Hyderabad-based band Root Three Five spells a high for Hindi rock

Hyderabad-based band Root Three Five a unique Hindi rock band shares the story behind their name and their journey in the music industry. The band performs at Hard Rock Cafe in Hitech city.

The name ‘Root Three Five’ seems unique for a music band. so we ask, ‘How did you come up with that name?’ “The name ‘Root Three Five’ is derived from the three main notes held in a guitar to form a chord: the root note, third note, and fifth note,” says the group’s founder and drummer Rindo Sunny, adding, “We have three instruments: percussion (drums), strings (including the lead guitar and bass guitar), and vocals (also considered an instrument). We are five people with three instruments, hence the name Root Three Five.”

The eight-year-old band playing progressive Hindi rock with a touch of Sufi comprises a motley group of working professionals — lead singer Mir Mujeeb Khan (senior manager, PwC), bass guitarist ⁠Vijit Singh (manager, Deloitte), lead guitarist/backing vocalist Sanjay Kumar (technical architect, Salesforce) and rhythm guitarist/backing vocals Sanjeev Ranjan (senior consultant, IBM). They are rehearsing at Rindo’s house.

Root Three Five’s story began in 2016. A group of corporate folks working from Deloitte across the country started playing for in-house shows and eventually won a competition conducted by Gleefie (mobile app-based platform to hire artistes) in 2017. Their first public performance, at Vapor (now named 36 Downtown Brew Pub) in Jubilee Hills was well received; leading to a one-year contract to perform there every Friday. Their popularity continued to grow with gigs at HyLife brewing company, Air Live and Amnesia.

After leaving Deloitte, the band members continued to meet for their performances, recalls Rindo. Though members left the group, Rindo is still part of it, and the current line-up continues the musical journey of the band.

The band chose Hindi compositions as the members are from different states across the country and connected over music in Hyderabad. Also, singer Mir Mujeeb Khan, a ‘pakka Hyderabadi, is trained in Hindustani music.

Fusing Sufi elements with progressive rock has garnered them attention. Rindo describes their style of music: “We take a song, dismantle it and add our own flavour. A stamp of Root Three Five is to perform a difficult song live, like Shankar Mahadevan.’s ‘Breathless’. “Many bands do not cover the entire song but we do it beautifully.”

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s ‘Afreen’is another favourite. “Musicians cover the lyrics part of the song but never sing its sargam (notes), which is difficult, but our singer presents it well.” Besides AR Rahman’s songs such as ‘Sada Haq’ and ‘Naadan parindey’, their playlist includes Bollywood numbers like ‘Zinda’ from Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and ‘Khamoshiyan’‘mixed with ‘Naa Jaane Koi’.