Delhi-based musicians, Gaurav Raina and Tapan Raj known by their stage name MIDIval Punditz, an Indian fusion band, had recently collaborated with Gully Boy movie makers for their song Train. The duo has contributed for the song in terms of music-making, its lyrics, and production of the track. We at Radioandmusic got an opportunity to interview MIDIval Punditz and they explained how they got a chance to work on the Train song.

On being asked, how was the Train Song invented, Tapan Raj said, “Train Song came about in our Delhi studio a few years back when Karsh was traveling through Delhi. We (MIDIval Punditz and Karsh) decided to write a couple of tracks that had strong folk influences from India and juxtaposed with English lyrics. We think we were channelling our long time influences and World music legends Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel. Once we had laid down the composition and English parts, which were beautifully sung by Karsh, we decided to send it to Raghu to come up with Kannada parts along with the already laid down English vocals. He wrote a beautiful melody, lyrics and recorded his parts and sent it across. We instantly loved what he had done and that he had got the brief of the song in the first go. After a few minor edits, the song was ready.”

Speaking about the experience of working on this song, Gaurav Raina shared, “The fact that it was used in the conclusive piece of music, in the movie, made us very proud of the song. We are very happy that it was worth waiting all this while to finally finding the perfect platform to launch this song that a lot of our fans had heard in the original form in our various shows but we had not found a project that could do it proper justice. We thank Zoya, Ankur and the entire Excel team for making it happen.

Raina further shared his opinion on how does the song fit the narrative and what it communicates, “Zoya used the song at a very crucial point in the protagonists’ journey. It’s his shining moment and after he's achieved success, he goes back to visit the slums he came from. He goes back to pay homage and respect to the streets he grew upon, to the people who helped him reach this milestone. The song touches on various themes such as the struggle for success and serendipitous love. The name Train Song itself suggests a journey, perhaps similar to the one our protagonist has been on since the start of the film. We follow him through a desolate life, captured and romanticized in Polaroid pictures of a happy and ignorant tourist, to the high-energy world of the stage, where one can see his truest nature as a human and an artist. This coming of age story ends on a happier note with a happy song.”

When asked if ‘Gully Boy’ will inspire budding rappers, Gaurav Raina exclaimed, “Of course it has and will. Gully Boy will bring about a huge change and revolution in the Indian music industry. The young people always need a voice to say what they feel and what they want. Gully Boy has shown them how to do that. It has also shown them that people are listening to them and are ready to consume their music and give it a home. This will encourage so many rappers to start their careers and also consider this as a career option.”

On being asked what were the thoughts running in their mind when they first got an opportunity for this song to be featured, Tapan Raj told, “A few years after we'd written and performed the track (also shelved it because we couldn't find a fitting platform to release it on), Zoya Akhtar and Ankur Tewari approached us to use the track in the movie Gully Boy with new lyrics in Hindi to replace the Kannada vocals but they wanted to keep the original English lyrics and singing intact. The Hindi lyrics were being done by none other than Javed Akhtar saheb and would be sung by Raghu Dixit himself. Also, the script and story of the movie resonated with us. So, we were super happy to know that the original essence of the song will remain intact, while, the track will be heard by so many people since it would now be a part of a major motion picture in the Hindi film industry.”

Spilling beans about their upcoming projects, Gaurav and Tapan said, “We're in the studio at the moment working on our next album. The album will focus on some of the hidden gems of our musical heritage. That's pretty much our main focus at the moment. We are very happy and excited to announce that we have started work on our new Punditz album and can’t wait to share some of the new music that we record with amazing artists from India and the world over.”

Lastly, leaving a message to their fans, Gaurav and Tapan concluded, “Thank you to each and every fan out there who has supported us over the years and again by the amazing response you gave to our recent release of Train song in the Gully Boy movie.”

Check to view the song here

Check to view the song here: