With an impressive repertoire spanning Bollywood chartbusters, film scores, independent compositions and even Hollywood, Ray aka Sourav Roy has consistently evolved as a musician who enjoys exploring new sonic territories. His latest work, Ghoom Ghoom from Excel Entertainment’s Mirzapur: The Movie, adds another distinctive track to his growing catalogue as a composer and singer. Co-sung by Rashmeet Kaur and picturised on Sonal Chauhan, the song blends traditional Rajasthani influences with a futuristic musical vision.
Speaking about what made Ghoom Ghoom stand out creatively, Ray says the song offered him the opportunity to create an entirely fresh sound. “Ghoom Ghoom is a complete different world. I think it’s a trance where it takes you musically to a place called Rajasthan.
He adds that the idea was never to recreate a conventional folk song but to reinterpret it in a contemporary way. “We tried to come up with a world of Rajasthani Ghoomar dance style in a complete new way. From making the melody, to breaking down the word ‘Ghoomar’ into ‘Ghoom Ghoom’, and then creating the whole family of rhythm, beats, and synth with sub-frequency bass lines, it was a new chapter in its own way, quite different from what I have been creating.”
Given Mirzapur’s strong cinematic identity, finding the right musical language for the film took time and collaboration. Ray reveals that the composition went through multiple creative stages before reaching its final version. “The makers of this film wanted a Rajasthani song. I had worked on a couple of approaches with Gurmeet sir, but then we zeroed down on this specific idea. This took some time to shape up as Kumaar sir wrote the lyrics after the tune was locked, and then I was working with Ankur Tewari on the arrangements and sounds for this specific song.”
Over the years, Ray has seamlessly transitioned between producing iconic Bollywood songs, composing for films, creating background scores, and lending his voice to original tracks. For him, that evolution has happened organically.“No, actually this has been a very smooth transition. By God’s grace, I got opportunities that made me face challenges musically, and going on and conquering them has gotten me to where I am today.”
Having worked extensively across songs and film scores, Ray believes both require very different creative mindsets, especially when comparing Indian cinema with international filmmaking.
“Having the opportunity to work in both spheres of filmmaking, I have seen that there are some things which make these worlds different. For Hindi cinema, you need songs to reach a wider audience through lyrics and music, whereas abroad it’s mostly film scores that are the most essential part of storytelling.”
As someone whose work now extends to Hollywood as well, Ray feels Indian music is entering an exciting phase globally. “Indian audiences consume music differently compared to the West. Indian music has been travelling very well on the global stage from the time Ravi Shankar and The Beatles teamed up. Artists like Talvin Singh and Nitin Sawhney have also contributed immensely through the Asian Underground movement in the UK. On the film scale, A.R. Rahman sir’s ‘Jai Ho’ put Indian music on the map for the world to experience. I think we will get to see many more collaborations in the future, soon.”
With Ghoom Ghoom, Ray once again showcases his ability to blend tradition with modern sound design, creating a track that complements the world of Mirzapur: The Movie while carrying his distinctive musical sensibility.