Local Band Fuses Punk and Bollywood

BEVERLY, MA – Saraswathi Jones of Beverly searched for years for a punk version of her favorite Bollywood song. In the digital age, she assumed everyone had done everything, and would periodically scour the web for a cover.

Eventually, Jones pulled together performers she had met through the Boston rock scene who were also interested in Bollywood music, and played what was meant to be a one-night gig covering Bollywood songs. That night spawned Awaaz Do, a Hindie Rock band that released its first album last July.

"I was just waiting and waiting for someone to do a pop punk cover of one particular song that I loved, and a friend of mine said, 'Why don’t you do it?,'" Jones said. Jones' parents are from India, and the song – a 90's Bollywood classic, starring the "king and queen of Bollywood" at the time – felt like a connection to home.

Awaaz Do recently received a Passim Iguana Music Fund grant for their next album, which they just started working on.

"I’ve always just been so influenced by punk music. I love the energy of punk, I love the sound of crunching guitars, it’s always been a really fun energy for me," said Jones. "It was an experiment in trying to make these two art forms talk to each other."

While she found one other band that matched her original search for punk Bollywood covers, Jones and Awaaz Do coined the term Hindie Rock. They even co-founded and co-host a Hindie Rock Fest every year in Cambridge.

Azhar PH, Awaaz Do's bass player, said when people ask him what Hindie Rock is, he encourages them to come and see for themselves.

"I’ve often just described it as rock and roll and let people come and figure it out," he said. "We take it in what we hope are some new and interesting directions."

Awaaz Do in Hindi means "to make noise," Jones said. In the band, they're literally making noise, but Jones strives to touch on social issues she feels are important, and lift up the voices of people who aren't always heard in the band's original songs.

"I’ve always loved rock and roll and punk rock, and I think when I was young I didn’t see people whose experiences were similar to mine in the punk scene," Jones said.

Jones said people of all generations come to their shows, and they try to play to a wide audience. While the band members – Jones on vocals and guitar, Sapan on dhol and guitar, Jagdeep on lead guitar, and Azhar PH on bass – speak several languages between them, only about half speak Hindi. Jones jokes that native Hindi speakers often get a kick out of her accent.

"It’s wonderful to see how Hindie Rock has become a real thing," Jones said.

Here's the video for Kite Fight, an Awaaz Do original:

Image via Awaaz Do