A Rock Band with a difference - Highway 61

A group of IT professionals who form the Sufi band, Highway 61 will be seen in action tonight in Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega..


A group of IT professionals and MBA students for a change form the Sufi rock band, 'Highway 61' which gives their best shot tonight in Sony's Entertainment Ke Kiye Kuch Bhi Karega.

Constituting of six members, the band was formed with a strong notion of coming up with entertaining and meaningful music which speaks for itself.

Talking about their experience in the Sony show, Arjun Mendhi, one of the lead guitars in the troupe says, "We were approached by Sony to be part of their show. Initially, we were apprehensive whether we being such a big team would fit into their reality scenario. But when the channel convinced us, we were ready to step in and give our best shot".

Ironically their lead vocalist Mohammed Muneem had auditioned years back for Indian Idol where Annu Malek had rejected him on the grounds of poor diction. "The truth of the story is that Muneem had auditioned in Indian Idol during his early days as a singer, but Annuji had rejected him as he found his dialect inappropriate. Muneem has a strong accent of Urdu as he is from Kashmir, and probably this did not convince Annuji. But we see that same quality in him as an asset to us, and not a disadvantage. He is our lead vocalist in the band, and since we deal with Sufi songs, he fits in the bill", quips Arjun.

The troupe has connected very well with the youth and is preparing to launch their first album. They have their own studio, own music school at Pune and believe in spreading music.

But their stint in Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega was not that fruitful. They sang a sufi rock song 'Mazhab' which had a social message. "Well, we were hoping for better results, but we were let down. I was seeing one of the episodes wherein a person comes and randomly sings and dances and gets selected for the finals. But even after delivering a good performance, we could not make it. It might be that the judgment depended mainly on the mood of the judges. But this has not demoralized us, and we plan to move on", concludes Arjun.

Stay tuned to Entertainment Ke Liye… Kuch Bhi Karega to watch the Sufi Band in action this Tuesday, June 2 at 10.00 pm only on Sony Entertainment Television

Reporter and Author: Srividya Rajesh

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Comments (9)

I dont know why people make Anu malik a judge for such shows..i guess he has ran out of jobs so going in for such judging stuff...what will a music director who makes parodies out of englesh songs know about rock...

It was a gr8 performance highway 61..carry on the gud work!!!

14 years ago

hey i have watched Highway61 perform here in Pune...they are really talented!
I feel they played amazing in EKLKBK yest..
And they all looked awesome!
God knows what's wrong with Anu malik!
But i don't think that's gonna anyway stop them from making it big ppl!

Cheers to Highway61!

14 years ago

Srividya, great article! Some of us think it would be a great idea for you to do a follow-up with this band [highway 61] regarding the feedback they are receiving. What do you think?

they seem to have a message

14 years ago

Get some REAL judges...for any singing show.....only singers shud be judges....not actors or choreographers....and for talent show....some different judges wouldn't hurt......!!!!!!!!!

14 years ago

i agree... anu malik ko judge karna bandha karna chahiye...

these guys were so cool... and cute too! :)

14 years ago

I think I missed this one....but from what I read i'm not surprised, Annu has his own ideas about wht is an entertaining performance and what isn't, but he may find there are no takers for his personal biases or for his music either...I wonder if he was insecure about this band outshining him! A lot of Indian musicians do have a problem with Sufi rock artists being more popular than them!

14 years ago

anu always have problems first with the bartenders and now with them idont know why sony always make him a judge in any of its reality show

14 years ago

deze guyz were gud..wtf iz wrong iz anu malik?? every1 wz shocked..itz gud dat mona said she will come 2 dere gig...anu iz 2 much..i wish dey change him

14 years ago

This music was so fascinating that i forgot when the 58 seconds were up!

I was shocked that Annu Mallik buzzed them out at 59 seconds! This could have been personal - the music definitely commanded awe and attention. Even Farah Khan was shocked! Mona Singh even went against Annu Mallik to say that she will attend their concert anytime!!!

Way to go Highway61!

14 years ago

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