Lucky Ali and The Local Train, two cherished indie pop and rock artists, have collaborated on a tender and heartwarming song titled ‘Tu Hai Kahaan’ for the soundtrack of the Bollywood romantic comedy Do Aur Do Pyaar. This collaboration not only signifies The Local Train’s first release since their 2018 album Vaaqif, with the band now consisting of guitarist-lyricist Paras Thakur, bassist Ramit Mehra, and drummer Sahil Sarin, but it also marks their first official film song. Lucky Ali, renowned for his unique earthy vocals, makes a comeback to Bollywood soundtracks after a span of nine years, having last lent his voice to ‘Safarnama’ for the film Tamasha in 2015. ‘Tu Hai Kahaan’ serves as a beautiful tribute, where both Lucky Ali and The Local Train showcase their individual strengths and distinctive musical styles.
In an exclusive conversation with News18 Showsha, Ramit Mehta and Paras Thakur opened up about teaming up with Lucky Ali and dishing out their first Bollywood song. Commenting upon the bittersweet nature of the song, Paras shared, “It is like a multi layered thought. But it came from the movie. It came from the brief and the scene that we watched. It was to serve that emotion. It is about asking questions to yourself and your loved one. It is nostalgic and bittersweet. And we tried our best to fit in the right way, using our own voice.”
Vidya Balan, Pratik Gandhi, Illeana D’Cruz, and Sendhil Ramamurthy starrer Do Aur Do Pyaar trailer has finally been released. The film is a celebration of love, laughter, and the complexities of modern relationships. Directed by award-winning ad filmmaker Shirsha Guha Thakurta, the romantic drama is set to hit the silver screen on April 19. The film is produced by Sameer Nair, Deepak Segal, Tanuj Garg, Atul Kasbekar and Swati Iyer Chawla under the banner Applause Entertainment and Ellipsis Entertainment Production.
He continued, “It was a wonderful, pleasant experience for all of us. Writing ideas and finding the right fit was like a new learning since this was something that we haven’t pursued before. Then the search for the perfect voice began. And no one is better than Mr Lucky Ali to exude the nostalgia and bittersweet feeling through his voice. And him loving the song and jumping on it as well was a very wonderful thing for us.”
Weighing his thoughts on how the lines between Indie music and Bollywood music are slowly blurring, especially with artists being roped in to compose songs for films, Paras shared his thoughts, “We’re very happy that this is happening. There’s a lot more comfort now with the independent artists being approached by production houses for films, for tv shows, for other projects. And I think they’re also seeing that because of the Internet, the independent artists have their own character, and have their own vibe. Earlier, the biggest issue was there were extremely talented people, but they were not getting the apt exposure.”
Continuing his answer, Paras added, “So as long as the artist is given the right support, and being given that artistic freedom to pursue something that he believes in, then something authentic and something wonderful can come out of it. A lot of people do feel, due to this association, sometimes artists are pushed to do some things that they might not want to do. There’s a lot of potential in this country. As long as people know how to maximize the artist’s potential and energy, it’ll be good.”
The Local Train has garnered popularity among younger audiences throughout India for their Hindi and Urdu lyrics that frequently delve into complex themes. Explaining how it forms an intrinsic part of the band’s identity, Paras stated, “I think it’s important to see where it all comes from. It’s not aesthetic first and then thought later. It is the other way around. You have to have a certain intent and a certain actual thought that you can actually believe in. When we all get together, a new personality comes out. So the language, the choice of words, is dictated by the thought. Whatever does justice to the actual emotion that you’re targeting.”
Ramit quipped, “Language is a tool to express those emotions. Just because our songs were written in Hindi and Urdu in the past doesn’t mean that we’re limiting ourselves to that. It could be English. It could be a made up language.”
Their first album, Aalas Ka Pedh, emerged as one of the top-selling Indian rock albums in 2015. This achievement is particularly noteworthy as it occurred during a period when Bollywood music held sway over the industry. When questioned about how they carved out their niche, Paras responded, “It was due to the same ethos that we are still sticking to today. We have a vision and we have an idea and we have our influences and we want to get there. And no matter what it takes, no matter how many days, months, years or whatever, we need to first satisfy our own vision, our own taste, our own excitement, our own chase. Once you do that without compromising and you sincerely believe in it and you put in it whatever you have, and then it’s not yours anymore. It’s for the world to take it. We are extremely grateful that people embraced it and are still embracing it today.”
Ramit added, “We played so many shows and we took the album to the people. Internet helped a lot. We were independent and all our music had just gone up on YouTube and then on streaming sites. When these OTT platforms became popular, it aided us.”
“Getting that traction can happen a lot quicker now, especially because of the internet and social media. But the grind teaches you a lot. At the end of the day, sincerity is the most important factor, ” Paras shared.
Nearly a decade ago, The Local Train released ‘Aaoge Tum Kabhi’ that has become a universal emotion for their listeners. Sharing their thoughts on the trajectory of the song and how it was recorded, Paras recalled, “That song probably took the longest to record. It was because it was our first experiences, and we were learning. We were like children, as compared to where we are now with our experiences. The biggest takeaway from that is, the amount of learning that we went through,, understanding a lot of nuances about music. At that time, you were like, you chasing excitement. You’re not thinking about the trajectory of the song ten years later.”
He continued, “And almost a decade hence, looking back at this trajectory now, post lockdown, we were just watching the songs grow on streaming platforms and realizing that the world is catching up. It gives you a lot of perspective. We recorded 62 intros for it. Not that we are proud of. But it’s the process. We refer to those takeaways till date. We were kids. We had no money.
It’s good to see where you start, you know? When the expectations come, you grow as a human being and you realize that music is a very personal thing. You don’t have to do it for the world. You don’t have to do it for anybody. You do it for yourself first.”
Another cult classic from the same album ‘Choo Lo’ has trickled into pop culture, like many of their songs. Speaking about the song’s success, Paras emphasised,
“When you make a song, you do not approach it in a way that I’m about to make a cult anthem. It sounds like a group of people coming together and putting their personalities into it. And then it takes a life of its own. It doesn’t sound like one person. That is the whole beauty of it.”
The Local Train’s collaboration with different production houses for music videos seems to have played a very significant role in storytelling. Spilling secrets about how they approach the visual aspect of their music, Ramit exclaimed, “Growing up watching music videos on MTV, VH1 had a big influence. It was out and out excitement. We wanted to make music, and we wanted to make music videos, and we didn’t know how to go about it. So we had to meet people.”
Ramit shared further, “You come together, the energy of people come together, and that energy is what translates into our music videos. We used to be in the room and we would be Ideating so it aligns with our vision. So much of it was trial and error. And looking at some music videos, we know it meant to be when it started out and what it eventually became later on. The entire journey is interesting and we’re very happy that we could experiment with the visual medium and we made some good stuff.”
While addressing the same question, Paras said, “Back then music videos were not a thing. But music videos were such a big part of our culture growing up. So whenever you dream of making a song, it is all encompassing. You have the visual in your head. It’s an integral part of the expression of our songs. It’s important to us. It’s a part of the storytelling. That was a chase and we chased it. It wasn’t easy but It was super fun. And as Ramit said, it took a lot of people to make it happen. As long as you have a vision and you’re willing to chase it, you can find the team to help you.”
The Local Train also opened up being influenced by other artists and yet creating a sound that is unique to them, “You hear influences here and there, but it still sounds like The Local Train. That is what it is. And that happened because we all got together and we had similar interests in music. We would listen and appreciate certain kinds of artists, but at the same time, we’re all different human beings having different influences as well. As long as there’s room for everybody to come in the song and put in their personality. And everybody comes from a slightly different background, even musically, and even more so in life and lifestyle and upbringing, because that is what music is. It’s literally a mirror of where you are in your life today and all of that. We were listening to Porcupine Tree, we were listening to Nirvana. But as we grew further, we now listen to everything,” Paras reflected.
Ramit added, “For us now, the repertoire is a lot bigger. You resonate with some things at some point in your life, and whatever we make today is what we are resonating with the most. We sit and listen to a lot of music together and everything from everywhere.”
Elaborating more on this, Paras explained, “What has happened is, it has made us a lot more sensitive to the subtleties in music. When you’re like 20 years old, if you’re inspired by a guitar solo, you want to play a ripping guitar solo. But today you’re able to understand the emotional value behind the guitar solo and you want to imagine that emotion in your song. You might just be able to translate the same emotion by playing two notes on the piano.”
The Local Train undertook an extensive tour across 21 cities prior to releasing their second album, Vaaqif. Reflecting on that journey and their live performancs, Ramit remarked, “It was intense. Big thanks to our management. They really took care of us on the road. We have our set processes. We’re very passionate about our live shows. Our sound checks would take a little longer than what people are maybe used to. But we always wanted to give a great show. And I think one of the ways to stay energetic, even if it is your fifth show in a row and you’ve traveled 8 hours and then changed flights twice. Once you get on stage, the energy that people are throwing at you. It just makes up for it.”
Paras quipped, “Adrenaline is a hell of a drug. You see a thousand people screaming and then you realize that they do not care if you haven’t slept in two days. So you must do justice to that.”
Ramit went on to recount about the Vaaqif tour, “And I think that tour was also very special for us because we had just gotten out of the studio. Like we remember at 04:00 in the morning, We shut the session, and left for the airport in like 2 hours. And then we had the entire tour and we were literally learning how to play the songs on the road. But I think the audience and our fans were so kind to us. It was really reassuring to see that they are vibing with this new sound because Vaaqif was also a lot about the evolution. So I think that was very exciting for us,” he recollected.
Paras went on to add, “Our country is so beautiful. Every time you land at an airport, you have to travel for like a few hours, and then the areas that we sometimes go through, I still remember sleeping in a car, waking up and looking around and going like ‘Oh My God, this is so beautiful’. All of that has been very, very exciting for us.”
It came to light in April 2022 that the band had parted ways with their vocalist, Raman Negi. Opening up about whether The Local Train dynamic and creative process has changed after his departure, Ramit revealed, “I think the three of us had our set ways, we did this for over a decade. So we continued with the same energy, we continued with the same passion, we continued with the same processes. I know that we did slow down and we took our time with it because of the pandemic, because of so many things that happened, but there is this love and there’s this enjoyment that we derive from doing what we do.”
In the same conversation, The Local Train also spilled beans about their third album, “Regarding the third album, I’ll just tell you that there’s a lot more things that we are very excited about,” Ramit hinted.
Paras added, “We often call the third album the first album because of the changes that we are all going through as people. And that break for us was very important that break for us. When you do this for this long and you’ve got very little time to internalize what’s actually happening in your life, because you’re perpetually on the road, you’re touring, and, you are recording albums after albums, and then performing shows after shows, after a certain time, you realize that, oh, the 14 year old kid’s dream has come true. And If you want to continue doing this and you actually want to be sincere about it, it required us, as individuals, to just reassess our life’s values, who we are, what is the purpose of it writing and creating all the music. And it is okay to take your time to find that place. Otherwise, we did not want to serve people music just for the sake of serving people music, because we are a band.”
Paras continued explaining the reason behind calling their third album as their ‘first’ album, “The whole intention to consciously or subconsciously go for a certain individual reassessment and finding your actual calling within the sphere and then collecting that and then realigning within ourselves, and then the personality takes place in the whole idea. This is why we often call our upcoming album as the first album. It is something very special to us. Whatever’s happened in the last ten years, we never had the time to actually ingest it. Taking a little break and then actually just letting it sink in that this is who we are. This is what we’ve done. This is what our influences are. This is where we’re coming from now, as a human being, not as a person who makes music or makes noises. And we’re very glad that we took that time, that energy, that excitement, and that battery.
It drives you for much longer, because now you have another mission statement,” he explained.
The Local Train concluded with some tips and advice for budding bands and indie artists. Ramit shared, “I think the first thing is very crucial to figure out what you want to do? What do you want to represent? And in this process of figuring it out, experiment as much as possible to understand, oh, this is feeling good for me. I’ve played individually with many different bands. We’ve all experimented with different things. And then you reach conclusions as you move along. Keep continuing to chase whatever is the excitement that you are finding out.”
Paras elaborated, “Just keep creating music. It’s very important to acknowledge your own starting point. I personally feel that you refrain from giving any blanket statement here and say, do this because, you know, to acknowledge that everybody’s starting point is different, everybody’s privilege is different. And that is very important to recognize and just keep creating, you. You have to just be honest with what your voice is telling you. Instead of going like, ‘I should do this because that person is doing this’. These things are easier said than done. It’s very easy to fall into the trap of rudimentary practice. There’s no way around it. But music lies right on the other side of it.”
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