Singer-songwriter Simran Choudhary’s track in Dhurandhar feels like that lingering tune that’s in the back of your head and you just cannot get it out of your mind. Made in collaboration with composer Shashwat Sachdev, Lutt Le Gaye is among the many tracks from the film that have caught the attention of audiences, being subject to countless recreations and situational adaptations into Instagram Reels. The crooner with past hits like Aayi Nai (from Stree 2), Aje Na Jaa and many others, joins us in decoding the making of the song, how she perceives virality in Indian music today and lots more…
Could you walk us through that intense six-hour recording session with Shashwat for Lutt Le Gaye?
It was intense, to be honest. Very intense. I was feeling a lot of responsibility because when you get to know, at the last minute, someone has called me and they’re telling me that this is like a do or die situation. So, there can’t be an inbetween. There can’t be another session that we can line up. If we don’t get it right now, then we don’t have tomorrow to work on it. But, I’ve always been a believer of the fact that what’s bound to happen for you will definitely happen. There’s no stopping it. So, I just believed and I feel that this song was just meant to happen for me. The pressure was on. But I’m just so glad it happened just the way it did. Everybody was very composed, very calm and they gave me the creative space that I needed.
The context of the song was unclear to you and the final use differed from your initial thoughts. As its lyricist, what was your mindset? What were your thematic inspirations for the words?
We tried approaching it in different ways. The brief I was given was very different. I was writing the song as per the brief — the situation, the mood and vibe were the things I needed to crack. But, again, I’ve been appreciating Aditya Dhar here a lot because it was exactly his vision that changed the whole narrative of the song. It looked like it was sup - posed to be a party number. But then how it landed on Akshay Khanna’s character’s victory rally, how he placed it and man - aged to connect the dots — it just worked amazingly well. I can see people vibing to it. Also, I feel the placement of the song played a major role in how one connected to the song.
Dhurandhar has become a hit for its viral tracks and background scores. How do you see virality in music today?
When we talk about songs being made today, there are basically two things happening in the country right now. One is the film music that we’ve been listening to and the other is independent music. With film, a lot of things are already in place. There is a big production, a big face to the song and big promotional budgets. Basically, the song has the potential of reaching out to a huge number of people. But when it comes to independent music, I feel it’s all about staying true to yourself, being just who you are. Because when you pretend to be something else, it reflects in your music. Consistency is another thing I keep telling people about. To not give up. One song of yours didn’t work, maybe five won’t work, even ten songs may not work, but the eleventh song will work. It will get its reach. If your music is good, it will break through the clutter.
Your tracks often blend the traditional root of folk and classical music well with today’s sounds. How do you do justice to multiple genres while fusing them?
When it comes to folk music, I’ve always experienced that whenever I’m in a studio session, it is just the kind of music that comes naturally to me. Now call it my good fortune or call it some sort of divine intervention, but it just happens. The idea has been the same since day one — that I have the kind of music that I want people to hear but in a palette that they like.
Lutt Le Gaye is streaming on all major platforms.