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While growing up in the UK in the early ’90s, the Ral brothers — Kuldeep, Manjeet and Surjeet — religiously accompanied their father to the gurudwara. While their father sang, the sons would play the harmonium and the table. At the same time, the three young boys were also passionate about hip hop. These two aspects came together in 1997 when they formed RDB (Rhythm, Dhol, Bass), a club bhangra act, and belted out some fun Bollywood numbers such as Aaja mahi, Aloo chaat, Om mangalam and Singh is king with rapper Snoop Dogg.
Fifteen years and several hit songs later, RDB has been laid to rest. “Kuly (Kuldeep) paaji and I used to create the music, while Surj (Surjeet) used to handle the business aspect. When Kuly paaji passed away in 2012, I realised I didn’t get the kind of support I needed from Surj. I didn’t want to damage or degrade the band’s reputation so I decided that it’s better to put it to rest as a legacy and as my homage to Kuly paaji,” says Manjeet, who has now launched his solo label called Manj Music.
Supported by his wife and singer Nindy Kaur, Manjeet spent the last two years figuring out how to rebrand himself as a solo musician. “I am not a trained singer but I do sing. I like producing, so I am doing both at the same time for movies and production houses,” says Manjeet.
There is a palpable excitement in his voice, as he talks about his first solo number — Whistle baja from actor Tiger Shroff’s debut film Heropanti — that has become a crowd favourite now. “Nindy and my friend Raftaar are a part of this song too. It’s unbelievable how every single person who was a part of RDB is now behind Manj Music. While RDB will never be back, its shadow falls on my label and my music,” he says.
It’s this very shadow that has made it possible for Manjeet to thrive in Bollywood as a solo artiste. The industry has always embraced RDB for the upbeat tracks they created, and are now supporting Manjeet with his music label. “Nindy, Raftaar and I were in Mumbai when we got the brief of the song for Heropanti, and how it had to have something to do with Jackie Shroff’s Hero. We have made a hip, modern version of the Hero song for his son’s debut film. The response has been overwhelming,” says Manjeet. The famous flute part of the song in Hero has been replaced with whistles in Heropanti, and has the familiar RDB-like club bhangra sound.
Manjeet is now working on other Bollywood singles, apart from finishing Nindy’s album, which he will produce under his own label. “I am also working on my solo album but that will take some time. We will also be collaborating with rapper 50 cent on a song very soon,” says Manjeet, who might also work on a track with RedFoo of American hip hop act LMFAO. Apart from this, Nindy and Manjeet’s passion for clothes and shopping is resulting in the formation of a men’s fashion label called SOS (Swagged Out Sardars). “It will be online for now but eventually we will open stores,” he says, excitedly.
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