Kurla's Naezy, on whose life Ranveer Singh's next film is based, debuts as composer in Aditya Chopra's 'Bank Chor'
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; April 7, 2017)

The inspiration behind Ranveer Singh's next film, 'Gully Boy', seems to have caught the fancy of the actor's mentor. Rapper Naved Shaikh, better known as Naezy, will make his Bollywood debut with Yash Raj Films' new film, Riteish Deshmukh-starrer 'Bank Chor'.

Known for his unique 'gully' style, he burst on to the indie music scene in 2014 with a DIY music video of his song Aafat that went viral and catapulted him into public consciousness as a voice to watch out for.

For the film song now, Naezy has dropped his distinctive rhymes in a first-of-its-kind epic rap battle, titled BC Rap Knockout: Mumbai vs Delhi, composed by Shameer Tandon and written by Varun Likhate. He will be joined by a young rap artiste from Delhi for the song-off, and also feature in its music video with Riteish and actress Rhea Chakraborty.

Excited about introducing Mumbaiyya rap in mainstream Bollywood, the 23-year-old says, "I am super stoked. They were looking for someone fresh, and when it's about representing the city, who else could do it better than a gully rapper? I am honored to be involved in the music video as well. I am looking forward to what will be my first appearance as a Bollywood rapper."

Composer Tandon says they have tried to pull off a hatke number: "A rap battle has never been done before in Bollywood, so it only made sense to get Mumbai's gully boy Naezy to do it. Usne dhoom macha di hai."

The track will be launched by May-end along with a promotional music video in the run-up to the film's release on June 16.

Producer Aashish Patil adds, "Bollywood has heard and loved Punjabi hip-hop in the recent past, but they are yet to be introduced to Mumbai's gully style. Naezy's rhymes have brought a street swag to our song."