New Video: Guitarist Dhruv Ghanekar In A Dark, Apocalyptic Video Feat Folk Star Ila Arun

It’s been a season of fantastic videos. After guitarist Warren Mendonsa released his brilliant new video recently, it’s fellow Mumbai guitarist and composer Dhruv Ghanekar’s turn to raise the stakes with his video for the track “Dhima” from his recent album Voyage. When we spoke to Ghanekar during the making of his new album, the composer said of “Dhima,” “This tune came out of a project I did with her two years ago where we took Rajasthani music and turned it on its head.” “Dhima” is indeed an extraordinary mix of African and Rajasthani influences that Algerian percussion prodigy Karim Ziad and folk star Ila Arun bring to the song.

Visually, the video matches the menacing tone of the track note for note with exceptional art direction, elaborate make-up and costumes. Arun has been cast in the mold of a high priestess of the torture house where the video unfolds. The video has been shot in the basement of Tulip Star Hotel in Juhu, Mumbai, which looks like it’s been transformed into a sinister lair of vice. Incidentally, the track references the line “Das Gayo Paapi Bichhuda,” the title of a song that shot Arun to fame in 2007 and while “Dhima,” has no musical similarity to her older hit, the lyrics bring back a wave of nostalgia and highlight Arun’s remarkable reinvention as a vocalist.

“Dhima” reaches its visual climax as Ghanekar rips out a frenzied solo with Mauritian jazz bassist Linley Marthe keeping pace. Produced and conceptualized by Mumbai-based production house Asylum Films, the video has been directed by Razneesh Ghai.

Watch the video here:

Buy Voyage here