‘Kalyani’ is ruling the charts once again and this time Shreya Ghosal has joined the party.
The Malayalam indie track from MVR (Money Verse Records), which went viral a few months ago, has stolen the limelight again, this time with a remix version with Shreya in it and an appealing music video, which features actor-dancer Saniya Iyappan.
It is number one on YouTube’s music chart with 94 lakh views and counting, since it was released a week ago. Dance covers of the video have flooded social media.
That’s not all. Rapper, singer, songwriter/record producer Snoop Dogg even shared it on his Instagram Stories.
(From left) ARJN, KDS and FIFTY4, the artistes behind the Malayalam indie track, ‘Kalyani’
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The team behind the original — ARJN (Arjun Sunil), KDS (Kiran Das), FIFTY4 (Vishnu V) and RONN (Ron Vinod) — is elated. “We wanted our song, an indie song specifically, to top the music charts someday and that happened,” says KDS.
ARJN says that the offer to do the remix came from DefJam, the recording label under Universal Music. “Yash Upadhyay, the A&R (Artists and Repertoire) of DefJam approached us with the idea. The original had worked for the listeners across India even though it is in Malayalam. He told us that Shreya Ghoshal was up for it. Apparently, she was familiar with the track. So we thought, why not?!” says ARJN.
Shreya has sung the Malayalam and Hindi lyrics in the track. In a statement, the singer says, “What struck me about ‘Kalyani’ was the sincerity of its emotion and the beauty of its melody. The song already had a strong identity and a devoted audience, so my intention was not to change that, but to contribute a new perspective to its story.”
KDS, FIFTY4 and ARJN with Shreya Ghoshal during the recording of ‘Kalyani’ remix
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The remix has a new set of Malayalam lyrics in the introduction written by FIFTY4, who wrote the original along with Suhas Moideen. While Pulkit Singh has written the Hindi lyrics, additional tune is by Keshav Tyohar. “RONN made an extended version of the beat and then we had clarity about where to bring in Shreya’s voice. Once we returned from our Australian tour, we met her for the recording in Mumbai,” says ARJN.
Although Shreya has sung many Malayalam songs, she was conscious about her pronunciation, says Suhas, adding: “She kept asking us whether she was saying the words right. Apparently, she wanted us to be there while recording.” ARJN adds, “She is adipoli! We loved the way she went about the whole process.”
The music video directed by Ben was shot in Kochi, and the shoot was done in over 20 hours, says executive producer Len Prasad. ARJN, KDS and FIFTY4 are featured in the video as a gang out to strike a deal where they meet a girl (Saniya). “The storyline was by Ben. We wanted the work to be visually appealing, rather than talk about any ideology or a serious topic,” says Suhas.
Saniya Iyappan in the music video of ‘Kalyani’
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FIFTY4 wrote ‘Kalyani’ three years ago. “There was no inspiration as such. I got an idea and jotted down the portion that KDS (‘Ninte nunakkuzhi’) sings. The rest of the lines are from other tracks,” says FIFTY4. Why the name Kalyani? Pat comes his reply, “Because I love that name.” The song is for every woman who is beautiful and now Kalyani has a face and voice, KDS and ARJN say.
‘Kalyani’ was the first and only Malayalam track to enter Spotify Viral 50 – Global list, until ‘Amsham’ by Aksomaniac was selected recently.
Shreya Ghoshal with the artistes and crew of ‘Kalyani’ in the recording studio
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The simple lyrics and arrangement – a seamless blend of Afro beats and melody, worked for the listeners. The team says that the song’s release was an unplanned move. KDS mentions, “Two of our friends were getting married and they forced us to put it out.”
Looking back at their journey, the artistes say that it was music that brought them together. While ARJN and Suhas have been childhood friends, KDS and FIFTY4 have known each other for many years. ARJN and KDS met in Canada through mutual friends while pursuing their graduation.
“Soon we bonded over music. It was there that we came to understand other genres of music and started working with different beats. We were fans of Drake,” says KDS, who joined hands with ARJN to launch their label, MVR. Since 2021, they have released 24 tracks; ‘Nera’ got noticed first, followed by ‘Sheriya’ and ‘Kalyani’.
The musicians point out that they had started out at a time when the indie music scene was not as vibrant as it is today. “But we weren’t scared or bothered about it. We enjoyed making music and felt happy when people liked it. Gradually we found our footing through social media, Instagram Reels especially. Reels are important, something which Shreya says in one of the videos we have posted on Instagram. She also has come to understand that even if you put in a lot of effort to create art, you need to put the same effort to market it also,” says ARJN.
They admit that their first song got traction through Reels. “In fact we got a lot of hate comments when I put up 100 Reels on ‘Nera’. So I made the 101st Reel compiling all the hate comments!” ARJN says.
(From left) ARJN, FIFTY4 and KDS with Saniya Iyappan during the shoot of the music video of ‘Kalyani’ remix
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After the remix was released, many commented that they should have cast Kalyani Priyadarshan in the video. “It was our decision to cast Saniya because we were sure she would ace the character,” says the team.
The artistes are ready with their next work. “Everything is an experiment and we want to surprise listeners with something new each time. We will tap into innumerable unexplored beats and rhythm around us. Finding acceptance might be difficult. But we believe this is the future. Success is no longer determined by getting featured in a film. If you have a goal and a vision as an artist, stick on to it and you will get a result. We had no support nor did we seek any. We worked as a team with a common vision,” ARJN says.
‘Kalyani’ is streaming on YouTube.
Published – July 08, 2026 03:25 pm IST
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