Is Singer Raghav Chaitanya Following in KK's Footsteps?

Raghav Chaitanya grew up in Meerut worshipping AC/DC, Metallica and Kurt Cobain. He has also been a fan of KK’s Bollywood numbers. It’s easy to see the connection. KK was almost like a rock vocalist to Chaitanya, free of the ornamental flourishes typical of traditional playback singing. “I’ve always thought that singing straight is the most difficult thing to do,” Chaitanya says over a Zoom call. He’s effusive about the influence of his idol on his craft. “If you hear me, you’ll find a lot of places where I’m almost, like, trying to copy him. My vocal throw, my vibrato,” he says.

It’s not surprising, then, that music composer Pritam thought of Chaitanya when he needed someone to fill in the late, great singer’s shoes. The track “Dil Ka Kya” from Metro…In Dino (2025) is the “Alvida” equivalent of the album, reminiscent in spirit and content of the heartbreak ballad from its 2007 predecessor Life… in a Metro. It’s the one song from the album that screams “KK”, with its stormy choruses that demand belting of the sublime kind.

Chaitanya steps into KK’s zone not by imitation, but by fully owning the moment. To begin with, he doesn’t sound like KK; and there’s something infectious about his raspy yet melodic vocals. There’s both abandon and control, as is power and clean singing. He’s particularly impressive in the way he hits the high notes, bringing “Dil Ka Kya” to a scintillating, satisfying climax. Momentarily, he even makes you forget KK.

The Metro In Dino album serves as a compelling showcase for Chaitanya’s vocal range and emotional depth. For instance, his rendition of “Das Haasil Sau Baaki”, a dreamy, quasi-philosophical Barfi-coded number, brings out the sweetness in his voice. He also lends his voice to “Mann Yeh Mera” and “Hote Tak”, both of which further showcase his ability to handle varying moods and styles.

Chaitanya received a Filmfare Award for his Hindi film debut (“Ek Tukda Dhoop” from Thappad) in 2019, but it was last year’s “Hua Main” from Animal — also composed by Pritam — that gave him his breakout moment. It’s a dynamic vocal performance, impassioned and vulnerable, zigzagging the power ballad in unexpected directions.

Some of Chaitanya’s recorded songs can feel slightly overproduced — a contrast that becomes clear after hearing him live. At the music launch of Metro… In Dino, he stole the show with performances that matched, if not surpassed, the studio versions. His unplugged renditions on Instagram, often just him and a guitar, are further proof — intimate, unfiltered, and a sheer joy to watch.

Chaitanya caught the attention of composers with his YouTube covers of Hindi film songs he churned out consistently around 2015-16. The covers served both as a showreel and a way to procure live shows at weddings and corporate events. “When your covers start getting good traction, you can do decently good shows. So, it’s like, your survival is sorted in Mumbai,” he says. Chaitanya feels that on some level, today it is comparatively easier to put your music out there. “If you’re a good singer, you just put up your cover on Instagram. Somebody will spot you,” he says.

This wasn’t the case back in the day, when an aspiring singer would have to do the rounds of recording studios with a CD in hand. Chaitanya’s father wanted to be a singer. Before he got married, he even came to Mumbai to pursue a career in playback singing. But he eventually gave up his dreams to become an advocate. “If my father had resources like YouTube, he would’ve easily become a singer,” says the 31-year-old.

Chaitanya grew up hearing Kishore Kumar and qawwalis at home — music his father often played — but his own leanings were always towards Western music. “When I started hearing all these bands, I got fascinated with singing,” he says. During adolescence, as his voice went through what he jokingly calls a “braying donkey” phase, Chaitanya stayed away from singing and stuck to playing guitar in his school band. It was in college that he started singing again. “I would get a lot of appreciation. People would tell me I should try [auditioning for] Indian Idol. I said I’ll go to Mumbai directly instead,” he says.

In Metro… In Dino, Chaitanya appears as part of Pritam’s band of merry men in black — a musical ensemble that presides over the film’s emotional turns like a modern-day Greek chorus. It’s a rare occurrence in a Bollywood film, even more so at a time when Hindi film songs are barely memorable anymore. Chaitanya remembers calling up Pritam a day before the shoot and confessing what a big deal it was for him. “I used to be a kid from Meerut vibing to ‘Alvida’ and now some 20 years later, I’m featuring in the sequel.”

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