Mumbai Artists Murtuza Gadiwala and Lakshya Bhatnagar Launch Rock Ballad ‘Farq Hai’

After leading the way with a country-tinged single “Zaroori” last month, Mumbai singer-songwriter Lakshya Bhatnagar teams up with teenage composer Murtuza Gadiwala for a new rock ballad called “Farq Hai.”

The hopeful song expectantly builds from slow, wistful sonics to include a searing guitar solo (from Sharad Nirmalkar from Pune rock band Pointbreak), featuring Bhatnagar’s vocals about “the journey of varied emotions that people experience in different relationships,” as he describes it. The track features additional production by Mumbai-based Pratham Mehra aka Kimera, who also took on mixing and mastering duties.

It’s the first time that Bhatnagar and Murtuza are collaborating. While Bhatnagar has been steadily releasing music (including his debut EP Kal Aaj Aur Kal in April this year), Gadiwala has remained creatively prolific at the age of 19. He’s released a book of poetry as well as composing the background score for short film Carbon, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, which gained a Dadasaheb Phalke award for Best Short Film in February.

With “Farq Hai,” however, aims were different. Gadiwala says in a statement, “‘Farq Hai’ is how I discovered myself when the world shut me out. I channeled my emotions towards music to heal. I took the first draft to Lakshya, who instantly vibed to the theme and agreed to collaborate.” Bhatnagar adds that the offer from Gadiwala to collaborate led him to take on different processes. “It was like a challenge for me to write lyrics and compose the vocal melodies for someone else’s tune for the very first time. But I took it up, and I am really happy with what we have achieved,” the vocalist says. 

The duo are now plotting out a music video for “Farq Hai,” which is out on September 23rd. Tune in to the premiere here.

Listen to “Farq Hai” below. Stream on more platforms here.