'AI is coming in big time and I don't know how the world is going to deal with it': Swanand Kirkire | Exclusive

Swanand Kirkire is a highly acclaimed Indian artist known for his multifaceted contributions to cinema as a lyricist, singer, writer, and actor, boasting three National Film Awards. While originally celebrated for his poetic songwriting, his win in the acting category for Chumbak (2018) highlighted his versatile, natural, and grounded acting abilities. Kirkire recently made his debut as a web series writer and creator in Amazon Prime Video’s Bandwaale, which has been garnering love from fans. In an exclusive interview with OTTplay, Swanand Kirkire opened up about Bandwaale's concept, human-made vs AI-made music, and more. 

Swnanad Kirkire interview excerpts

Prime Video's Bandwaale has been getting good responses. How are you enjoying it?

It's great. You know, we really work hard to basically for people to like it and they're liking it and it's great. It's great. It's like you're reaching a place where you always wanted to be. So, it's like people liking that's the biggest gift when somebody, a creator, gets, you know, like that people liking what you've done.

Bandwaale explores the theme of how struggling artists face challenges to prove themselves and it felt personal. So, where did the idea of Bandwaale first originate?

It originated from basically, see Ankur Tiwari and me both of us met, and we decided to do something. It was inevitable that both of us came from the music world, and we had to do something in music. So, when we started jamming on those ideas and what has to be done and then we realized that social media is something very big in these days and everything is like if a girl has to basically, in older times a girl had to become independent, do something, she had to leave her house, go to another city, fight all the battles and then maybe she will make it.

But in social media times, it's like maybe she doesn't have to go out, she can stay at her home and do something. So, a girl wants to do that, and when she wants to do that, there are challenges there also. It's not easy to become a social media influencer. So, a poet girl, of course, I am a poet, so that comes easy, and then she goes to anybody and everybody for basically asking for help, and she finds them giving her more problems. So, they have their own problems.

So, she is navigating through the men's world, and then we decided that we also wanted to play with the music in a sense. So, we made an old Raj stand world which is fading out, and the new DJ world is coming out. So, this is how it started, and then because I belong to Indore and I knew Ratlam well, we thought we would do it in Ratlam, a small town.

Also Read: Bandwaale Review: Shalini Pandey, Zahan Kapoor’s musical dramedy is a soul-stirring celebration of chasing your heart’s deepest dreams

Did you conceptualise Bandwaale as a dramedy from the beginning, or did the humour and drama evolve organically?

No, no. I always conceptualised it like a musical dramedy. It has its fun, it has its lighter moments. It's a girl's journey. It's not very big for people, but it's very big for her. 

In Bandwaale, the last poem, 'Knock Knock Knock' was really heart-touching. How was that made?

When I was writing the script, that poem came to me. Basically, the idea was that you keep doing good for others and you never do anything for yourself. All of us are constantly pleasing other people, what the world will say, what your mother will say, what your father will say, what your friends will say.

In that, there is a heart that is knocking on your door all the time and saying, when are you going to do something for yourself? And I'm glad you liked it. So, that's how it came. And then Yashraj Mukhate came in, and he gave a great score, beautiful music. 

In Bandwaale, instrumental music versus human-made music was shown. So, what's your take on human-made music versus AI-made music these days?

Being a person from today, my take is that music keeps changing, new things keep coming, old things keep going, and then you have to always keep a balance between both of them. AI is coming in, and it's coming big time, and I don't know how the world is going to deal with it. Who am I to say anything? The world is confused.

Anyway, they want to deal with it, but it's going to stay. So, we have to find a way to make music, and ultimately, if the music has heart and soul and it touches the heart, no matter who has made it, it will become a hit.

If AI is there, it's in every field. It's not only in music. And the fight between the new and old is always there. When I was growing up, my father used to say, listen to the songs from my era. But then there is timelessness. There are Beatles; they are all the time there, and they are modern. So, we have to, between AI or no AI, we have to find a place where we make good music. 

Music has always been central to your identity and after winning three National Awards, did you feel pressure to reinvent yourself?

No, I don't feel pressure to reinvent myself. I think reinventing yourself is the only reason why you live and why you do what you want to do. Otherwise, it can become very boring and stagnant. Making a musical show, acting, everything is giving me a lot of joy. So, I'm doing it. Awards are there and I'm grateful for them, but it doesn't work for something like that.

Can we expect Bandwaale Season 2?

Bandwaale Season 1 ended with Mariam (Shalini Pandey) finally calling off her wedding and going to perform her first live show with her bandmates, DJ Psycho (Zahan Kapoor) and Robo (Swanand Kirkire). By ending just before the band’s first show, the story leaves audiences eager for what comes next in Season 2.

When we asked Kirkire about the possibility of Bandwaale Season 2, he said, "I really don't know right now. I'm not in a state to announce that. But yeah, I would love to explore that world. Cynthia (sister of Mariam, played by Sanjana Dipu) will also grow up, so I would love to see the world between Mariam and Cynthia." 

Bandwaale FAQs

Q: What is Bandwaale about?

A: Bandwaale, an 8-episode Hindi musical dramedy is a small-town coming-of-age story that merges poetry, music, and the struggles of self-expression in a conservative environment. Set in the "quaint town of Ratlam," the series explores themes of young people's rebellion against traditional expectations, particularly the pressure on women to marry at a young age.

Q: Who stars in Bandwaale?

A: Bandwaale stars Zahan Kapoor, Shalini Pandey and Swanand Kirkire in key roles.

Q: When is Bandwaale releasing?

A: Bandwaale is streaming on Prime Video, and it has 8 episodes in total. Meanwhile, subscribers of OTTplay Premium will also be able to watch it with a top-up option.