- 30 minutes ago
Malayalam hip-hop artists ARJN (Arjun Sunil) and KDS (Kiran Das) are among the familiar names in Kerala’s growing rap scene. The duo appeared on Day 2 of India Today South Conclave 2026 in Kochi for the session Artists, Money Verse Records.
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00:00Viral super hit. Welcome Arjuna and KD to the India Today Conclave. I think you've really
00:06put Keralam on the global map, the global spotlight as far as music is concerned. I'll
00:12begin with you. Did you expect that this would be such a big global super hit?
00:19First of all, hi guys. I'm super glad to be here in the first place. But to the question
00:26that you asked, I never thought, in the first place I never thought it would be this global.
00:31I knew the song was going to do well because my boys, my family members, they all loved
00:35it. So I know the song is going to do well for sure. But I never thought this would go
00:38like massive, crazy, global level type stuff. Never, never, never thought about it.
00:44The numbers kind of blow your mind when you hear about, you know, how much it's been streamed
00:49and then you made a second version and that became bigger.
00:53Yes, numbers do make me go crazy at times. I'm not going to lie. But the more crazy
00:58part is when you go outside India, you go perform Australia, UK, Georgia, places like
01:03that. And then you see everybody in the arena or like a place sing word for word from the
01:09start to the end. That's what makes me more happy. And that gets me more surprised as well
01:14because they are Malu's, but they're not really Malu's. They're like born and brought up in
01:19different countries, but then they're united by one song and then they know every single word by
01:26heart. So Keri, do you want to come in on that? What was the one moment you realized this is
01:30huge.
01:31This is massive. Everything like it's been one year, like we came to India and it's, it's been crazy.
01:37You still kind of pinch yourself? For real, for real, yes. I think all of us want to know, we
01:45didn't realize that Akshet and I would be twinning today. So we were just wondering, would we do, do we
01:50seem like Kalyanis to you?
01:51Do we qualify? Yeah, qualify for Kalyani. Why not? Why not? Everyone, anyone can be Kalyani. That's the main thing,
01:57right?
01:57What's the, what's the qualification? Just love yourself. That's pretty much it. Remove this, I'll keep Kalyani here instead.
02:05So I think all of us want to know who was the inspiration for this song, Kalyani. Because, you know,
02:11when you, every artist, when they write a song, there is somebody in mind, especially if a man is writing
02:16about the beauty of a woman and what they want the woman to do.
02:19So I want to know who is a Kalyani and don't give me a diplomatic answer here.
02:23No, I'm answering it honestly. So this first place, the song was like written by 54. One more guy who's
02:29on the song, but he's not here. That's the guy who started the song. He had that song for almost
02:33like two, three years with him.
02:35And then we wanted to like have a new artist in our label. And then they're from the same hometown
02:40as well. They grew up together basically.
02:42And then he had an idea and then he got to me and then we started working on it. And
02:47then it's, we just finished what we start, why he started off. That's pretty much it.
02:52And then if you ask me why, who is Kalyani or like what made me write Kalyani? Nothing to be
02:58honest. I just, I just love making songs.
03:01And then I just wanted to do something for the girls.
03:05So Katie, tell me one thing. I'm guessing you guys are young and you must be wanted.
03:10So your girlfriends, are they saying, when are you going to write a song about me, which is going to
03:14go as viral as Kalyani is?
03:16Like, when am I getting my own version of Kalyani?
03:19You should ask 54 and so ask Martin for that.
03:23Yeah, they're the right ones to answer that question to be honest.
03:26It's easier at this point is to, I think, find someone called Kalyani because then you've already got that ticked,
03:31right?
03:31That would be the easier way to go about this.
03:34Take us through your journey though. I mean, you mentioned two to three years to make this song.
03:37So did you keep it in the chef thinking, you know, that's not the best thing we can come up
03:41with.
03:41What was it? Why did it take you so long?
03:43So he had a song for a long while and then he got to us and then we finished the
03:47song and then we kept it aside for a year.
03:50Why?
03:50Because we were on some different journey at that point because we had two other songs because Nara was our
03:5721st song and then that blew up and then we dropped another song.
04:01So we were on some different kind of path, to be honest.
04:05And then what made us drop that song is like our friends, they got married and then they played that
04:12song, Anru Di's song, on their wedding day and then they liked it.
04:15And then those guys pressured him to drop the song and then we thought, why not?
04:21Just drop the song and see what's going to happen and then everything changed.
04:26So how did you guys get into rap music?
04:29I mean, it's not like what you think of the first time when you think of music from Kerala.
04:34So how did you guys start rapping and what was the initial reaction to doing rap in Malayalam?
04:41I think the full story is like long.
04:44I don't think, you know, we have enough time.
04:47But it was all in Canada.
04:50So we went to Canada, not together, but we met there and it's like five, six year story.
04:58So we just popped like last year, Nara and Seri and Kalyani, but we made like 23 songs before that.
05:06So Nara is like 21st song.
05:08Yeah.
05:08So five years.
05:11What made, so Western music, I think Drake and 50 Cent and the business side of it.
05:19And also the lifestyle.
05:22You like the lifestyle.
05:23What do you like about the rap world?
05:26What do I like about it?
05:28What do I not like about it in the first place?
05:30It's fun.
05:30I can be myself.
05:32I'm doing what I love to do.
05:34I'm getting paid well.
05:36And then I get to go to places that no one has ever been in, been to.
05:41So that's the fun thing.
05:43In Australia, we sang Kalyani for like six times straight.
05:48So two times we sang it and four times the crowd sang it.
05:53Wow.
05:54But what is it?
05:54You know, there is a rare Malayali talent that seems to be coming out now.
06:00I'm thinking you guys, Hanuman, kind of the world seems to be discovering it.
06:05What is it?
06:06Is there, you know, that, you know, early on you're kind of exposed to this energy.
06:10Early on you're exposed to these resources that makes you all so talented?
06:15I feel like it's because we are staying rooted to our region, to be honest.
06:21And then when we do something that's too rooted, and then when outside people sees it, they see a freshness
06:27in it.
06:27So they tend to like it.
06:28Instead of having the same thing doing over and over, we sort of brought something new that they never have
06:34seen before.
06:35Same like Kalyani and all that kind of stuff.
06:38Yeah, I think we should know because you said that Kalyani was not the first song that you created.
06:43You've created 21 songs.
06:44Should we hear Sheria?
06:46Since I think people just know about Kalyani.
06:48People back there, do you want to hear Sheria?
06:50Yeah?
06:51Why not, right?
06:52Go with another performance.
06:53Sure.
06:54You guys can sit there, no problem.
06:55Oh my God.
07:00Can we cue Sheria?
07:02Let's go.
07:03Sit and sing.
07:04Let's go.
07:06Sit and sing.
07:08Come.
07:08Come.
07:33Stop.
07:33Stop.
07:33Stop.
07:33Stop.
07:34Stop.
07:35a
07:43Rp
07:44Rp
08:10It's super hard to sing without an in-ears, but...
08:14You're doing a great job. You guys are really killing it.
08:17But you know, Arjun, you studied physiotherapy?
08:21Kinesiology, to be specific. It's more like kinetic movement of the whole human body, that kind of stuff.
08:26Essentially nothing to do with this, right? No, no, no, no, nothing.
08:29KD, I think you studied business. What made both of you come together and better on music? It's a risk.
08:35Was it a calculated one?
08:38Yeah, because we knew, because like, when you do something that you love the most, right,
08:42we just, you just don't really think about what's going to happen at the end.
08:46You're just super focused on the journey that you're in.
08:48Basically you just have to like, cut off the end goal and then just keep doing what you're doing.
08:53I never thought, or like even have a slight thing in my brain that it's not going to work.
08:58I never had that kind of moment ever in my life.
09:00It's always like, I'm going to make it one day or another.
09:02If first song didn't work, second song. If not, third song. And then it all came up to the 21st
09:08song and then...
09:09And we waited for like five years, so...
09:11Yeah, so yeah. It's all about like, what you think and then why you manifest.
09:16Basically it's all about manifesting, right? You manifest what you want and then you just keep chasing it.
09:20So did you manifest that Shreya Ghoshal would collaborate with you and the life would get a, the song would
09:25get a whole new lease of life?
09:27To be honest, I didn't manifest that, but that's like a little bonus that you get when you're super focused.
09:34God just gives you gifts once in a lifetime here and there, right? And I just see it as this.
09:42And the music video for that. I mean, it's also like the swag, right? Like when you created the first
09:47video, I love the first video by the way, because you know, you see Kerala, the coconut trees, you guys
09:51in your window.
09:52It's cute. But then when this new version comes, it, it's like, it's like you're watching a proper American sort
09:59of like well choreographed.
10:01There's a lovely girl in it. You guys are being spooned over. How was that like?
10:06That was great, right? You liked it. To be honest, you liked it, right? So yeah.
10:10And then all props to the guy called Ben. He's the director who did the whole music video.
10:14And then when it comes to Shreya Ghoshal, Yas, the guy from UMG, that's the guy who brought the whole
10:20idea of bringing Shreya Ghoshal in it.
10:21And then it's like different people working together for the same goal. And that's how it is.
10:26And then I liked the video. You guys loved the video. Everybody liked the video. That's why the whole song
10:30is trending right now.
10:31It's still trending. And then I liked the whole process about it.
10:35And then it's fun.
10:36You know, you mentioned how you try to ensure, and we've seen that in your music as well, that you
10:41keep kind of the Malayalam roots, Malayalam identity alive.
10:45Is that a conscious decision you've made? And I'd love to know what is the global reaction to that?
10:50You know, when you sing in Malayalam or when you maybe turn up in a Mundo, how do they react?
10:55First they'd be like, what is this guy doing? And then they'd be like, Oh, I want to know why
11:00he's wearing that? Why is he talking that way?
11:02And then that's why you asked a question like a couple minutes ago, why people are like people from down
11:09south is getting popular nowadays.
11:10It's because people are looking at us different now. We are not any more aliens.
11:15Like way back people used to like look at us and be like, Oh, there are some aliens came out
11:20of nowhere.
11:21But now they're like taking time to enjoy what we do, trying to give a minute to see is it
11:28worth it.
11:28And then once they're in it, then they're hooked for life.
11:32Have you seen any reactions like that, Katie, that, you know, when you take your culture, your tradition, people are
11:39extremely accepting?
11:40Have you ever felt, you know, that they kind of, they haven't seen this side before.
11:44And so they're not as accepting or you found them to be incredibly accommodative and, you know, open to their
11:50experience?
11:53I think Arjun's the perfect way to answer that. Come on.
11:57Especially the way the song went viral on Instagram, right? People started making reels on it.
12:04What's the best one that you've seen that made you go like, yeah, this is what I wanted the song
12:08to become, you know?
12:10I like the part where it's like more than a milli reels on Instagram.
12:15So it's like, it's wild. And a Punjabi guy from Bangalore, he came to me, he hugged me and he
12:22told me that's the first Malayalam song he listened.
12:25And I think, I think top, top three best song. He, he told me that Punjabi guy. So I'm grateful.
12:31That's, that's when you know that you've taken the song and across the borders.
12:35I'm just wondering, we, you know, obviously this is Malayalam independent music.
12:39What was the kind of music that you guys grew up listening to? Would you listen to Malayalam, Yeshudash and
12:44I don't know, SPB?
12:45What was the kind of music you grew up?
12:47Back when I was young, I used to listen to Dude Drops. I don't know if you guys know, it's
12:50a TV show in, I don't know what channel that was.
12:53And then we started, I started watching VH1. That's how I started listening to Drake.
12:58And then that was a real influence. I've been listening to his music all day, every day, going to work,
13:04coming back from work, going to school, Drake was everything.
13:07Where did the influence of Malayalam music come from then?
13:10We grew up in Kerala. I went to Canada when I was 21, and he was 18. So, Malayalam old
13:17movies, like, we used, we listened to everything. Like, literally, 24-7, we listened to every genre. Like, yeah, so...
13:25They're proper Maldus, just letting you know. I'm born and raised in Trishul, till I was 18. And then I
13:31moved to Canada. And that's when I got the whole Western influence.
13:33And what about you, Kiri? I was here, like, I went to Canada at 21. Yeah, so...
13:41So, proper Maldus boys. Proper, yeah. Proper Maldus boys, yes.
13:44Any plans of, like, I think as soon as you achieve virality and fame, people want you to, you know,
13:50compose for films? Do you foresee yourself doing music for cinema?
13:54Or, I don't know, like, you know, we saw this incredible film, Awe Shum, which had a great track, right?
13:59So, do you see yourself doing that?
14:03Um, playback singing, I would say no. I'm not into that kind of side of the whole music.
14:09But I would love to, like, deliver, like, 10-song album for a movie, just like how people in Western
14:14movies do.
14:15You know, when, like, a Black Panther type of movie releases, right? They have, like, a 10, 12-song album
14:20with it.
14:21And then they incorporate those songs in the movie, right? So, I would love to do something, like, on that
14:26side, instead of just playback.
14:28Yeah, we're just waiting for the perfect project. So...
14:31So, you're keeping all your options open. There is pressure, though, after a Kalyani where it's achieved this massive global
14:39success.
14:40I'm sure you're feeling the heat that, oh my god, now we have to kind of live up to the
14:44Kalyani fame.
14:45I mean, if we had pressure, then we would have dropped a song just like Kalyani, right? But then we
14:49ended up dropping a song called No Kanda for the boys.
14:52And then Chilera Flatsa as well. And then, like you said, there is not much pressure about it.
14:58Like I said, if you don't really think about the end goal, everything is calm.
15:01If you think about the end goal, how you want this to be, how that one into work in a
15:05certain way.
15:06If you just disconnect all that end goal and just work on your song, craft, enjoy the journey, no pressure,
15:13nothing.
15:13You just go to sleep peacefully, nothing.
15:15No, the reason I ask that is because now that there's a certain image attached that, okay, they come up
15:20with these rap songs
15:21that has a strong Malayali flavor that's got Malayalam in it.
15:25Do you feel that, okay, now we have to deliver on that front?
15:28How do you ensure you don't get boxed into that, you know?
15:30How do you continue to experiment? Because inevitably it will play in your mind that this is done well.
15:34So I think you can't just sit and make hit songs. You can't do that.
15:39So you have to, I don't know, it just comes to us flawlessly now.
15:44Like we make songs, we have like enough for like two, three years.
15:47Yeah, so we just drop whatever me and our team likes.
15:52So we just listen to it like more than a hundred times.
15:55And if you're not bored, we'll drop it, so.
15:58Like I said, Kalyani, we had Kalyani for three years.
16:02So that's an old song. And then we keep on making songs.
16:06Even yesterday we made a song and then we always keep on making songs.
16:09And it's all different. It's not just another Kalyani.
16:11We have like, I think five more Kalyanis sitting in a hard drive.
16:16But we dropped Chilera Flex and Norkanda. So Chilera Flex and Norkanda is good for the stage.
16:23So we like performing Chilera more than, you know, Kalyani.
16:27Is Kalyani your personal favorite or you'd actually think that some of your other songs, you'd rate them higher?
16:33Yeah. I love Norkanda. I love Chilera Flex.
16:37Like he said, because when you go overseas, when you perform songs, right, you get reception, good reception for Kalyani.
16:43But then when it comes to Chilera Flex, they go crazy. They are raised to the song. And that's what
16:47we love as well.
16:48When you go up on a stage and you see a fan or like a guy who loves us, go
16:52crazy, yam, sweating, screaming from top of the lungs.
16:57That's what we love. And then Chilera does it. And then, yeah.
17:02Time's all messed up. I'm just going to ask you one last question. You know, rap has a certain perception,
17:07right?
17:07It originated from the streets, from, you know, the gangs. And I'm just wondering, in a state like Kerala, what
17:13is the initial perception of people like when you say you're rappers?
17:16Do they see you like, aren't either the guys from the wrong side of the tracks? I don't know whether,
17:21you know.
17:22I'm a correct one thing. I'm not just a rapper. I can sing to. So that, and then I'm going
17:27to answer the question.
17:29Yeah, people see you in a different way until you really make it. Once you make it, there is no
17:34more questions.
17:35Everything you do is wonderful, super nice. They applause you. They even come to take you, like take photos.
17:40They want to know everything. But before that, no one really cares what you do, right?
17:43And then like you said, when it comes to the Western side, rap in general, they talk about the struggles
17:48and all that kind of stuff.
17:50And then in the Western side, it's different from where we're from, right?
17:54We have like, they have like more gang stuff, street affiliated kind of stuff and the struggles.
17:59So all they can do is talk about that kind of stuff. But when it comes to me, I talk
18:03about my own goals, the things I manifest, the things I want to be, things I want to do, where
18:08I want to be and all that kind of stuff.
18:10The kind of girl you want. Just like in Kalyani. See, so that's, that's a whole different thing. And then
18:17people tend to put you in a, in a certain way. Once you say, Oh, I make music. Oh, you
18:23do music.
18:26Like, as in like, you don't have any other job. Like people ask that. But then, yeah, Katie, Katie, you
18:31want to add something?
18:32Don't really care.
18:34Yeah, that's the same stuff. So I let him talk.
18:36I think it's great. I think it's great that you're following your passion. You've been successful at it.