Desi beats outshine foreign tunes at Delhi parties

Revellers in India's capital prefer Bollywood songs to international tracks, making it hard for club owners and DJs to strike a balance.

The latest Bollywood tunes and Punjabi songs are in high demand at Delhi nightclubs. Ramesh Sharma / India Today Group / Getty Images

No matter how much Indians like grooving to the tunes of international DJs such as like Tiesto and David Guetta (who performed in the UAE as part of NYE celebrations over the weekend), when it comes to a hardcore party, nothing gets them moving like Bollywood and Punjabi songs, say owners and DJs at nightclubs in New Delhi.

On a recent night, the crowds at various pubs and clubs in the Indian capital were vociferous in their demand for Bollywood songs, and got into heated arguments with DJs who turned a deaf ear on their pleas. At some venues, fights ensued among outraged patrons and indignant spinners.

“It’s disgusting that these DJs and owners do what they want to,” says a visibly irritated Sonal, a young reveller who was partying with her friends at My Bar Headquarters. “We requested the DJ to play Punjabi songs but he kept playing what he wanted to. It makes us feels bad, especially after we have paid high entry charges.”

Most DJs and restaurateurs claim there is a healthy demand for songs from internationally renowned musicians, but admit it’s always the latest Bollywood numbers and Punjabi tracks that top the chart in the clubs.

Yasheel Anand Singh, owner of the popular nightclub Pamphilos, has an easy way of solving the dilemma.

“We will actually be offering both genres – Bollywood and international – on our two floors this year,” he says. “So people with different preferences can enjoy both Hindi and ­English-language tracks.”

Singh says selecting appropriate DJs who will spin the right mix of crowd-pleasing tracks while catering to the night’s theme, requires a lot of thinking and effort. “Depending on the preferences and demand of our guests, we select the theme for the night. After that we choose the DJ – an important task if we’re planning a special night. It needs a lot of hard work. We finalise and hire them after hearing their samples. Our team ends up doing a lot of brainstorming and research on selecting the right theme for the party and then hiring a DJ who is a perfect fit,” explains Singh.

Delhi-based DJ Saatvic Arora says: “The [Delhi] crowd loves rapper Honey Singh and Baadshah’s songs when it comes to Punjabi tracks. As for Bollywood numbers, they love to groove to the tunes of the songs from the latest films.”

Meanwhile, Guetta tops the list among western DJs. Delhi’s Sam, a local DJ, says: “In international [-language tracks], David Guetta’s numbers top the list. We get the demand of commercial music mostly from the youngsters.”

Hauz Khas Village, Connaught Place and Greater Kailash are among top venues frequented by the city’s up-and-coming crowd. DJs Skull and HRD, who perform regularly at Elf Cafe and Bar in Hauz Khas Village, say they enjoy doing all the research that goes into creating fun playlists for special nights and events. “Music is a universal language, we know what youngsters out there will love. There is a plenty of work involved in selecting music tracks on special nights, where people spend money to enjoy the party,” says Skull.

“We love playing original tracks instead of remixes. But to give the music a personal touch, we remix them live on the console,” adds HRD.