[Watch] Music Director Prem Anand, The Odisha Connection In BJP’s Campaign Song ‘Phir Aayega Modi’

Bhubaneswar: Odisha has a reason to cheer about BJP’s campaign video for 2024 Lok Sabha elections, asserting ‘Phir Aayega Modi’ (Modi will voted to power again), and it is not political.

The song has been composed of ace music director from the state, Prem Anand.

Speaking about the string of events, leading to the release of the song in December 2023, Anand said that the idea stemmed from popularity of the slogan, ‘Phir Aayega Modi’. “While working for a Hindi movie in August last year, I had shared this thought with my director. Following a go-ahead from him, I approached lyricist Arun Kumar Sharma to pen the song with the catchline, ‘Phir Aayega Modi’,” he said while clarifying that they had received no proposal from the BJP for this song.

He said that the next task was to find a route through which he could make the BJP leadership hear his song. “I finally managed to get an appointment with someone in the party’s media wing in Delhi. He appreciated the song and also informed Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan about it. He also liked the song,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ananda continued to work on improving the song on basis of feedback, which he was receiving from different quarters. The phone, however, stopped ringing for some time, leading to a brief period of uncertainty. “By the end the November 2023, I finally got a confirmation call from the secretary of the Union Minister, informing that my song has been selected by the PMO,” he said.

Later, Dharmendra Pradhan also congratulated me. “I then got to know from him that the song will be released in December 2023. Since then, I have been receiving congratulatory messages from across the country,” Anand said, beaming with pride.

The song was recorded in Mumbai’s Yashraj Studio with sound engineer Vijay Dayal, rhythm player Dipesh Sharma, guitarist Somu Singh and singer from Punjab Jatinder Singh along with 20 background singers, he added.

The campaign song suggests that the party’s poll plank will focus on the promises fulfilled by the BJP in the past 10 years under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In the 10-minute video song, which begins with sound of a conch shell, there are clips of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s temple run, the installation of Sengol at the new Parliament building, and his public rallies. It also features India’s recent achievements in various fields, including Chandrayaan’s successful landing on the Moon’s south pole.

Notably, Anand composed the 2023 Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup anthem. He has also worked as a music director in more than 60 Odia films.