EXCLUSIVE: Girish Malik On Band Of Maharajas Entering Oscars 2025 Race, Ishq Walla Daku Song Release & More

Girish Malik Exclusive Interview On Band Of Maharajas Entering Oscars 2025 Race: It's a proud moment for all of us Indians as 'Band Of Maharajas' has become the only Hindi that has been declared eligible for Oscars 2025 in not just one but two categories. The Punjabi song 'Ishq Walla Daku', composed by the music maestro Bickram Ghosh, is in the race for nominations in 'Best Original Song' category along with 'Best Original Score' categories.

After the special announcement, Filmibeat chatted with the multifaceted director Girish Malik over a call and spoke about his reaction on 'Band Of Mahrajas' entering to the race of Oscars 2025 nominations, the release plans of 'Ishq Walla Daku' and more.

Here are excerpts from the interview:

1) How did the last 24 hours look like? What were your thoughts after the Oscars longlist announcement?

It's an honour when the Academy decides to come out with the list of eligible films and nominations... We were pleasant to see our name there not in just one but two categories. This is musical film and it's a great campaign to start from. I believe this is just the beginning for us. It's definitely a heartwarming feeling to see the Academy has selected our film an they felt that our film is good enough to compete for the nominations. We wanted our film to resonate with the world because it's a very special film that I wanted to create because it's a musical film and expect the music to touch the audience. It shows how India Pakistan used to have a common heritage and how the country has divided but the music still has united certain things which delves into a beautiful journey across the border. It shows how music serves as an universal language between the people and unites people.

2) When can we expect to listen to the song 'Ishq Walla Daku'? Any update on the movie release?

We are planning to release the song soon. It should be out hopefully in next 10 days. We are working to now release the film in India next year.

3) How is 'Band Of Maharajs' different from other musical films?

It's a film about musicians, a story about three boys who were actually musicians. They lived in India on the border village between India and Pakistan. How country divides and music unites. Given today's scenarios across the world, two neighbouring nations still have that common taste that unites them together.

4) From 'Jal' to now 'Band Of Maharajas', how has the journey been like?

The last 10 years have been great. The journey has been outstanding. There has been a lot of turmoil, ups and down but it's been great.

5) You and Bickram Ghosh make a successful director-music composer duo. After 'Jal', this is the second time your pairing is being recognized on a global platform like Oscars. What do you think is the secret behind the magical success of this jodi?

We both are very crazy about sounds. I write my films not just with my hands but also through ears. I listen to the world music and every sound is universal. Bikram is another person who is always experiments a lot with music. We both travel a lot. Bickram is the only perfect guy who can the artistic value to the sound yet without restricting the reach to a particular audience.

6) How was the experience of directing Bickram Ghosh in your film?

I think he was very comfortable in front of the camera. Bickram acted in a couple of Bengali films and I casted him. He's odne a phenomenal job in the film. I started out as an actor. When I left acting, Irrfan (late Irrfan Khan) used to asked me why was I leaving films but I wanted to wrote film.