COLOMBIAN pop queen Shakira, the star of the 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 in Mumbai on Thursday (J17).
 
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 a move into 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)” which is based on a traditional African soldiers’ song.
 
“We are hoping to start recording next month,” Salim Merchant told reporters, declining to reveal the name of the movie in which Shakira’s song will appear.
 
“There will be a lot of Latin influence in the song,” Salim added.
 
It is commom practice in Bollywood for music companies to pre-record songs to be used later for movie soundtracks. Indian actors or actresses then lip-sync the songs during the film.
 
Salim and Sulaiman are up and coming music directors who have scored hits with Bollywood movies like Kurbaan (Sacrifice) and Chak De India (Come on, India).
 
Kylie Minogue teamed up with India’s double-Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman for a song for an underwater Bollywood extravaganza Blue. US R&B and rap stars Akon and Snoop Dogg have also both worked in Bollywood.
 
Blue, a thriller that was partly shot in the Caribbean, starred action hero Akshay Kumar, Bollywood “bad boy” Sanjay Dutt and leading lady Katrina Kaif.