Exclusive: Salman Khan debuts as Marathi singer

Mumbai: Salman Khan had already brought his friend Mahesh Manjrekar’s upcoming Marathi film 'Friends Unlimited' under the spotlight, when he shared the poster of the film on his Twitter account. Now the superstar has gone a step further and even lent his voice to one of the best tracks in the modern-day musical.

The number is an adaptation of the famous yesteryear song, 'Panchhi Banoon Udti Phiru' for which, legendary music composers, Shankar Jaikishen had recorded for the Nargis Dutt starrer, 'Chori Chori'.

According to music director Vishal Mishra, who is working on the film, Salman was completely bowled over by the new Marathi composition and rendered it perfectly.

“Salman fell in love with the song and the way it was recreated. I had the privilege to record it in his voice and he rendered it so well that it gave an all-new dimension to the song. It has now turned out to be the highlight of the film,” said Vishal.

According to Vishal, who has composed 16 of the 21 foot-tapping songs in the film, 'Friends Unlimited' is a path-breaking film with many firsts to its credit, one of them being the fact that a record number of 250 musicians have worked on the music.

“It is more of a cosmopolitan film and has the feel of a Broadway musical. That is also the reason why we have songs in Hindi, Marathi and English, which is a first for any Marathi film,” he explained.

Impressed with Vishal’s talent, Salman has now taken the latter under his wing. Says Vishal, “He appreciates talent and if he spots it in you, he goes out of his way to encourage you. Despite being one of the biggest B’wood stars, he is generous with his compliments.”