Composer Duo Archit & Smit and Nikhil D’Souza Reminisce with New Song ‘Pal’

With their third song as composers, Archit Shah and Smit Ruparel call on ace singer-songwriter Nikhil D’Souza to helm vocals for “Pal.” Driven by marching band drums and occasionally stomping rhythms, the song warmly looks back at memorable moments accrued in life, with a music video that centers on a photographer and traveler shut in at home. 

While D’Souza has been steadily collaborating as well as releasing his own Hindi material over the years — including the billions-streamed major label hit “Vaaste” — Archit & Smit have so far put out two songs. They worked with vocalists Harish Moyal and Isheta Sarckar on “Door” in 2019 (released via Zee Music) and got singer Abhiruchi Singh for “Dil,” which released in September last year. The duo say in a statement that since the inception of “Pal,” they had only D’Souza’s voice in mind as the perfect fit. They describe the crooner’s matured lilt as one that “sounds refreshing every time you hear it.” Archit & Smit add, “When you hear him sing, be it ‘Shaam’ or his previous EP Waqt, the feel in his singing, teleports you into a magical realm of freshness and we feel extremely grateful to have his voice working the same magic on this track.” 

The music video directed by Ritesh Singh focuses on the mood of reminiscence, centering on a photographer whose injury has kept him at home. In his rummaging, he comes across a heap of photographs which lead him back to his darkroom. Archit & Smit add jointly in a statement, “The highlights for us while making this video were the travel montage shots. We asked our friends to share their personal favorite travel experiences and incorporated their scenes along with the footage we shot, so every scene you see on the screen, is a personal journey and a story in itself.” 

Watch the video for “Pal” below. Stream the song here.