Will ‘The Socho Project’ expose the music industry’s mafias?

Will ‘The Socho Project’ expose the music industry’s mafias?
Will ‘The Socho Project’ expose the music industry’s mafias?

The ‘N’ word – Nepotism – has been very much in circulation after the tragic death by suicide of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. While a lot has been written and debated about the plight of industry outsiders in Bollywood, singer Sonu Nigam also took to social media to highlight how two major “mafias” were controlling the music industry in India. This was followed by a very public spat on social media between Nigam and Divya Khosla, wife of Bhushan Kumar, T-Series Chief.

After Nigam, other singers like Adnan Sami, Alisha Chinai and Euphoria’s Palash Sen also spoke about how difficult it was for newcomers with no contacts to find a footing in the music industry.

‘The Socho Project’, touted as India’s first-ever musical web series, puts the spotlight on the actual problems that the music industry faces today, namely the lack of originality and the slim space for new talent to showcase their work, while pushing them into the abyss of commercialisation for survival.

‘The Socho Project’ is the brainchild of Mrinal Jha and veteran director and serial entrepreneur Abhigyan Jha.

With an ensemble star cast comprising names like Lopamudra Raut, Gaurav Khanna, Gunjan Utreja, Gurpreet Bedi, Donal Bisht, Sahil Vaid, Alekh Sangal and Arif Zakaria, among others, ‘The Socho Project’ aims to hit the right chords, especially among the music-crazy generation dismayed by the rapidly declining standards of music in India.

Adgully caught up with three artists featuring in ‘The Socho Project’ – Donal Bisht, Gaurav Khanna and Lopamudra Raut to know more about their characters and what to expect from the web series.

What intrigued you about this story concept?

Shasha Aka Donal Bisht
Shasha Aka Donal Bisht

Donal Bisht: I think the uniqueness of ‘The Socho Project’ being the first ever musical web series with 25 songs in a season of 8 episodes is what attracted me. The storyline, too, has been shaped beautifully, which is very engaging. I portray an emerging popstar and a diva on screen, something different for my fans than my regular projects in the industry, be it on television or web or any other platform. I was really waiting to work on something different and intriguing to the audience and hence, when I heard the story without hesitating I said yes to it.

Gaurav Khanna: I was waiting for the right storyline to start my journey in the OTT web series space as the opportunities I was being approached for were routine storylines that are common stories already existing in the Indian space. ‘The Socho Project’ is a web series that is quite different, because it is the first ever musical web series and has 25 original music tracks by independent musicians expressing everything about their life, their turmoil, their achievements, their relationships and above all their fight with the current scenario in the music industry. I was really intrigued by the character offered to me by Abhigyan and I was really keen to perform it.

Lopamudra Raut: What intrigued me about ‘The Socho Project’ was that it is a musical web series, which has never been done before in the OTT space and I was getting offered to play the character MJ, which is a completely non-glamourous character yet very interesting. My character on the show is unique and I thought this would be a great way to explore myself, portraying my art through MJ. The web series also gave me an opportunity to live the life of a musician, which had always been on my cards and it is very interesting in this way.

Please share details about the character you will be portraying in the show?

Donal Bisht: I am playing Sasha, who is a popular Reality-Star in the show, a known face with huge following even before her first album comes out. Her dream is to be the Indian Madonna. Sasha is loved by everyone, but no one knows what she has sacrificed to make the climb to the top. Fame is not easy to come by and Sasha knows how to play the game of high stakes. When I was narrated this character, I found it challenging yet attractive and interesting to play and especially for my fans who will witness a new Donal Bisht through this character apart from the existing innocent and sweet “Indian Bahu” that I have outdone in the television space.

Rahul Kishore Aka Gaurav Khanna
Rahul Kishore Aka Gaurav Khanna

Gaurav Khanna: I cannot reveal a lot about the character played by me on the show, but to give you a brief peek, I will be playing the character Rahul Kishore (RK), you pretty much get the characteristics of him within the name itself. He is a small town guy and is someone who thinks from his heart first and then from his mind. He is a very relatable guy to which any layman can relate as somebody in their own life, because RK is the one who tries to survive as a musician in a very thankful and humble space. He has had a difficult life, but he doesn’t show the scars – he lives for Music and his friends. Nothing else matters to him. He is not into chasing money or fame, but lives to bring a smile on the faces of people around him.

Lopamudra Raut: As I mentioned earlier, I will be playing the character of MJ who is the lead of the show and hence, a very important role. She is a very strong character, someone who has come from down South and aims to break the stereotypes of the music industry that assumes that a South Indian cannot speak or write Hindi songs. She is ambitious and strong headed, who travels to Mumbai to explore and express her feelings in terms of music. She is a bit of a rebel too, who wants to live life on her own terms and wants to prove something great to the world through her journey.

Were there any personal revelations about the music business when you were shooting for the show?

Donal Bisht: Every industry has its positive and negative sides, which will always be inevitable. For example, the movie ‘Fashion’ depicted the story of models in the fashion industry, even the movie ‘Heroine’ strongly portrayed the life of an actress, and similarly ‘The Socho Project’ is a true projection of the music industry. Owing to the current scenario, where known singers have voiced out their feelings exposing the Bollywood Mafias, I think this first ever musical web series will do justice to independent artists and will be adored and be relatable for the audience.

Gaurav Khanna: I am not a singer in real life per say, but as an artist I wanted to tap this side of me to feel how these musicians feel when they are on stage, when they perform, going through the emotions of performing a song and the whole life behind it, because in reality I can’t sing to save my life. But I realised while shooting that singing is an art and these songs are sung by such talented singers, so even to lip sync it was not a cake walk.

MJ Aka Lopamudra Raut
MJ Aka Lopamudra Raut

Lopamudra Raut: I personally have never come across the intricacies of the music industry, but while I went through the script and was molding myself to play MJ, I realised the immense struggle and plight of musicians, lyricists and composers undergo just to launch a natural talent in the industry. I think every industry has its own share of struggle and hardships and music industry is one of those.

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