11 Top Moments from Mahindra Independence Rock

Over the weekend, Mumbai witnessed the comeback of cult music festival Mahindra Independence Rock (I-Rock). A sea of black T-shirt-wearing rock fans flocked to Mazgaon’s picturesque Bayview Lawns to headbang, jump around and receive a dose of nostalgia. With a lineup that included some of the country’s heavy hitters including Pentagram, Parikrama, Indus Creed, Zero and more, here are some top moments from the festival.  

Rock by the Dock  

Bayview Lawns is right by the Domestic Cruise Terminal in Mazgaon. The backdrop for Mahindra Independence Rock became a view of boats and ferries on the Arabian Sea and very little else. As the opening acts Bombay Bandook and Claver and The F Band took the stage on day one and two respectively, we saw an actual passenger ferry pulling up and a few bemused looks were exchanged between those alighting and walking right past a rock performance and attendees with drink in hand. Given Indian rock music’s familiarity with adjusting to all kinds of situations and settings – from wedding halls to college festivals – this was par for the course. Everything pretty much went off without a hitch, with a generous extended deadline to wrap up an open-air event.   

A Zero Reunion to Remember  

When Mumbai-bred rockers Zero get together to play a gig, it’s definitely a sight not to be missed. The band – comprising U.K.-based vocalist Rajeev Talwar, New Zealand-based guitarist Warren Mendonsa aka Blackstratblues, drummer Sidd Coutto and bassist Girish ‘Bobby’ Talwar – got together specifically for I-Rock to play their first show in almost five years. The band didn’t miss a beat and sounded as good as we remember them as they treated fans to songs off their 2001 album Hook such as the punchy “Lucy,” the face-melting instrumental offering “Christmas in July,” the pop-rock track “Not My Kind Of Girl” as well as their magnum opus “PSP 12”.” The band also performed the tracks “Old Man Sitting On The Back Porch,” “Wish” and “Drift Away.” We don’t know when we’ll see Zero in action next, but we sure hope we don’t have to wait five more years to do so.  

Indus Creed Stood on Top of the Rock  

Indian rock stalwarts, Mumbai-bred band Indus Creed – comprising original members who include vocalist-guitarist Uday Benegal, guitarist Mahesh Tinaikar and keyboardist Zubin Balaporia and backed by musicians, drummer Jai Row Kavi and bassist Krishna Jhaveri – delivered a smashing performance on day two of the festival. The legendary outfit raced through their setlist that featured songs from their Rock Machine days (from their 1988 album Rock ‘n’ Roll Renegade and 1990 record The Second Coming) such as the rebellious “Rock ‘n’ Roll Renegade,” the endearing “Pretty Child,” and the enthralling “Top of the Rock.” The group also performed tracks from 1995’s Indus Creed and 2012’s Evolve which included songs such as the melancholic “Cry,” the stomping “Dissolve,” the acoustic-rock offering “Fireflies” and the singalong “Trapped.”  

The Wizards of Rock: Parikrama 

If there’s one band that knows how to juxtapose classic rock with flutes, violins and tablas, its New Delhi group Parikrama. The band – vocalist Nitin Malik, keyboardist Subir Malik, guitarist Saurabh Choudhary, bassist Gaurav Balani, drummer Srijan Mahajan and guitarist Abhishek Mittal as well as violinist Suhail Ali Khan, flautist Shashank Singhania and tabla player Shambhunath Bhattacharya – headlined day two of the festival and were definitely worthy in doing so. Parikrama paid tribute throughout their set to the band’s late guitarist Sonam Sherpa (whom they lost in 2020) and brought a ton of energy to the I-Rock stage by interacting with the crowd and belting out bangers such as the fiery blues-rock track “Rhythm ‘n’ Blues,” the groovy “Satisfaction,” the euphoric “Am I Dreaming,” 2019’s high-octane “Tears Of The Wizard,” their spellbinding song “But It Rained” and the beautiful instrumental “Open Skies.” The band also called on stage Bollywood actor-singer Farhan Akthar to join them for the bluesy “Pain or Pleasure” before launching into the 12-bar “Whisky Blues” and closing with the scorching “Vapourize.”  

Pentagram’s Voice  

Mumbai electro-rockers Pentagram – comprising vocalist Vishal Dadlani, guitarist Randolph Correia aka Func, bassist Papal Mane and drummer Shiraz Bhattacharya – brought the heat with their headlining slot on day one of the festival. The band showcased material from their four albums and opened with the dystopian “Drive” before launching into the crunchy “In My Head,” the raucous “Identify” and the glitch-rock track “Human Failings.” The band’s mid-set tracks included “Lovedrug Climbdown” and “Nutter.” For their dancey song “Tomorrow’s Decided,” the band called all the artists from the festival’s day one lineup to join them on stage and show off their dance moves. Pentagram then closed with fan favorites such as “Mental Zero,” “Nocturne,” “Voice” and “Animal.”  

Bloodywood Seal their Heavyweight Status  

New Delhi folk-metallers Bloodywood were perhaps the heaviest band on the billing for the festival and fresh from their biggest international shows in September and October. On one hand, while it might have felt like their stage show and song introductions were carried forward from the Europe and U.S. gigs, Bloodywood were throwing a metal party that Mumbai had been waiting for. Setting the moshpits in motion and heaping on the breakdowns, Bloodywood packed a punch. Running through songs like “Gaddaar,” “BSDK.exe,” “Machi Bhasad,” “Dana Dan” and anthems like “Jee Veerey” and “Ari Ari,” the six-member unit represented the latest movement in Indian heavy music.  

First-Time I-Rock Performers  

The mainstage at the festival saw the likes of seasoned bands such as Chennai indie-rockers The F16s, Bengaluru rock outfit Parvaaz and Pune/Mumbai post-rock group Aswekeepsearching perform at Independence Rock for the first time. Although each band played earlier in the evening at the event, it won’t be long before we see them bagging the later slots at the festival in years to come. The future of rock music in India is definitely in safe hands.  

The South Fusion Invasion  

Although Kochi-origin fusion band Thaikkudam Bridge and Thiruvananthapuram Malayalam rockers Avial were first-time performers at I-Rock, they’re also celebrated and seasoned acts in their own right. Pummeling through a diverse set, Thaikkudam Bridge brought out “Fish Rock” and “Navarasam” alike and also offered a new song (the highlight being guitarist Mithun Raju’s solo blaze). Avial, although not fully up to the mark with vocalist Tony John (he did nail “Chekele” and led a wonderful tribute to their founder and late guitarist-composer John P. Varkey on “Nada Nada”), shone bright when vocalist Job Kurian took the stage. Both bands communicated almost entirely in Malayalam, something that bothered no one and elicited high cheers – one among many things that signaled how different Mahindra Independence Rock is from the past decades of I-Rock.  

The Farhad Wadia Cutout  

Independence Rock founder Farhad Wadia (who started the festival in 1986) is currently based in the U.S. and was unable to make it in person to the event this past weekend. However, kudos to the person in the organizing team who decided that it would be a good idea to create a life size cutout of Wadia holding a guitar and place it on the festival grounds. Fans stood by it to take pictures and the artists themselves took it up on stage to pay homage to Wadia for the work he’s done in creating and now reviving I-Rock. Pentagram’s Vishal Dadlani and Indus Creed’s Uday Benegal talked about how important a figure Wadia has been through the years especially while the festival was hosted at its first home in South Mumbai at Rang Bhavan, while during their performance of “PSP 12”,” Zero jammed with the cutout as festival host Rohit ‘P-Man’ Pereira also jumped on stage sporting a Farhad Wadia facemask and danced to the music. 

 The Affectionate BC/MC Chants  

“If there’s one place where bhenchod/madarchod is said with love, it’s at I-Rock,” said Pentagram’s Vishal Dadlani during their performance. Zero’s Sidd Coutto also joined in with the crowd during their chant as his drum pattern followed the audience while the band’s vocalist Rajeev Talwar said to the Mumbai audience, “Bands from other cities get scared by this.” But all in all, it was just good vibes and good times from this rather strange way of showing affection.  

A Sea of Black T-Shirts  

Metallica, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses and plenty of other rock and metal band T-shirts were sported on by festival attendees. Fans showed off their favorite bands and also supported Indian acts by buying their merch at a stall setup at the venue.