Made as a cheer for the Indian contingent heading to the 2020 summer Olympics, Hindustani Way was released on July 9, launched by the Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur. The song was released a couple of weeks before the games are set to commence in the Japanese capital.
Pitched by Birla’s manager back in LA, the song was made to have a global touch but stay true to its Indian roots.
In an interview with India Today, Birla and Rahman discussed the process of coming up with the cheer. “All of us are really excited to have made this special song and hope our athletes can feel the entire nation rooting for them, the Hindustani way, when they hear it. It was a pleasure working with Ananya on this project, and we hope to convey all our support and best wishes to Team India through it! Jai Hind,” said composer, A.R. Rahman.
Birla took a similar tune, and congratulated the athletes on all their hard work for the Olympics, especially when she finds it challenging to merely get herself to the gym, and mentioned how she found them truly inspiring.
On working with her idol, Birla said that it was actually easy to work with the maestro, although nothing short of an honour. He is supposedly open-minded and does not let his professional stature affect that in any way. “It was surreal to have had the opportunity to collaborate with my role model, A.R. sir on such a prestigious project, from whom I have learnt so much. We are here cheering, the Hindustani Way,” she added.
Her collaborator, Rahman, on the other hand, was very keen on the composition doing justice to her voice, her style and the ‘vibe’, as he calls it. He, additionally, took into consideration the generational shifts in interests, tastes and catered Hindustani Way truly to the youth.
The track is jointly written by Ananya Birla, Rolling Stone India executive editor Nirmika Singh, and Shishir Samant, and is composed by A.R. Rahman.
Have a look at the music video:
