Paagal Tamasha comes to Pune

Ishani Bose @kattiphoo

They describe their music as adult alternative, which, according to Winit Tikoo – the lead vocalist and guitarist of the Winit Tikoo Band, is a mixture of alternative rock, grunge, blues and punk influences, juxtaposed with hindi and urdu lyrics. For the uninitiated, the band is the winner of the Leapfrog to Coke Studio contest, which was organised to give Indian bands an opportunity to be featured in Coke Studio@MTV Season 3.

The band that also comprises Veljon Noronha on guitars and backing vocals, Aditya Kadam on bass and Pushkar Joshi on drums, was optimistic about winning the competition from the day they started. “We knew we had a good shot at this because we had the content. It was just a matter of delivering it justly. It was smooth sailing until the finals, which was a different ballgame altogether. The bands upped their game several notches and by the end of it we were almost biting our fingers,” says Tikoo, adding that the song that won them the title was Paagal.

Speaking about the song Tikoo adds, “The judges loved the song so much that one of them told us that he needed the MP3 version of the song for the ride back home. It felt really good when the judges said that choosing us as winners was a unanimous decision.” The performance also featured Shahrukh Khan on sarangi and Vaibhav Wavikar on Tabla.

For the 10-month-old band to have achieved so much in less than a year’s time is nothing but shocking. But, Tikoo dismisses the stupor with a nonchalant shrug. “I got this band together in July 2012 and we played our first full band gig in Oct’12. We have been through our ups and downs but have stuck together. I have been extremely demanding with us sometimes but nothing good comes easy,” says Tikoo, adding that when it comes to music, they are all very focused.

It’s this focus, passion and sincerity, perhaps, that has led them to continuously write and compose songs that are different yet something that one can easily relate to. “Our songs talk about very basic and raw emotions that everyone goes through,” says the musician. However, he states that the theme takes shape only once the song is fully written. “Our upcoming album Tamasha will feature all these songs. We were planning on an August launch before the Coke Studio scene happened,” he says.

The band is looking to gig extensively here on to expose their sound and music to as many music lovers as it can. And that’s what got them to Pune to perform tonight. “This city being the youthful and energetic place that it is, we are certain that we will be having a great time here.” As far as their future plans go, Tikoo firmly states that he is not big on planning. Probe a little more and he gives in with a smile. “For now, Coke Studio, releasing the album, gigging around as much as possible and writing fresh material, are the only things that are on my mind,” he says signing off.ishani.bose@dnaindia.net