Global radio chart-topping singer-songwriter Vineet Singh Hukmani celebrates the joy of travel and the unlimited bounty of destinations in India, ahead of the travel season with his latest offering ‘Kahan Chal Diye’. The pop-rock song, crafted with upbeat drums, happy guitars and electric piano, is an ode to travel and exploration within the vast and diverse landscapes of India.
Hukmani believes that the beauty of a road trip is discovering beautiful locations suddenly in a most unexpected turn on the road. “From the magic of pristine hillside mornings to chilling near beautiful lakes at sunsets – it’s all so satisfying,” he said. For him, the magic happened about 150 kilometres from Udaipur. Driving around on an unplanned route, he shot at a stunning locale that he chanced upon.
The cinematic feature has breathtaking visuals of picturesque roads, rolling hills, serene lakes and other refreshing landscapes across Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi. The team used a combination of two cameras for close-ups and wide shots, and a drone captured the bird’s eye view of the place. “Even in the ultimate zoom-out of a drone, you will see me as a ‘lone traveller’ in the video, which not only adds to the authenticity of expansiveness but also communicates the joy of travelling solo,” he said.
Vineet’s song celebrates the joy of travelling | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The idea for the song stemmed from the comparison between travelling within one’s own country and travelling abroad. “The spontaneity of travel within India is unmatched – just start your car and head out! Kahan Chal Diye is not just a question but a statement of that spontaneity,” smiled Hukmani. According to him, travelling abroad though enjoyable, needs too much planning in terms of visas and currency calculations. “It normally ends up being a controlled ‘guided tour’. Also, some people travel abroad only due to the peer pressure of social media!” he said. “I want my song to remind people to travel for the right reasons of personal contentment, and our diverse country has that in ample measure,” he added.
Hukmani’s previous songs in Hindi themed around the joys of being a modern ‘Bharatiya’ have garnered over 27 million views on social media. For his next English song about saving little children from the atrocities of war, Hukmani plans to experiment with alternative opera. “This will be straight from the heart, and I hope it makes a real difference,” informed Hukmani, who is an electronics engineer by profession.
Known to shatter the proverbial glass ceiling with his records and global radio playouts over the years, the Harvard Business School alumnus has set a fabulous precedent for Indian independent artists. Last year, he created the world’s first music multiverse with his song ‘Run! Run! Run!’. It also had a short animation film and superhero comic book called RunStorm. The concept allowed people to interact with content in a multi-dimensional way, seeding new revenue streams in an otherwise commoditised music market.
Further, Hukmani’s multi-genre offerings have gained him huge traction in global radio charts and a world record of 9 number 1s in the European radio top 100. It also led him to write Nine, a thrilling multimedia book with a soundtrack that showcases nine stories combined with nine tracks. Nine was also accepted for Grammy submission in the ‘Crafts’ category under ‘Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package’.
