The Band Wagon

“In the film,Chandni Chowk of 1965 had to be recreated in Mandawa and Patiala for the older generation love story. And to lend authenticity to the shoot,they needed to have an old band that was present during that era,” says Thadani. “Imtiaz didn’t approach me directly. One of the unit members came to our office and saw the old photographs of our band and explained the concept of the film to us. Then they signed us on.”

“For the 1965 bit in the film,we made use of bagpipes and jhankaar,while the newer era has instruments like the clarinet,trumpet and side drums,” says Thadani. He got in touch with members who had been a part of the band in the 1960s to play for the song. “A few of the older members’ children play for our band now. It was easy to track the older band members,” he adds.

Although Jea Band has played popular tunes at innumerable weddings in the Capital,their most famous assignment was the Abhishek Bachchan-Aishwarya Rai wedding in 2007 in Mumbai. “It brought us into the limelight,” says Thadani,adding that they had earlier played a part in Monsoon Wedding. “We weren’t really well-known in Bollywood then. But with Love Aaj Kal,we hope to make a permanent entry into Bollywood,” says Thadani,who has already signed Arindam Chaudhari’s Do Duni Chaar. “We are hoping that LAK does well at the box office as it will bring more work for us,” he smiles.