Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and More Get Behind Raftaar and Karan Kanchan Steely New World Cup Song ‘3 Ka Dream’

Rap star Raftaar and ace producer Karan Kanchan give voice to India’s aspirations ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup kickoff with their new anthem “3 Ka Dream.” Commissioned by Adidas, the song comes with a spirited music video showing Indian cricket’s top dogs including Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Shubman Gill, among others preparing for their one day international (ODI) tournament which starts today, October 5th.

With Raftaar serving as the resolute voice, the rapper invokes determination amid India’s storied association with the coveted World Cup, disappointments and triumphs all together. The upcoming World Cup – hosted across the country – will mark India’s chance to clinch the trophy for the third time in history, following wins in 1983 and 2011. As Raftaar dives into familiar gritty Hindi-English lyrics about confidence, he pins the hopes of a country to the playing 11 and how India’s men in blue also inspire the daily lives of billions rooting for them.

Producer Karan Kanchan brings in airy string sections and galloping trap beats on “3 Ka Dream,” which marks the first time he’s worked with Raftaar. Kanchan, best known for his work with the likes of DIVINE, Seedhe Maut and more, tells Rolling Stone India that this project was “very different from the other brand projects and anthem tracks” he’s worked on previously. He says the brief given to him stood out in itself. “We wanted a track that expresses hope and that we’re doing our best to win this one,” he says.

While the song does have elements of grandiosity, Kanchan says he didn’t want to make an anthem per se. “The visual notes that were shared with me also was very different than what you will usually expect, so I was really interested to work on this. We went for a very cinematic [sound], at the same time, emotional and something that provokes hope, and gives the feeling of like excitement,” he adds. The producer honed in on the feeling that we are rooting for the team. Kanchan says, “We tried out different vocal tones and we think Raftaar has killed it with the zone, his voice was just perfect for this.” The producer will take to the decks tonight at gig series Boiler Room in Mumbai and he promises to don a Team India jersey for his set.

In a post on Instagram, Raftaar posted a photo of himself in the Adidas Indian Men’s cricket team jersey, stating in the caption, “Thank you to each and everyone for loving #3KaDream. It is not just a song but an anthem for all the Indian Cricket Fans. Jo Sone Na De Vo Sapna, Teen Ka Dream Hai Apna… Go for the glory.” The campaign “3 Ka Dream” was conceptualized by the team at ad agency Creativeland Asia, who also provided the lyrics and brought on filmmaker Dar Gai to direct the video.

Watch the video for “3 Ka Dream” below.