Boy band Sanam makes a mark with their music

Ahead of their gig in Hyderabad, the members share their journey

At a time when music bands break up over small disagreements or creative differences, Sanam Puri (vocalist), Samar Puri (guitarist), Venky S (bass guitarist) and Keshav Dhanraj (drummer) of the 10-year-old band Sanam thrive on togetherness. Band Sanam has carved a niche in the music industry with its mix of original music and covers of classic Hindi film songs. The Mumbai-based band is proud to have created a musical family. “When people think of bands, they always assume conflicts and disagreements because four different minds are working together,” says Keshav, adding, “Disagreements are a part of life; How we choose to deal with them is what makes the difference.”

Recalling their performance at BITS Pilani in Shamirpet this April, Samar says, “It was one of our most exciting shows of the year. We have a few surprises planned at our weekend show.”

“We bonded as friends first before forming a band,” shares Venky, who played with Samar and Sanam in a school band in Muscat (2003) and had The Previous Band with Keshav in Chennai (2009). Playing music through school and college led them to take it up as a profession. “Thanks to the digital age, we have been able to make a mark and spread music not by relying on a music label or Bollywood movie. Being one of the first few independent bands to reach 10 million subscribers on YouTube feels like a blessing,” says Venky.

From their early days of recording in the bedrooms of their parents’ homes in Mumbai (2010) while using household objects for light and sound effects, the Sanam boys have come a long way. “We are lucky to have each other’s support and used our strengths to get where we are right now,” observes Keshav.

The group started with originals and sang covers to reach out to a larger audience. “We realised our music was bringing broken families together,” says Sanam. Their rendition of ‘ Lag Jaa Gale’ also got them an invitation to shoot three music videos in the Maldives including the popular ‘Gulabi Aankhen’ The aim while singing a cover is to give a fresh sound without losing the soul of the original song.

Venky shares what worked in their favour, “Honestly, there weren't many "boy bands" when we started. YouTube was nascent; Indian Hip-hop was finding a contemporary voice; being a home producer wasn't as accessible as it is today. Young musicians either liked being in rock/metal bands or moved to bigger cities to pursue a career in ads/jingles/music for films (which I believe some of us initially intended to do).

Learningmusic production skills or new instruments, practising and honing musical chops are part of their efforts to improve. Over a decade, the band has found what works at live performances but changes when performing a regional language song that has cultural significance. For instance, they include Dhivehi (Maldives), Soca (Trinidad), Afrikaans (South Africa), Hebrew (Tel Aviv), Garba (Gujarat), Bengali Rabindra Sangeet, Dutch , Nepali and Assamese.