Salim Merchant of music director duo Salim-Sulaiman feels that a music composer is as vital to a film as the lead actor.

"Music director is as important as the main actor in the film because he plays a very pivotal role in the making of the film. Our films are audio-visual and that's why audio is also very important and hence composer is a key person in this process, " Salim told in an interview.

Salim, along with his brother Sulaiman, entered Bollywood by giving background scores for films such as "Krrish", "Mujhse Shaadi Karogi", "Bhoot" and "Dhoom" among others. Soon they progressed to composing music for films like "Chak De! India", "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi" and "Fashion".

Talking about their journey, Salim said: "There has been a progression. We never imagined that we will get into music composition one day. Both the things are very different from each other, yet not very different.

"According to me, a composer should be able to give background score as well. Because when we used to do background score, each of our pieces used to be like a complete song, " he added.

Along with their good track record, the duo received tremendous acclaim for their musical score for 2010 hit film "Band Baaja Baraat", which has got them a nomination in the best music directors' category for this year's Chevrolet Global Indian Music Academy Awards (GIMA).

"Talking about GIMA, it's very important because it's an only music award. It's like our own Grammy. It's just about music...whether film or non-film. So it's an honour to get nominated there, " he said.

Asked if they predicted the music of "Band Baaja Baa"aat" to be such a hit, he said: "We don't make music with the thought that it'll become a chartbuster. We make music to satisfy ourselves and to give out some love to the world. When we make music we never think: come, let's make a hit. It is made so that we feel good when it is played, " he said.

Currently, Salim-Sulaiman are working on numerous projects including "Love Breakups Zindagi", "Azaan", "Ladies vs Ricky Bahl", "Shakal Par Mat Jaa", "Shaadi Fast Forward", "Ada Apni Apni" and "Ishq In Paris".