Akshat Acharya | Photo courtesy: @akshatacharya/Instagram
If you’ve opened any social media app in the last hour, there’s a good chance you’ve heard the sweet strains of ‘Naadaaniyaan’. The song is everywhere — and especially on Instagram Reels — proving to be the perfect choice for intricately choreographed dance routines, a day in the life of a loving couple, fashion shoots, and even cute animal videos.
“Sometimes, you’re just in the mood and a song just happens,” said Akshat Acharya, a 24-year-old composer, singer and writer from Mumbai, when asked what inspired his viral hit. “I think I just got lucky. I was sitting with my guitar one day, and I had a chord loop that I was playing. I thought it had good potential to become a song and I recorded about 20 different variations in rapid fire on my phone’s voice notes app,” he recalls about how the song came to be.
An independent Hindi single released in May, ‘Naadaaniyaan’ has been trending on music streaming platforms and social media ever since. On Spotify, the song remains in the top 10 songs in India, is among the top five songs on the platform’s top viral songs in India, and has been used in over 2.3 million reels to date. “It has been great to see a song on a dynamic list like the viral list,” says the young singer.
Music has always been a part of his childhood, but Akshat says he never thought it would be a serious career for him. “I did engineering and then somehow I kept getting signs, one thing or the other kept pushing me. And I started thinking what could happen if I thought seriously about music, and now I am grateful where it has led me,” he says. His decision to get seriously into music led him to try his hand at songwriting, composing and producing. Along with ‘Naadaaniyan’, his previous songs include ‘Noor’ and ‘Jaadu’, with Akshat credited as the composer, writer and producer.
Akshat says that ‘Naadaaniyaan’ is an attempt at a love song, but from a slightly different perspective. “Songs in our language are more poetic, and I thought what it would be like if a song was simple, something that encompasses everyday life and something that everyone can relate to,” he says. The song has it all; Akshat sings in a fun way about his love’s smile, charm and moods. It is all from the heart, and even for those who don’t understand the language, the song manages to cross barriers.
“I saw it grow right in front of my eyes,” Akshat laughs about the song’s popularity online. While he received positive comments for the song’s initial teaser, he is still surprised by the way the song took off after its release. “I have seen the whole journey; from it being used in normal, day-to-day videos, to the song being deliberately used for dances, memes, and even comedy sketches,” he said.
The song comes at a time when indie-music is dominating the charts like never before. Closer to home, Sai Abhyankar and Sai Smriti’s Tamil single ‘Aasa Kooda’ has also become a huge hit. When asked about the independent music scene, Akshath calls it one of the best communities. “Everyone has been supportive, and it comes from a place where all musicians want the community to grow,” he says.
Akshat Acharya | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The song’s popularity has meant that life has changed in many ways, and he says it’s been a great few weeks so far. Following the song’s success, a music video was released for the song starring Akshath and Ayesha Ahmed, directed by Sharique Sequeira, which has over 29 million views.
On his future plans, he says, “I have always had a great band that I perform with and we are planning to tour India next month.”
The singer is all praise for his band mates and is excited to perform his songs. “If you have heard my songs, I would say the live versions of the songs are something else,” says Akshat. As for the new music, there is a lot to be excited about. “I have always loved a certain genre of pop music and there is a bigger element to pop music that I am exploring. I am excited about it,” he says.
