Shakira - this time for India

Colombian pop queen Shakira, the woman behind this year’s World Cup song “Waka Waka,” is to sing for a Bollywood film in the latest move by a global star to target the Indian market, a music director said Thursday.

Shakira, whose catchy Africa-themed football anthem has had a mixed critical reception, is to follow in the footsteps of fellow pop diva Kylie Minogue who made her debut in Bollywood last year.

The song will be composed by a team of brothers known as Salim-Sulaiman, who collaborated with South African singers to record “Waka Waka” (This Time for Africa), based on a traditional African soldiers’ song.

“We are hoping to start recording next month,” Salim Merchant told AFP, not willing to reveal the name of the movie in which Shakira’s song will be featured.

“There will be a lot of Latin influence in the song,” Salim added.

It is a common practice in Bollywood for music companies to prerecord songs that are later used for movie soundtracks. Indian actors then lip sync the songs during the film.

Salim and Sulaiman are upcoming music directors who have scored hits with Bollywood films like Kurbaan and Chak De India.

Featuring renowned western and Pakistani singers in films is a trend that has grown with intensity in Bollywood.

While Bollywood loves Hollywood, celebrities like Russell Crowe also want to “sing and dance” in the Indian movies.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19th, 2010.