Filmmaker-Writer Rishabh Anupam Sahay’s Years-Long Musical Journey Finds Its debut Release in ‘Dil Udta Phire’
For nearly two decades, Rishabh Anupam Sahay has worked across cinema, writing and the visual arts, pursuing stories that move fluidly between image, word and sound. A long-time poet, instrumentalist and composer, Sahay now opens his private musical world to listeners with Dil Udta Phire, a song written and composed by him, and sung by Raghav Kaushik.
Delicate and uplifting, ‘Dil Udta Phire’ is a lyrical meditation on desire, restlessness and the quiet rebellion of the heart. Written during the lockdown, the song captures the tension between feeling confined by circumstance and choosing to surrender to hope, imagination and possibility. Its origins are quietly woven into the lyric ‘Band botalon mein hain djinn se’. What began as a deeply personal reflection has evolved into a song that speaks to anyone who has ever longed to break free and venture beyond the walls around them.
Produced by Nakul Chuggh and mastered by Prasad Maha, the song carries Sahay’s signature cinematic sensibility while remaining intimate in scale, allowing silence and melody to share equal space.
Speaking about the song, Rishabh Anupam Sahay shares, “I’ve always believed every story has a rhythm of its own. Some become films, some begin as screenplays or poems, while a few are nourished until they find their beat as songs. Dil Udta Phire is about longing but for a liberated version of ourselves. The heart has a curious habit of wandering, even when the body is confined to a cubicle, a laptop screen, or the slow procession of traffic and the daily humdrum of life. Raghav’s voice brings an effortless warmth and freshness. If, for a few moments, Dil Udta Phire reminds someone the feeling of dreaming a little more recklessly, to love deeply, or simply to feel a little lighter, then this story has found its home.”
Raghav Kaushik adds, “When Rishabh first shared the song with me, I immediately connected with the honesty of his writing and melody. The song has a rare simplicity – it feels light and free, but carries a quiet longing within it. As a singer, my instinct was to stay true to that feeling and let the song breathe. I hope listeners feel the same warmth that we felt while creating it.”
A filmmaker, writer and composer, Rishabh Anupam Sahay’s work has traversed long-form fiction, independent cinema and narrative-led visual storytelling. His acclaimed Sony LIV series Salt City, international recognition at the Prix de la Photographie Paris (PX3), and collaborations with leading cultural and commercial brands reflect a practice built on a deep instinct for human stories.
Dil Udta Phire marks the beginning of a new artistic chapter for Rishabh, where cinema, poetry and music come together. The single opens the door to a larger artist universe, with more original music to follow.
Listen to Dil Udta Phire by Rishabh here – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_ldgs8f1s-UAHvwswwn7HXqPldLUEOfGNQ
