Mumbai: Their love for music brought Keyoor Karadkhedkar, Kamal Soni, Kunal Singh and Soham Basu, students of the Oriental College of Education in Navi Mumbai, together. Two years, 150 shows and 40 awards later, MH43 India’s music goes beyond entertainment to spreading awareness on drug and alcohol abuse, rape and harassment of women, among other social issues.
The band, which derives its name from the Vashi RTO code, performs Bollywood Groove Rock, or retro film songs. The journey to aligning with a cause was gradual, born of personal experience. In 2014, the band joined hands with voluntary organisation Heart Foundation. That was when Keyoor, 29, who was recovering from drug and alcohol abuse, found solace in music and a mentor, Dr. Jayakar Ellis, president of the Heart Foundation.
“There was a time when people would ignore me as I would be under the influence of alcohol, due to which I missed many opportunities. However, the scenario is different now, thanks to Dr. Ellis, who counselled me day and night about the ill-effects of drugs and alcohol and asked me to pursue my passion. Today, I have gained love and respect, because of MH43,” says Keyoor, who is in the final year of his Bachelor of Mass Media course at Oriental College.
Dr. Ellis, on his part, is proud of the change in Keyoor’s attitude to life. “It is heartening to learn that many youngsters have been truly inspired and have come out of abuse.”
“We are four different individuals but our common aim is to spread love, harmony and peace as also awareness against drug abuse amongst youngsters through our music,” says Keyoor.
There are other themes too: If the song ‘ Bora Samaja ’ is about crimes against women, ‘ Khatarnak ’ is about the perils of juggling studies and love, while the band’s all-time favourite, ‘ Pav Bhaji ’, is about their experience of a late-night binge in Mumbai.
The band
Kamal Soni, 20, the bass guitarist, is the recluse who believes destiny played a part in his joining the band. Originally from Ulhasnagar, Kamal moved to Navi Mumbai three years ago when he joined Oriental College. Also a final-year BMM student, Kamal says he wanted to be a dancer and had no inclination towards playing any instrument. As luck would have it, he crossed paths with batchmates Keyoor and Kunal Singh, who were looking to start their own band. “To my surprise, they asked me if I would join as bass guitarist, and I said ‘yes’ at once.” However, Keyoor and Kunal have a different take on this. “The first challenge was to teach him how to hold a guitar,” they say in unison, adding Kamal proved to be a quick learner.
Kunal, 21, the band’s percussionist, was an automobile enthusiast who dropped out of a diploma course in engineering in spite of his parents’ protests. He formed the band Narkasur with three others while pursuing his BMM degree. However, the band soon broke up.
The lead guitarist, Soham Basu, 22, a Navi Mumbai resident, had little interest in Bollywood music, and every song the band performs comes as a “surprise” to him. On Keyoor’s suggestion, he draws inspiration for his grooves from artistes like Spunk India from Kolkata, and Suraj Jagan .
Early success
The band tasted success in its very first gig at KCBMM Blitzkrieg ’14, the KC College festival, where the judges were Bollywood music director Anu Malik, drummer Jay Ram Karki and singer Manmeet Singh. “After we finished our first song, Anu Malik came on stage, appreciated us and performed four songs. While leaving the stage, he said something that motivates us till date: “Never forget where you came from no matter where life takes you. Never quit performing,” says Kamal.
To them, every show is memorable but some, performed in smaller cities like Aurangabad, Jaipur and Pune, stand out. “The best compliment to our music is when the audience sings, screams, jumps, and dances along with us.”
As a band, MH43 is Indian at heart, which reflects in their music. “We are more of a desi band. We don’t say we don’t look up to big rock bands, but local musicians are our inspiration,” says Soham. Not every gig is successful, and the turnout is often poor, but that doesn’t discourage the band, says Kunal. “Whether we have five or five thousand people in our audience, we perform with the same energy and happiness.”
The writer is a freelance journalist
