For the last five years, Aarvan has been the silent engine in composer Pritam’s hit factory. A trained Indian classical vocalist originally from Murshidabad, he spent half a decade behind the scenes—learning the studio’s pulse, experimenting with textures, and lending his voice to uncredited guide tracks. But every long game has its turning point, and for Aarvan, that moment has arrived with a literal bang (and a few ghosts).
As the breakout voice behind Ram Ji Aake Bhala Karenge—the high-energy and hit single from Akshay Kumar’s horror-comedy Bhoot Bangla—Aarvan is no longer just a core team member. He is the sound of the season.
Lending his vocals to the ‘Khiladi’ himself in a Priyadarshan film is a career landmark that few achieve with their debut playback, but for Aarvan, it feels more like a hard-earned promotion.
We speak to the singer on his journey, his projects, and more.
What did the early chapters of your musical journey look like?
I am a Bengali, born and brought up in Berhampore, Murshidabad in West Bengal. In a Bengali household, it is very common for children to grow up learning different forms of art from an early age. But For me, it wasn’t the same. I began learning Indian classical music and guitar after my 10th grade . I used to mimic and sing all the popular songs though. My mom and sister have always sung, and they still do. I used to sit beside my sister, observing her lessons with her guru. And it was my mom who taught me my very first note
Later, I began learning Indian classical music. I trained under my guruji Nihar Ranjan Lala and later Goutam Bhattacharyya. I am still continuing my training under Qader Mustafa Khan, the son of the legendary Ustaad Ghulam Mustafa Khan.
Along with Indian classical music, I also developed an interest in Western music. In fact, I had a band back in Murshidabad. I also had a small studio setup at home where I used to create my own music.
Somehow, I met Arijit Singh through common friends around 2012–2013, when he was assisting Pritam Chakraborty. He asked me if I would be interested in coming to Mumbai and joining Pritam da’s team. I said yes instantly. Within a few days, I moved to Mumbai and started working with Pritam Chakrabarty. That’s how my journey began.
Before that I assisted renowned Bengali Music director Arindom for a small period of time.
How did your five years in Pritam’s team help you build your music career? What were your learnings?
Working with Pritam da and the team is a huge learning experience for me. It helped me understand how songs are created—from the composition stage to recording and final production.
It also helped me understand how versatile a singer needs to be. In that space, you’re constantly exposed to different genres, moods, and styles of singing, which really trains you to adapt quickly and deliver what the song truly needs. Most importantly, it taught me that a singer’s job is not just to sing well, but to serve the song and the story.
What was your first reaction when you came to know that you were officially confirmed as the playback voice for Akshay Kumar?
I was in seventh heaven. I have grown up watching Akshay Kumar’s films and have always been a huge fan of his work.
Initially, I had recorded the scratch version of the song. When we record scratches, we usually assume that a more established singer might dub it later. So I feel extremely lucky that my voice was retained for the final track. All thanks to Pritam da and the team for believing in me.
How did you manage to balance the devotional and comic tones during the recording?
For Ramji Aake Bhala Karenge, the team was looking for a specific texture and energetic tonality. Anurag Sharma, fondly known as Froggy and an integral part of the team, briefed me about the vocal requirement, and Pritam da felt that my voice would bring the right flavour to the track. That’s how the opportunity naturally came my way.
Blending humour with devotional energy was an interesting process because The song fits into a quirky narrative that explores a group of ghosts, their nature, and the idea of Ram coming to save us from them. All I had to do was mean the words as I sang them. By truly believing both aspects, the balance came naturally. A lot of the comic flavour actually comes from the brilliant writing by Kumaar sir. And knowing that Akshay Kumar is part of the film, we immediately understood the tonality and energy that the song required.
The first time I heard the composition scratch from Pritam da, I instinctively felt that it had the potential to be a banger. The recording process was creatively vibrant and collaborative. We paid special attention to enhancing the spooky yet comedic mood of the track — particularly the now-popular line “upar se god arrow ko chala ke bhala karenge,” which has already caught listeners’ attention.
I would also like to acknowledge Abhijit Vaghani for the energetic track and Dhrubajyoti Phukan (Dhruba da) for helming the voice production and shaping the final sonic identity of the track.
How does your Indian classical training help you execute a high-energy commercial track?
It’s crucial to know how much energy and projection to apply in high-energy tracks. You shape dynamics—like volume and vibrato—based on the lyrics to keep it interesting. Indian classical training not only sharpens your ear to recognize these nuances, but also gives you the ability to execute them.
It also gives you the breath control and precision to handle fast tempos without lag. In short, it’s a strong foundation that lets me control and elevate the performance.
What does a song like Ramji Aake Bhala Karenge going viral mean to you as a singer?
It feels really good when a song you’ve sung is loved so broadly, reaching every corner—especially when kids are loving it. But when something connects like that, it naturally pushes me to aim even higher, growing as a singer and performer.
Tell us about your upcoming Bollywood and independent releases.
I am currently working on my independent music, and there are several tracks that I am developing. I am also hopeful that a few more songs featuring me as a playback singer will be released this year. However, nothing has been finalised yet, so I cannot make any announcements at the moment. When the right time comes, I will definitely share the news.