Dubai-based musician makes Bollywood debut

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Dubai-based musician makes Bollywood debut

The vocalist of Dubai band 'Point of View' has recorded his first Bollywood song

By Anita Iyer

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Published: Tue 7 Feb 2017, 1:48 PM

Last updated: Tue 7 Feb 2017, 4:01 PM

Nikhil Uzgare has been in Dubai for nearly two decades and is a known name in the local music scene, with his band 'Point of View' having been around since 2005.  
The singer has made his Bollywood debut as a vocalist with the title track of upcoming film 'Irada', starring Arshad Warsi and Naseeruddin Shah. The album also marks the debut of Neeraj Shridhar of Bombay Vikings fame as a music director in Indian films.   
It was a chance jamming at a Classic Rock Coffee shop that gave Nikhil the opportunity to be part of the project. Apart from being a musician, Nikhil also dons the hat of an event promoter. He brought Neeraj to Dubai to promote a club in late 2015 and it was at the after-party that they started jamming. "We just plugged into a guitar and started jamming. He had never heard me sing before and I had never heard him play. He loved my voice and his guitar playing left me in awe. Next thing I knew, he wanted me to come and record at his home studio in Mumbai. I flew out and put down a couple of tracks at his studio."
Nikhil is known for his rock leanings, heavy vocals and Neeraj knew the progressive rock track he was composing would suit his vocals.
The film 'Irada' is an inspirational documentary on the lines of 'A Wednesday!' and deals with social issues and talks about how citizens can bring change in the society. As such, the title track had to be hard-hitting and definitely couldn't be in the club genre. Talking about the track, he says, "When we ran the first draft of the song, everyone felt it was too heavy for a Bollywood audience in terms of aggressive guitars. The next concern was the fact that, unlike most Bollywood songs, this one has a really sweet and slick guitar solo that lasts over 20 seconds. But no one in the studio could deny the fact that the song had a strong identity and stood out from what is happening on the current Bollywood music."
Their respective Bollywood debuts behind them, both Neeraj and Nikhil are bullish about their songs being part of more upcoming films. "I have recorded some fantastic music with Neeraj and a lot of it is being moved around with some of the biggest production banners. I believe it's just a matter of time before this music finds its way into a good film(s)."
 About his band 'Point of View'
Nikhil Uzgare formed the band 'Point of View' in 2005 with five bandmates. The highlight of their journey has been winning the 'Best Music Act in Dubai' at the Timeout Nightlife & Music Awards in 2013. Nikhil also has a close association with Guns N' Roses' Ron Bumblefoot Thal, who flew over to Dubai to support the album launch of their grungy debut, 'Revolutionize the Revolutionary'. The band is now going to support one of the legendary rock bands in the world on their middle-east tour - the details of which are too premature to share at this moment.  
Also read:  I have created a brand for local music: Uzgare 
anita@khaleejtimes.com


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