The desire for musical partnerships stems from Mooroo’s formative years, when he used to play with numerous bands. PHOTOS: FILE
Despite having a diverse and sizeable body of work, musician and director Taimoor “Mooroo” Salahuddin remained largely unnoticed by a wider audience. It was only after the release of his single Tasveer, from Dekh Magar Pyaar Sey (DMPS), that the singer finally started to come to his own.
Having emerged on the local music scene after the release of youth-centric anthem Awaam, Mooroo had released various singles and directed several music videos before but none of them received the response that he eventually got with Tasveer – one of the bright spots of the movie.
A still from Kahani Puraani
Recollecting how Tasveer became a part of the DMPS’ soundtrack despite not being director Asadul Haq’s first choice, Mooroo recalled how the filmmaker had initially approached him in an attempt to purchase another song.
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“I had released Tasveer almost a year and a half ago. So when Asad approached me, he wanted another song (Kahani Puraani) of mine which I had already sold to a production house in India. But he ended up liking the song more than the former,” Mooroo shared with The Express Tribune.
Even though Mooroo had recorded a simpler version of the song, it was Talal Qureshi’s remix that went on to become a part of the movie. Praising Qureshi’s remix of the track which he terms as the more ‘popular version’ of the song, he did not consider his joint venture with the Disc Jockey collaboration, but rather a “remix process” where they only “exchanged the raw material”.
“In collaborations you end up composing and writing together,” noted Mooroo.
Despite this, the singer is no stranger to collaborations with most of his popular work, Itni Chikni and Awaam, being done in tandem with other artistes like Ali Gul Pir and Faris Shafi. “I don’t know if this is the case anymore. But most of my popular work was collaborations with other people.”
The desire for musical partnerships stems from Mooroo’s formative years, when he used to play with numerous bands. “It’s very important for me to continue collaborating with other people because it keeps me fresh. Working with other artistes allows you to figure out different approaches to everything. But then again it’s important to do your own thing because your self-impression as an artiste needs to develop.”
Although Tasveer resonated well with the audiences, Mooroo remains tight-lipped on the prospects of him composing more songs for films on a regular basis. “Even Tasveer was not written for the film. It was a song that was about something I was going through emotionally and I just had to express it as a song. And it came out from an internal place,” he stated.
“I don’t have the skill to write about what other people want me to write. If there are songs of mine people want to put in films, then that might happen. But I don’t see myself singing playback style or composing for others,” he added. “But who knows!”
The past few months have also seen Mooroo rack up a considerable following online through his comedy sketches. “I’ve always been the entertainer type guy since childhood. And I’ve always been telling stories. Being formally educated in filmmaking I wanted to be a director, musician, comedian; these are all ambitions I had from before.”
A self-professed ‘tech junkie’ the artiste is amongst the new crop of musicians who are keen on utilising social media to get the maximum number of ‘eyeballs’.
“Any distribution medium that gets you eyeballs – one needs to pay attention to it.”
Published in The Express Tribune, October 1st, 2015.
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