How The Managing Director Of PVR Inox Found Himself On An Amit Trivedi Track

Amit Trivedi’s latest album, Azaad Collab — produced by his label AT Azaad — features 22 of India’s most celebrated artists, from Sunidhi Chauhan to Armaan Malik and Neeti Mohan. The most unexpected presence on this album, however, is Ajay Bijli, Managing Director of PVR Inox.

‘Chalo chalein jahan dhoop khil jaati hai, dur, dur, dur’ (Let’s go where the sun shines, far, far away), goes the Trivedi-Bijli collaboration ‘Beparwah’, one of the album’s 14 tracks. It’s drawing attention, not just because of how catchy it is, but also because the pairing of a business mogul and a music composer feels so unexpected.

The Hollywood Reporter India asked  Bijli and Trivedi about their newfound friendship, shared love for music and plans for the future.

Ajay, you founded your band Random order around the same time Amit founded his label AT Azaad during the pandemic. Was this collaboration a long time coming?  

AB: No, it was independent. I had a band in college and then, during the pandemic, I created one called Random Order. We do a lot of English covers like Bryan Adams’ songs, but I would do Hindi ones as well. Random Order has also covered ‘Sham’ (by Amit Trivedi, Neuman Pinto and Nikhil D'Souza). But the idea of working on a song with Amit came much later. He was doing a lot of independent music as well, so collaborating on this song was coincidental.

AT: Yeah, absolutely. AT Azaad launched in April 2020, right in the middle of all the chaos. But Azaad Collab is a year-old idea. There are amazing artists and some great talent in our industry and in our country. I wanted to collaborate with a lot of them. That’s what my label is about — collaboration.

But Ajay, as you mentioned, your band focuses on covers of English music. Why an original Hindi track then?

AB: Everybody in the band that I founded loves artists like Def Leppard, Bryan Adams and Robbie Williams. I was surrounded by musicians who were West-oriented. But Random Order does Hindi versions too now. There's no point pigeonholing yourself to one type of music. It improves your range. I was always in the mood to sing in Hindi, and was very keen that if I did an original, it should be in my own language. It’s more effortless . Amit’s music has a Western touch along with Indian instruments. It's different. The Kai Po Che! (2013) tracks, ‘Sham’, ‘Pashmina’ — I love so many of them. It’s a great balance for me to be able to sing in Hindi, but I do it in a stylized way — the way Amit does it.

When did the idea of working together first come about?

AT: In 2023, while I was working on AT Azaad, (Ajay) sir approached me. He had a passion for singing and had a band which did covers, but he wanted to sing originals. I thought that was a great idea. I presented a few songs to him, of which he liked two or three. He has a guru he trains under so they both worked very hard on the songs that I had given them. And then he came to the studio and sang like a breeze. It was amazing, it surpassed my expectations. That’s when I thought it should be part of something bigger. I just called him and said that since we were doing his song parallelly with Azaad Collab, why don't we bring it all together?

AB: I didn't know what the journey of the song was going to be. I was just going to sing a song by Amit. And Amit is — I'm not saying this just to fan his wings — my favorite music composer. I thought that if he's doing something so big, so passionately and wants to add (me) to this repertoire, this collection featuring so many amazing artists, then so be it. After all, I'm a businessman. My 9 to 5, rather my 8 to 7 job is to run PVR. So to be associated with Amit’s Azaad Collab was a big kick. It was  very easy to say yes to him. I'm proud to be a part of this album.

Did you enjoy it?

AT: I really enjoyed the whole process of working with (Ajay) sir. He's such a big man but never made me feel it. He was so sweet and humble. And we are doing more songs together. There’s just a lovely energy he brings in.

AB: I had a wonderful experience working with Amit. I'm a very relationship-oriented person. In the company too, my CEO and CFO have been working with me for 20 years. There's an old dialogue: ‘Zindagi mein rishte daalte hai ya rishto mein zindagi?’ (Do you put relationships in life or life in relationships?) I put life in relationships, that’s my philosophy. I don't want a lot, but I try to put a lot of life into them.

What’s the story behind ‘Beparwah’? 

AB: The credit goes to Amit and (lyricist and playback singer) Swanand Kirkire because they already had the song in their library. I was just given an opportunity to have a look at it and it resonated with me. After COVID, I didn't want (to do)anything depressing. I wanted to sing something positive. I felt that in the song straightaway. 

AT: I don't remember which film the song was originally made for, but I had really enjoyed making it. It came together beautifully, Swanand sir and I loved it. So when this opportunity came, I played it to Ajay sir. Now, it seems like our song. I’ve forgotten the past, how, where it came from, why it was born. It's a part of this world. 

AB: Absolutely, it will always have a special place in my heart. 

AT: And the song itself is self-explanatory. ‘Beparwah’ — khul ke jiyo (Live your life to the fullest), just be happy. As sir mentioned, we wanted freedom post-pandemic. We have one life, so let’s really live it. 

Amit, ‘Freedom in Every Note’ is an interesting tag line for Azaad Collab, which is a very comprehensive album.

AT: There are limitations in the film industry. Directors, producers, labels, actors all telling you what to do and what not to do. There’s more freedom if you have your own label. But you have to be in the box to create something out of the box — that's the challenge of working in film. Here, there's freedom in every note and in terms of collaborations as well. I have freely worked with whoever I resonated with. I tried calling a few more too! If it works out, then I'll make season two.

They're fun, vibrant, happy, celebratory love songs. Everything that's on the brighter side of life. Nothing dark or depressing because I personally don't resonate with that and I don't want our audience to either. The textuality, tonality and mood of all 14 songs reflect that. The singers were selected depending on what the songs asked for. Because I’ve worked with so many artists, when I heard the melodies, I could hear the voice of the singer as well. For example, ‘Jind Jaaniya’ is a very emotional and beautiful love song and Shahid Mallya and Javed Ali were playing in my head when I heard it. For ‘Vallo Vallo’, it was Asees Kaur and Neeti Mohan’s voice. The song itself asks for the kind of voice, texture and personality it needs. Every artist has been special in their own way and brought something beautiful to the table. I had the best experience working with Ajay sir and it’s always a pleasure to work with Sunidhi (Chauhan).

What’s next for you both in the music space?

AT: Fortunately or unfortunately, a film called Azaad (2025) is releasing soon (laughs). It may be a little confusing because I'm part of both this album and the movie. I had planned this much earlier but they are both happening at the same time now so let's see what happens. After both the ‘Azaads’, I’m excited for Abir Gulaal (2025), a film starring Fawad Khan.

AB: I want to sing more originals. I've got two more coming up with Amit and I think we've decided to do two more after that. I'm quite happy with the way they are turning out.