A year after Saar Punch, aka Saransh Batra, released his album Oopar Neeche, he now treats his audience with a music video for his spirited track 'Maykhana'. Being an emotionally driven song, Saar Punch wanted to give his listeners a holistic auditory and visual experience that would allow them to fully surrender to the feeling behind the song, which speaks of the toils, longings, and frustrations of a long-distance relationship. To this end, he co-directed and shot the music video with Shreyas Mamgain. Even as his creative process remains orderless, the final product is far from so. His storytelling goes beyond the usual as he painstakingly ensures every detail of his video beautifully captures his vision.
In conversation with Saar Punch, he takes us through the journey that led him to give his album Oopar Neeche closure.
You released 'Maykhana' over a year ago as part of your album 'Oopar Neeche'. Why choose this song specifically for a music video a year later?
I feel with ‘Maykhana’, I had more to express. What I wanted to convey wasn’t entirely happening through the audio, which is why I had to travel an extra mile to shoot the video. I wanted to give closure to my album Oopar Neeche through this music video. It’s a goodbye to my album, and welcoming of new music. The entire idea of ‘Maykhana’ was very visual-driven. Even in the sonnets that I’ve used in the song, there are a lot of underwater sounds and transitions, so I think that song had to be delivered visually. I wanted to work on this first before diving into new music.
What was your vision for the song and the music video of ‘Maykhana’? Did one come from the other, or was it an organic transition?
It’s a little bit of both. I wanted the song ‘Maykhana’ to be out on the EP because I was in love with someone back then. There is no other ‘romantic’ song in the EP. I was feeling those emotions heavily at that time, and I felt that ‘Maykhana’ had to be made. Visually, the concept of ‘Maykhana’ is about waking up to a person that you are absolutely in love with and absolutely adore. Often there are circumstances, like a long-distance relationship, where you can’t do that, and there are moments when you want nothing else than to be teleported to your partner. The whole concept of ‘Maykhana’ is inspired by these moments, where you’d do anything to be with your person.
Since I was directing the music video, I wanted to show that idea as loudly and as beautifully as possible. I chose water as the medium with which you’re able to teleport to your partner. The moment of being transported to your partner within seconds and seeing their face is the driving force of ‘Maykhana’.
I’ve shown a long-distance relationship between my girlfriend and me in the video to capture some of the frustrations of the situation — you’ve got the love, desire, and compatibility, but the only factor separating the two of you is the distance. And it’s annoying since it’s not in your control. I decided to show that in this particular long-distance relationship, the couple accidentally discovers they can teleport to each other through water. It’s a fantasy world that they’ve been able to create, and for those 3 minutes or so, everything is just beautiful, and they’re free to do what they want. I wanted to show pure ecstasy in the music video. It’s a feeling of ‘this is what you wanted, and you’ve got it now.’
What was your creative process for the 'Maykhana' music video?
I don’t think I have a defined process. With music, I just like to surrender. Be it on a beat or the concept of a music video, I just like to give into it entirely first because that gives you a lot of ideas to play with. I have experience with directing and shooting, and the best part about music videos is you can be as abstract as you want. There is no proper script you have to follow.
I let my imagination run wild and colourful because then you have a playground. Post that, you start to cut down factors that are not possible in the given circumstances or budgets — those constraints come later. My process has been just to play first, be there, and let my mind draw on an empty canvas.
What's in store for you next?
There is a little Easter egg that I’ve dropped in the ‘Maykhana’ video — it’s my next track called ‘Sabar Rakh’. There are a couple more tracks in the works that I’ll probably drop an Easter egg off in the video of ‘Sabar Rakh’!
Words Devyani Verma
Date 14.12.2023