Malavika’s Mumbaistan: How To Make It In Mumbai

Season One of Jay Kila and Tarun Hansen’s recently released 11 episode web series ‘How To Make It in Mumbai ‘is a deliciously immersive exploration of the rap scenes in Mumbai and New York and what it’s like being caught in the cross hairs of cultural identity

It’s been described as ‘a must-watch series, for anyone intrigued by the fusion of global cultures in the music industry’ by Homegrown and ‘a compelling exploration of how cultural intersections shape the very essence of (the artist’s) music and artistic identity ‘by Rolling Stone Magazine and indeed, Season One of Jay Kila and Tarun Hansen’s recently released 11 episode web series ‘How To Make It in Mumbai ‘is a deliciously immersive exploration of the rap scenes in Mumbai and New York and what it’s like being caught in the cross hairs of cultural identity.

Malavika’s Mumbaistan: How To Make It In Mumbai

Following the journey of the half American, half Indian rapper, filmmaker and cultural provocateur Jay Kila, as he explores and tries to make it in Mumbai’s rap scene, Jay’s character and music become a mirror for exploring larger issues on cultural identity and what it means to inhabit the interconnected worlds of New York and Mumbai, cities often said to be ‘soul twins.’

With charm, insight and dollops of in-jokes and self-deprecating humour it navigates its way through the ever shifting and often bewildering ecosystem of an art form that had originated in the Bronx during the early 1970s and has become a world-wide multibillion dollar mainstream phenomena following Kila’s journey through encounters with shifty talent agents, dodgy music industry cowboys, double tongued Mumbai aunties, dubious NY hustlers and high strung models. And though the satire through the bite- sized 4 to 5 minute episodes often run close to the bone, Kila’s gaze is that of a besotted insider /outsider, his dead -pan, fall guy expression and cryptic responses, showing us what it’s really like to be young, talented and ambitious in Mumbai right now.

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India had its rap moment in 2019, when Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti turned their perceptive focus to the evolving rap scene in Mumbai with their film Gully Boy.

The film starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, was a coming-of-age story about an aspiring street rapper from the Dharavi slums who is inspired by local stars like Divine and Naezy.

Occupying the territory between speech, poetry, prose and singing, rap proved to be a natural fit in a cultural landscape which celebrates Punjabi bol, bhangra beats and ghazals and the success of Indian rap stars like Badshah and Yoyo Singh, has not only mirrored that of their international counterparts such as Jay Z and Eminem, but indicates that rap was ready to become a viable industry and career path on these shores too.

But ‘How To Make It’ paints a different scenario of what it’s really like for new artists, waiting in the wings. Beset with unprofessionalism, unreliability, an absence of work culture and a business model that does not seem viable, HTMIIM reveals a more honest and consequently more significant picture.

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It is apt that I’m meeting the thirty something Kila at the Soho house in Juhu to talk about his series. The private members’ club that originated in London in 1995, is known for being a sort of a hipster Paradise- the ultimate hang out for coffee- quaffing, creative types.

Many had been surprised when eschewing more obvious destinations like Hong Kong, BKK and Singapore, Soho House had opened its first Asian outpost in -hold your breath- amchi Mumbai a few years ago, indicating that it saw great potential in the young creative community in Mumbai, the financial capital of the world’s fastest growing economy with the youngest population in the world.

It’s a prophecy that’s been fulfilled; the place is buzzing with energy with what look like writers, music producers, actors and techies, schmoozing or hunched behind laptops creating what is most likely their next masterpiece that will garner 10,0000 likes instantly and get green lit for a hot new web series.

It’s au courant and hip but for some reason, reminds me of café Samovar in the 70’s , when the cultural hub had buzzed with new wave filmmakers, artists, ad executives, models , poets , journalists etc; the in-joke had been that the café’s railway compartment like interiors, with its tables crammed cheek by jowl was the ideal incubator for a brilliant idea or project, gathering momentum and developing quite organically, from Table One to Table Eleven, as the day proceeded, over cups of tea. Thus had been born many a path breaking film, an ad-campaign or a new magazine.

Soho House affords the city’s creative community the same opportunities to cross pollinate or as it’s called these days ‘network’ and its location in Juhu is apt. After all, even before Versova, Lokhandwala and Mira Road became the capital of the city’s OTT and TV universe, Juhu was home to a thriving intellectual/film/ music and alt subculture, with creative types living cheek by jowl in quaint beach- front cottages or newly built, mid-size apartment blocks that afforded them much opportunity for collaborating-or just ‘ hanging’.

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It is obvious that Kila has embraced all this with a passion. Living in a rented Juhu pad Soho house serves as his office, meeting place, hang out joint and gym, like it does many others of his ilk.

Hyper aware of the demand for street credibility that his art form requires, in a city where there are streets named after sundry uncles and grandparents, Kila wears his Ivy League, South Bombay, old money antecedents lightly, the perfect insider/outsider chronicling through his art a unique perspective, one that affords much fodder for thought and discussion.

His real life experiment of crossing cultural fault lines and embracing his fatherland, encountering many challenges, disappointments and unkept promises along the way appear not to have dimmed his spirit and he is as gung-ho about Mumbai as ever.

“It is the ‘City of Dreams” he tells me over a nimbu paani. “Of real opportunities. In comparison, he says New York where he grew up has peaked. “It’s outpriced itself, flat-lined, reaching the status quo. For instance, it takes almost one fifth of money to produce music here and the energy and enthusiasm is amazing”.

But of course there’s no getting away from its bugbears: “I wish people here were more professional. Wouldn’t waste so much time and mean what they say,” he adds. “Also, I wish Mumbai had better infrastructure, so there would be more opportunities to walk to places, enjoy street culture. If that happened- it would truly be a world class city.”

Kila’s faith in Mumbai does not seem off the mark.

Such has been the success of Soho House in Mumbai that the word on the street is that its stakeholders are looking at opening one more Mumbai establishment, this time across the city’s famous uptown -downtown, North -South divide, in Colaba.

The last time Mumbai felt this buzz of creativity and opportunity was when following economic liberalisation in the mid 90s, India had broken from its socialist past and Mumbai was witness to unprecedented growth opportunity and financial backing, spawning a never ending cycle of restaurant/ gallery/ hotel and store openings and a generation of beauty queens, dieticians, hair stylists, tattoo artists etiquette coaches, party animals andPage Three people during the boom..

What has attracted Kila and others like him is obviously the same kind of energy and buzz, as the city is witness to a profusion of art and lit festivals restaurant and club openings and opportunities for web producers, cultural impresarios, stand up artists, social media influencers and art curators like never before.

Happy days appear to be here again.

Or as Kila recently rapped:

“I’ve been running through Mumbai with my bros/ I got money on my mind and it shows”.