Mumbai pop artist Shalmali Kholgade. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Pop artist Shalmali Kholgade offers a groovy tribute to her husband’s dance moves in her latest song “Way You Move,” with a wholesome music video centered around a wedding starring actors Kubbra Sait and Kunal Thakur.
The video—created by Jugaad Motion Pictures’ Dheer Momaya as director and Dar Gai as writer—takes us to a low-budget but big-hearted wedding between the characters portrayed by Sait and Thakur. Everything from catering to red carpet vibes is simulated in what they call the “Smallest biggest* wedding ever.”
Kholgade—who makes her appearance toward the end of the video—says she didn’t write “Way You Move” as a wedding song per se, even if the video does lend itself to that vibe. She says, “My husband is the inspiration behind this song. I love how he dances. When he is in the mood, he dances like no one is watching. Carefree and in his own world. I adore that about him. So the song is actually about how he moves.” Even then, as she began hearing the song over and over, the visual of a wedding came to Kholgade’s mind. “The song has happiness written all over it. I believe Dar Gai, the writer of the video, heard that too and brought her unique flavor into the music video. I love that the video coincidentally is a lot like how my husband and I got married,” she says.
Praising the filmmakers and knowing her video “was in the best hands,” the seemingly one-shot filming style and warm colors make “Way You Move” a heartwarming watch. “It was completely their [Momaya and Gai’s] idea to cast Kubbra and Kunal in the video. Incidentally, I know them both very well. So I was elated when I heard they’d agreed to do the video. I appear briefly in the video, so I have to say the most fun was being in that room, with the entire cast, in the heat, but still smiling, dancing, screaming and having a ball,” the artist says.
Kholgade, who released a hip-hop-inspired bop with producer Clifr called “All Good?” in May this year, wrote the shimmering Hindi-English love song “Way You Move” in 2023 on a trip to Los Angeles. On the recommendation of singer-songwriter Natania Lalwani, the Mumbai artist went into a few sessions and worked with artist and songwriter Miranda Glory and producer David Burris (“One of the fastest producers I’ve ever seen,” Kholgade says). Two songs were born from these sessions, with “Grind” coming out in 2024 and now, “Way You Move,” which was completed with Hindi lyrics by Shloke Lal. “When we wrote the song, it was completely in English. But it was when I got back to India that I felt like ‘Way You Move’ showed all signs of being a Hindi tune. That’s when Shloke came into the picture,” she says.
Up next, Kholgade is working on more music, staying within the bilingual pop space with young producers. “This is the language we all speak,” she says. “I’ve also written songs with other indie artists like Jai Karki and Dhruv Visvanath that are up for release soon. Exciting times ahead!”
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