music, growing up, why music became a part of your life
“Most of my music did not surface till a very late age, I did not have a childhood, where unlike many who knew that they could sing in public; I was very shy, very timid; performing in front of people was something I could not even dream of. Secondly, once I discovered that I could sing, it was not something I could think of practicing or working on in my household because even though my family knew that I can sing they did not appreciate me doing it in the house. As far as friends and teachers were concerned nobody really cared, they appreciated the singing but in a practical world according to them not everybody can earn a living from one’s passion. Basically growing up there was not much support so everything I did and doing now is mainly on my own.”
What is music to you? or what it means to you?
“Music to me is my safe haven. It helps me express myself when I fall short of words. Music to me is an emotion. It summarizes me and my journey. Being a theatre actor, having the little knowledge that I have about music does help me to express my emotions also on stage while acting, because that I learned from singing how to express with the words that we speak.”
Are you classically trained? if not what are your thoughts on the importance of it
“Unfortunately I am not trained in any kind of music, as much as I always wanted to learn, circumstances never allowed it. I think that any kind of training will help one to boost their range and understanding of the art. I think it is very important to be trained, but having said that, not being trained should not stop one from pursuing their dream, because sometimes your passion does take you a long way.”
What is your take on lyrics in the music? Your thoughts
“Lyrics are an integral part of any song. It helps you connect with the song and the audience. A song like “Aye dil hai mushkil” or Channa mereya helps you connect with those who have loved and lost, or “bole chudiyan” could take one back to all those weddings you have attended, or a “Tum hi Ho” could remind you of the beautiful feeling of being in love.”
Growing up how does the music around you influence your music?
“Well I grew up in Oman in the gulf. The music around me definitely influenced my music a lot. Bollywood music was the only kind of music we ever heard. Maybe, that’s why my music library mainly consists of bollywood/hindi songs.”
What are your career ambitions with music?
“I still have a long way to go as far as my music is concerned. I still have lots to learn but I hope someday I can make a career out of it. I wish to be a complete Entertainer.”
In five years from now where do you see yourself and your music should be?
I’m a dreamer and finally I have decided to follow my dream, I hope to achieve everything I dream of. I don’t know if it’s going to be 5 years from now or 10 years or even next year for that matter. I hope to achieve my dreams and be the Entertainer I wish to be. That is all I see
List all your music interests, like genres, male female singers both hindi and regional languages, director
Mainly I listen to bollywood songs, me being the complete filmy type of guy. Every singer to me is unique and beautiful in his or her own way and it becomes really difficult for one to choose. But if I had to pick a few I would pick first Mohammed Rafi sahab; because he was one of the singers whose songs taught me the power of expressing emotions from just singing. I had hardly seen any of his song videos. All I did was hear his singing on the radio or on a cassette but only hearing him I could imagine the expression the actor must be having or the mood or feel in which the actor and the singer are. New age singers i think hands down and everyone’s favorite Arijith Singh again for the same reason very expressive one can actually connect with the song he sings. A special mention goes to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan sahab for being so mesmerizing always. Female singers i have always been a fan of Abida Parveen, Munni Begum Lata Mangeshkar, these are legends. New age singers i would say i really like rekha bhardwaj and palak muchhal.
Music directors I am a big fan of Salim Suleiman, Mithoon, Directors Mohit Suri, Vishal Bharadwaj, Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar (I would love to work with them once I make it as an actor)
ENDNOTES
When we are finishing this feature, this story feels right close to our hearts. This is an everyday story of an artists mind and its struggles with everyday life pressures. Mohamad Salim Khan came and said a beautiful story of that struggle and a dream that he currently struggling to achieve. We are happy to support him in his journey towards it. Please visit Salim on his Smule profile as TheDarkKhan and follow him, encourage him. All the best wishes to him on his journey to success in Bollywood.
The great India Singers on Smule Sing 