No place for Western musicians of Indian origin?

Few people in Bengaluru have not heard or at least heard of Best Kept Secret — such is the popularity of the English pop rock band headlined by Behram Siganporia. Be it covers of songs by Coldplay and U2, or their own compositions, they have their own set of dedicated followers and that keeps building with every performance. The latest, we hear, is that frontman Behram is taking Hindi lessons to brush up his singing skills in that language.
Speaking to us, he says, “Yes, that’s true. I’ve been taking Hindi classes so that I can branch out into Hindi music. I’ve been receiving quite a few offers to sing in the language, but since I’m not fluent in it, I’ve been hesitant to take it up. But it’s been going good so far, and this Valentine’s Day, we plan to release our first-ever Hindi song, which will be an experimental cover of a popular track. We plan to release a lot more Hindi covers after that, adding a lot of our vibe and giving them our own twist. We’re also in talks for a big project in Hindi later this year, but that’s still in the discussion stages, so I don’t want to jinx it. Once it’s confirmed, we can share more information on it.”
So, who’s ‘we’? Is it just him that’s branching out into Hindi or is it his band Best Kept Secret (BKS) doing so as well? “The Hindi covers are obviously going to be created by all of us from BKS, not just me. We’ve come this far as one, so that’s how we’ll be taking the next steps. The only difference is that we will not take the band’s name for these productions, and instead have a separate identity that will produce these tracks. Essentially, it’s the same guys making different kind of music under a different name. But that doesn’t mean BKS will take a backseat. English music is our first love, so we will focus on that. But it’s not easy being a successful western band here, so we want to explore more options,” says Behram.
Judging from what the singer says, it looks like the struggle of being a western band in our country is real. But is it really the case? “Oh yes, definitely,” says Behram, adding, “We feel the struggles of being an English pop rock band on a daily basis. Constantly being asked to play Bollywood or regional songs at almost every gig gets tiring after a point. But that doesn’t deter us from continuing to play western music, because that’s what has given us an identity. It’s just that we have to be smart about things going forward. Delving into Hindi, and even Kannada music, will definitely increase our audience base and will make us more versatile as musicians. Unfortunately, none of us are fluent in those languages yet, so when we start creating our own tracks, we plan to enlist young, talented lyricists to add freshness to our tracks.”
So, what can the audience expect to hear from the band? “Think BKS vibe, but in regional languages. I’ve also been brushing up on Kannada and will be giving it my full attention once I’ve mastered Hindi. So, you might definitely want to keep an ear out for us,” signs off Behram, confidently.