Bombay Vikings: Hit, Hip and Hinglish

1994: Three musicians, two Swedish and one of Indian origin meet to form a band. Their love and inspiration? Indian music. The trio? Neeraj Shridhar, Oscar Söderberg, and Mats Nordenborg. The name? Bombay Vikings.

Mats Folke and Johan Folke also joined, bringing their keyboard speciality. Morgan joins on the drum, Par on the bass, and Staffan on the lead guitars.

With a diverse musical palette, from pop-rock to jazz to soul to hip-hop, the Vikings get on to do "something creative". They begin singing English songs with an Indian influence. They tour the world.

Times change, members leave, but Shridhar retains the band name. And after a four-year-long wait...

1999: The year of Kya Soorat Hai. Labels and critics pan the Vikings' "remakes". But people love them! They've pioneered a new Indipop lingo as well: Hinglish.

 With digital-Western orchestration, Hinglish lyrics, and an overall "cool, urban" feel to their recreations, Bombay Vikings pave the way for Bollywood remakes in Indipop and later Bollywood. But their style is different. Clean lyrics, no eye-grabbing vulgarities, just Sridhar re-living his childhood and his mother's favourite music.

 2001: Doing a makeover of their "remix image", the Vikings come up with a 10-song album, with 4 remakes and 6 originals: Woh Chali, Woh Chali. And guess who likes the title remake? Lata Mangeshkar herself!

2002: Viking remakes galore again in Hawa Mein Udta Jaaye, fusing the classical with the contemporary. Neither the OGs nor the remakes have aged, from the jukebox to Tik-Tok.  

2003: Bombay Vikings get what every newbie music collector wants: a Greatest Hits album. Sridhar also forays into Bollywood playback, singing "Kabhi Phool Dena" of Rules: Pyar Ka Superhit Formula. 

 2004-06: From the goofy "Hum To Anything Karega" to the breezy "Chhod Do Aanchal", the Vikings recreate the '50s in their traditional style. Two years later, Sridhar and Celina Jaitley grace TV sets for "Zara Nazron Se Kehdo", titling their next and most recent album to date.

2011: Sridhar proposes to release a Vikings album U n I, but the Vikings end up taking a long break, and Neeraj chooses Bollywood for the time. 

When will they be back again? "2021", said Neeraj in a TOI interview. And no remakes this time. Sridhar feels guilty about introducing this "quick-buck" art to Hindi music. Another makeover, another hit, the audience awaits the Vikings again.

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