Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Hriday: Saaya is a song about redefining myself and the new identity

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Singer-songwriter Hriday, who recently released his single Saaya, a layered synth-pop with rhythmic lyrics, gets candid with The Pioneer, sharing more interesting deets about the song, working down South, and more.

K. Ramya Sree

Singer Hriday, who had previously lent his voice to a few of the musical Bollywood hits like Dil Bechara and Lekar Hum Deewana Dil, to name a few, is back with a new single, Saaya, which was released on August 30. Saaya, which is Hriday’s letter of self-love and a groovy synth pop song, has already crossed over 78,810 views at the time of writing this article. The new single spotlights the power of one’s ‘shadow’, or, like one says, Saaya.

The new single also marks the dawn of a new sound and chapter for Hriday, who’s all set to welcome listeners into his musical multiverse.

Explaining in detail about his latest single, which is all about self-love, the independent musician said, “Saaya has been a journey for me. It’s been a decade for me as an artist since I took up this profession full-time. I started off as a playback singer and went on to independent music, eventually producing and composing music. Saaya is an open-ended song, open to interpretation. Your Saaya can be anybody: your friend, father, mother, sister, etc.—any confidant who always has your back. Also in the latest meaning, I wrote this song about ‘self-love’. And you are that one person who always has your back. It is something that I came up with; I didn’t want it to sound too preachy, so I gave it a vibe of synth pop, groovy, and dancy, so it doesn’t sound too intense and is easily appealed to by everybody.”

Hriday has also been part of Ahimsa, a prestigious collaboration between Rahman and global rock icons U2, when they toured India, as well as Why: The Musical, directed by the legendary filmmaker Shekhar Kapur.

But for him, Saaya remains a very special song, and the reason he cited is that “I think it has been a couple of years since I released my independent music, and Saaya is one such song about redefining myself and the new identity I have created for myself. This is a journey I am going all in on, and Saaya is the beginning of it all. The idea of the song in itself has been such a joy to create, and it is very pure, as the song, the tuning, the lyrics, and everything came in very organically. We produced the song in 4 to 5 hours. When I dubbed the song, I really felt the song and each word of it. It has all those things that are very special to me. I am launching a new sound as well, which is slightly poppish with an old-school touch as well as youth and substance. This is the whole essence of my music, in short. Saaya is the best start for that, and that is why this is super special for me.”

Having honed his chops by collaborating with musicians like Rahman, Vishal Dadlani, Salim-Sulaiman, Sunidhi Chauhan, and Neeti Mohan, as well as touring around the globe, the singer-songwriter also has a line-up of incredible singles in the pipeline that listeners can expect to hear in the coming months. He’s been noted for singing in iconic films like Mani Ratnam’s Kaatru Veliyidai (2017) and Gurinder Chadha’s Blinded By The Light (2019).

He also has to his credit some South projects, and for Hriday, working in the South is a treat. He explained, “In the South, the film industry is very sacred to them, and they welcome us with wide open arms. It has been really rewarding to sing single Telugu songs. Also, I feel like the stories and scripts that are coming from the South are also slightly challenging, interesting, and edgier. Therefore, you have a lot more scope to really show your abilities as a vocalist.”

Hriday grew up in Mumbai, watching tapes of live performances and learning Indian classical music. He shared, “My music journey started at a very young age, when I got the opportunity to listen to many concerts. My dad, Deepak Gattani, has been one of the first few flag bearers in the live entertainment scenario as a director, producer, and manager of such concerts, and I was lucky to be in that environment. Not just watching people perform but also having a keen idea of the format of live entertainment, somewhere, that bug bit me, and I knew that this was going to be a passion. The aptitude for picking up music was strong, and therefore I felt like it was really a great place to be, and I had a lot to say, and I had experience in the format of live entertainment, and I wanted to be a performer.”

The cherry on top of his journey was the cover he did on YouTube, which he sent to AR Rahman, and he got a reply from Rahman saying, ‘You have a nice voice and you should learn further’. That was the moment for him, which got him a lot more confident. And ever since, Hriday calls his journey the ‘most beautiful’, as he also got the opportunity to work with some amazing people who gave him all the wings to prove himself in the work they offered him.

Furthermore, he spoke about his approach towards music recording and shared, “My approach is pretty much director-oriented (music and film director). Because the guidance that they give you on how the image has already been portrayed is supported by your voice, that is what matters. However, creating your own music is very different, as there is no one to tell you what is right and what is wrong. You are your own producer, director, and composer.”

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