Singer Akriti Kakar has released her latest independent single 'Oh Jaanu', a retro-drenched collaboration with Dr. Palash Sen that draws from the funk, pop, and disco sounds of 1970s and '80s Bollywood. The track, composed by Suvam Moitra and penned by Geet Sagar, doubles as a musical tribute to iconic Bollywood and Hollywood personalities.

The Inspiration Behind the Track

Akriti described the song as a deliberate exercise in emotional time travel. 'I believe music should make you feel different emotions! This song's intention is exactly that — a bit of time travel to the fun disco era, celebrating icons who we have revered across decades,' she said.

The track sits within a retro pop and funk soundscape, evoking the golden era of Bollywood disco — a genre that produced some of Hindi cinema's most enduring anthems. Notably, 'Oh Jaanu' is Akriti's latest in a series of genre-defying independent releases, each deliberately distinct from the last.

A Visual Costume Extravaganza

The music video is as ambitious as the sound. Akriti and Palash step into a succession of iconic avatars, channelling Marilyn Monroe, Zeenat Aman, Parveen Babi, Basanti, Mastani, and Manjulika across its runtime.

'Secretly, I've always wanted to do a Hollywood-Bollywood costume party forever! Imagine getting to do a whole music video doing just that — lottery, I would say! I hope people don't compare because we won't even come close, but it's done from a place of love, and we dressed up to pay tribute and respect to all these icons,' Akriti shared.

Behind the Scenes

Executing multiple costume transformations in a single shoot was no small feat. 'It was insanely hard to do all these characters one after the other, but my team was beyond efficient and we nailed it alongside having too much fun,' Akriti recalled. She reserved special praise for her collaborator, calling Palash Sen's transformations a highlight and describing him as a 'sheer icon himself.'

Akriti's Philosophy on Independent Music

The singer has consistently resisted genre labels in her independent work. 'Even though industry geniuses would say every independent artist needs to define themselves with one particular genre, I don't believe in that. My voice is the genre,' she stated. 'Oh Jaanu' reinforces that approach — a deliberate pivot from her previous independent outings, anchored by nostalgia but driven by artistic curiosity. The collaboration with Palash Sen, himself a cult figure as the frontman of Euphoria, adds a layer of retro credibility to the project. With the independent music scene in India gaining significant streaming traction, the release positions both artists squarely in a growing appetite for nostalgia-driven pop.