Composers Salim and Sulaiman Merchant will have UAE fans on their feet as they head to the UAE capital for the Namaste Abu Dhabi concert, which will be held at Emirates Palace hotel on August 18.
The concert, which is part of the Abu Dhabi Summer Season festivities, will also serve as an extended celebration to mark the 70th Indian Independence Day, said organiser Naresh Oberoi, founder and chairman of Oberoi Middle East.
“The concert will feature a three-hour non-stop musical performance by composers and singers Salim and Sulaiman, with a 45-minute set specially put together for this concert, which will see them paying tribute to some of the greatest artists in Bollywood. Of course, some patriotic, nostalgic numbers will also find their way into the concert set as well,” he said.
The concert will be held indoors, in the Emirates Palace auditorium, which Oberoi said will be an intimate set-up of 1,200 audience members. A musical troupe of 20 performers, including Salim, Sulaiman and three other singers, are expected to belt out their biggest Bollywood film songs, which includes albums such as Kurbaan, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Fashion, Band Baaja Baaraat, Aaja Nachle and Heroine. The duo have composed music for nearly 100 films.
Speaking about the concert, Salim — who is also a singer — said in a statement: “This event marks our first public concert in Abu Dhabi and Sulaiman and me, accompanied with our Bollywood co-singers, musicians and technicians, are preparing a special Bollywood musical treat for our fans in the UAE.”
Aside from their film albums, the brother have also created a desi version of Lady Gaga’s Born This Way, as part of an official collaboration, along with a similar remix for Enrique Iglesias’ I’m A Freak.
Over the years, they have also done non-film compositions, which includes the Fifa 2010 World Cup anthem, Africa — You’re a Star!; in 2015, they also composed the music for Beyond Bollywood, an Indian musical that was staged at London’s West End.
Tickets for Namste Abu Dhabi are already on sale, with tickets ranging from Dh100 to Dh1,000. Doors open at 7.30pm; the concert starts at 9pm.
This event is being hosted in partnership with Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority.
