Move Over Mainstream Movie Soundtracks, OTT Songs Is Where It’s At

At the end of 2024, one of the biggest hits came not from a mainstream film nor from a rising independent artist but from the soundtrack of the third season of Netflix series Mismatched. “Ishq Hai,” a song composed by Anurag Saikia, featuring lyrics by Raj Shekhar and the voices of Romy and Madhubanti Bagchi, among others, currently has 95 million streams on Spotify.

What’s more, it was strongly rooted in Indian traditional music, with Saikia saying he drew from Raags like Desh, Nand and more. “[I was] hoping to create a feeling of being transported to another world. If my music inspires even one person to explore more ragas or folk traditions, I’ll be genuinely grateful,” he says.

“Ishq Hai,” backed by Netflix as well as music giant Believe-owned label Ishtar (previously known as Venus Music), reached Number One on Spotify India’s Top 50 and Spotify’s Global Viral 50 charts within three weeks of release in December 2024. According to Netflix, it is the first soundtrack from a streaming / OTT platform to top Spotify charts in India. Considering the massive backing that the Mismatched Season 3 soundtrack had—which is not too different compared to how major labels promote film soundtracks—what really made it stand out? Netflix believes it had a lot to do with the story, coming at a time when Mismatched had already gained a huge following. It helps that “Ishq Hai” came on the back of at least a few successful songs from previous Mismatched seasons, including Saikia’s own “Aise Kyun” and cast member and singer-songwriter Taaruk Raina singing “Kho Gaye.”

Netflix India’s vice president of content Monika Shergill says, “At Netflix India, we have gone beyond individual tracks, producing entire original albums for many of our titles with our filmmakers and musical artists. Crafting the right soundtrack is a deeply creative process, shaped by collaboration and a shared vision.” It’s emboldened the streaming giant’s approach to soundtracks from offerings such as rom-com Nadaaniyan, which has songs composed by music duo Sachin-Jigar.

Mismatched season 3 included plenty of independent artists in the mix, from music duo Ruuh and Joh to Telugu pop artist Vamsi Kalakuntla to producer Pina Colada Blues, and singer-songwriters like Anoushka Maskey and Sagar Verma . Among the lesser-known was singer Mayur Nagpal, who co-composed “Rang Laago”—inspired by a tune that Khan’s grandmother used to sing at weddings—with the band Yugm and Rajasthani folk artist Deene Khan.

Drawing from India’s traditional music is definitely one way to strike artistic and commercial success. Filmmaker-composer Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Netflix India series Heeramandi also earned great acclaim with its music, particularly for his take on singer-poet Amir Khusro’s “Sakal Ban.” Then, there’s Prime Video’s Made In Heaven which has brought names like singer-producer Komorebi to the front. More recently, Prime Video released Bandish Bandits, a show whose very narrative weaves in India’s modern and traditional music forms.

The first season’s soundtrack in 2020 was made by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, their first in the OTT space. For Bandish Bandits season 2, a variety of composers contributed to the tracklist, from Oaff to DigV, Ana Rehman and Siddharth Pandit, among others.

Pandit, who composed “Hitchki 2.0” and “Khaamakha,” said in a statement when the soundtrack was coming out, “It’s been a labor of love, where I aimed to create music that not only complements the narrative but also resonates with the emotions of the characters.” The show’s actor-musician cast included the likes of Paresh Pahuja, who’s now heading out on his own multi-city India tour, undoubtedly unlocking a new audience. Pop artist Jhalli, who sang “You And I” on the soundtrack, says she was first cast as an actor and then as a singer-songwriter for the Bandish Bandits season 2 soundtrack.

“This season features many musicians in the cast, and we often shared our musical talents on set,” Jhalli says in a statement. “One day, I sang the French song ‘La Vie En Rose’ for [series co-creator and director] Anand Tiwari, and he really enjoyed it. Later, I met Souumil Shringarpure, one of the soundtrack’s composers, at a dubbing session. After sharing some of my music, I received a call from Anand sir, saying Souumil wanted me to contribute a song. It was a dream come true!”

If Heeramandi saw Bhansali build upon Amir Khusro’s works, another example of creative approaches in OTT soundtracks is in The Waking of a Nation, the historical drama that’s based on the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre of 1919, and features composer Sameer Uddin adapting the couplets of poet-saint Kabir. Sameer Uddin says he worked off series director Ram Madhvani’s inputs. Madhvani says, “My secret sauce when it comes to music, in the work that I do, is actually to try and see how I can make it philosophical or how I can make it spiritual.”

From a filmmaker’s perspective, Madhvani believes that whether it’s in a big-screen theatrical release or OTT, there’s no difference in his creative approach. “I’m really trying to reach out to people with the music, and with the soul of the music,” he points out. Sameer Uddin backs this up. “My personal understanding of this is that it has nothing to do with the format, whether it is OTT, whether it is background scores, songs for films, songs, scores, advertising, serials, whatever it is. The creativity and the freedom of creativity come with the team, which is the faith and the comfort that people have with each other of exploring, working and ideating,” he says.

From an independent artist’s perspective, Nagpal says the Mismatched team and directors Akarsh Khurana and Nipun Avinash Dharmadhikari “had a priority that they have to work with indie artists and wanted fresh sounds.” He adds, “Which is something I loved the most, and I believe, is different from how other commercial projects approach music.”

Another space where creativity abounds in OTT music is the background scores and title themes. From Achint’s Scam 1992 title theme that had his distinct sonic style to the composing duo Naren Chandavarkar and Benedict Taylor for Pataal Lok. With the recently released season two of the thriller on Prime Video, the duo incorporated Nagamese instruments like the tati in their background music, a reflection of the show’s setting in Nagaland. “We were able to investigate a radically different zone as we entered a new geographical setting and of course, a new and evolving narrative,” the duo says in a joint response.

Naren-Benedict—who also worked on the score for the Netflix series Kohrra in 2023—believes there is a great deal of creative freedom in OTT projects, “due to the sheer volume of material required and the extended length of a series.” The duo does make it a point to add, “It often depends on the director’s vision, the time spent on the project, and of course our working relationships with directors we have collaborated with frequently.”

Nevertheless, the OTT front is breaking new ground, with the plot themes often becoming the jumping-off point for music composers. For JioHotstar’s upcoming drama Kanneda, there are overlapping themes of immigrant dreams, music and crime, which led to Punjabi hip-hop star Parmish Verma leading a power-packed set of songs that don’t just serve as a guide to the narrative, but also stand on their own as bangers.

Saikia, for his part, has gone from strength to strength, drawing from ’90s music for family-friendly filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya-produced drama series Bada Naam Karenge, streaming on Sony LIV. Saikia calls the show’s director Palash Vaswani one of his favorites. “The success of ‘Ishq Hai’ is unmatched, of course, but for me, the true joy lies in working on diverse projects and experimenting with my music,” the composer adds.

Although always an in-demand name for composing and helming production for projects, Saikia has more eyes on him than ever after “Ishq Hai.” He’s swearing by quality above everything else and getting a chance to explore something new. “Creative freedom comes from trust or numbers,” he explains. “If a creator truly trusts an artist, they will support them regardless of experience. Projects like Thappad, Panchayat, Gullak, and Mismatched are great examples: they began with trust and later gained numbers. But if numbers decline, the cycle may repeat. It all depends on time, people, and circumstances.”