“Chew very slowly like your mommy told you” — that’s how the interview with two boys from A Band of Boys (ABOB) started, with Karan Oberoi teasing his mate of many years, Chintuu Bhosle, as the latter joined us with a sandwich in his hand. After a ‘comeback’ video of the gang had social media celebrating, Karan and Chintuu joined My Kolkata for a freewheeling chat.
So, are they making a comeback? What’s on the cards? How has the journey been so far? While we missed Siddharth Haldipur, Sherrin Varghese and Sudhanshu Pandey, Karan and Chintuu — with their signature humour — filled us in on what’s brewing in the lives of the boys:
My Kolkata: Your IG post has got the band fans stoked. Is there A Band of Boys reunion happening? Or an album?
Karan Oberoi: I just want to make it clear for everyone — reunion of original members, for sure. But had the band ever parted ways? Never. We have always been together as a band, and we are great friends. I love each one of them, and the emotion flows both ways.
The reel that went viral was from a dinner at my place and we were chatting. We honestly miss the original boys. When we got together, it just felt like we had gone back to being 20-year-olds when we had first started as a band. We decided that we owe it to ourselves, and more importantly, we owe it to our fans who have given us love for over two decades now and we wanted to put out something.
To answer your question, yes a reunion with the original members is on the cards. And there’s an album with original music that will follow very soon.
Chintuu Bhosle: The band had never broken up. We have a reunion every day because jhagra toh hota hi hai, break up toh hota hi hai, but reunion bhi ho jata hai usi mein. Sometimes it’s four of us, sometimes it’s five of us or three of us. We have an internal joke that there’s an internal talent hunt going on.
Chintuu: It is understandable that people thought we had broken up because 20 years ago, pop music was a part of Indian culture. Music channels existed and radio and television played pop music. There was tremendous support also from music companies for independent music. But we are there and have always been there.
Karan: If you come for our shows, you’ll realise the chemistry and fun banter that we have here, it does not change when we are on stage.
Are there any gigs planned? Is Kolkata on the cards?
Karan: Kolkata is definitely on the cards. Kolkata is a place that we as a band are planning to get back to; we have received immense love from the city. Our plan right now is to release those new songs that we are currently working on, and then we want to do an India tour.
Chintuu: Our greatest fan base was in Kolkata and it exists even today. We used to perform [in Kolkata] on New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day. You get the word out that we are dying to be in Kolkata, and we will soon be there!
What is music to you?
Karan: Life. Because there’s music all around. There’s nothing in the world which is without music. Music is connected to the soul. For me, it is a part of my genetic coding.
Chintuu: For me, music is more of an emotion. If I am sad, I identify with music. If I am happy, there’s music. Most of our songs stem from very heavy emotion. Heavy does not have to mean sad or dard bhara, it can also be a euphoric moment, or sitting with friends and feeling overwhelmed.
Karan: It’s like any art form. It comes from within. The only way of expressing creativity is by delving into it.
Chintuu: Writing songs for me is a by-product [of the emotion]. Mood aya, emotion ko communicate karna hai, toh karo. (You’re in a certain mood and you want to communicate the emotion, you do it.)
How often do you have a jamming session with the boys?
Karan: We argue a lot, we discuss and we agree to disagree a lot when we meet. Once we get that out of our way, our jamming starts. I personally feel that as a band we should meet very often. When there’s a show, the rehearsals are a lot more.
When you come together as a band, you bring individual musical perspectives and ideas. Coming together and creating something new — how does that happen?
Chintuu: It sounds very mathematical that five people have come together to make music. More often than not, songs are born from someone and inputs come from the rest. It is a collaborative effort. You have a concept, an emotion, a whisper of the words you want to sing, and then everybody else comes in.
Karan: What is interesting here is that each one of us has a completely different template in terms of musical taste. Chintuu is more into Harry Belafonte, Beatles and classic rock. Sudhanshu is more film oriented — Kishore Kumar and Md. Rafi. Sherrin (Verghese) is into heavy metal. I am into ghazals. Siddharth (Haldipur) is into hip hop. We follow a very democratic process when we come together. There’s songwriting and there’s song rejection.
Tell us about forming the band, and the journey of those early days.
Chintuu: We saw each other during our highs and lows. We used to do free shows in Connaught Place in New Delhi for truck and rickshaw drivers. We used to do gigs at discos and colleges. Those one and a half years of riyaaz, performing and recording our songs like Meri Neend, Gori — all that formed the foundation of a very strong band. Once we launched, it was a resounding hit, and then life was on the roll. We were travelling and putting all the experience we had into those one and a half years. It really taught us not just the art but also how to keep the band together. And the fact that we have been there for the last 23 years now is testament to the fact that you have to invest time and energy to understand and to become cohesive.
Karan: On that day too, when we were having dinner at my place, we were talking about our struggles and our successes. The culture of throwing away what’s broken is not the culture we come from. If it’s broken, fix it. Don’t throw away relationships because it needs mending. Those one and a half years were the foundation of our relationship that has kept us together for so long.
You guys were inactive between 2006 to 2018. Would you like to reflect on that period?
Karan: We weren’t inactive. We weren’t putting out our music because there weren't enough platforms. We did not adapt to technology too early. We were in the traditional mould. Our recent video that went viral was organic. Not a single penny was spent. We have an organic audience. So this was an eye opener for us that we were not discoverable, if not we were doing a concert. Hence, for the general public we were not around, and hence this misunderstanding started.
Your favourite ABOB song?
Chintuu: Gori and Ayi Ho Jab Se are my most favourite songs. Gori just uplifts me.
Karan: Gori of course, it’s like a warm embrace. The other is Ishq Hai Bekarar – it’s so romantic and is about love and longing
Yeh bhi woh bhi — know the boys
- Who is the most punctual?
Karan: I am never late!
Chintuu: Karan will say it’s him…We both actually
- Who is always late?
Karan: Siddharth!
Chintuu: Yeah, Siddharth!
- Who is the party planner?
Karan: Sherrin?
Chintuu: Siddharth or Sherrin…
- Who always has snacks?
Karan: You… It’s Chintuu. If the band is hungry, the food guy is Siddharth
Chintuu: Me? Really? Yeah, I live to eat
- Favourite musicians
Karan: I root for Arijit (Singh) and his (Chintuu’)s grandmom — Asha Bhosle
Chintuu: Among the older musicians, R.D. Burman.
