upGrad & Big Bang Music tie up to launch an anthem to encourage Young India to be productive during lockdown

In the time of the panic, paranoia and uncertainty, where our lives are challenged, upGrad, India’s leading online higher education company, and Big Bang Music, the new age pop culture label driven towards creating unique musical expressions and experiences, have come together to create what can aptly be called the upskill anthem of the nation. #AageKiSoch encourages the youth to spend this time at home productively and engage in activities that will upskill their existing knowledge base to prepare for the new world post the COVID-19.

Written by Akshay Dhawan and composed by Shashwat Singh, this never-seen-before collaboration also witnesses leading singing star Jonita Gandhi, rapping for the first time. The music video consists of an ensemble star cast that includes Radhika Apte, Vikrant Massey, Naveen Polishetty, Anto Philip, Fatima Sana Sheikh, Shantanu Maheshwari, Rohit Raj, Aparshakti Khurana, Karan Tacker, Abish Mathew, Akansha Ranjan, Elnaaz Norouzi, and ‘Jordindian’ - Naser and Vineeth.

Conceptualized by the higher education company upGrad to drive the productive habit of learning from home during quarantine and produced by Big Bang Music & KWAN, the partners have joined forces to bring together this eclectic mix of pop culture icons across Film, Music, Corporate, TV & Comedy for the upskill anthem. The 3 video renditions for the same song have been conceptualized, written, shot and edited in all of 72 hours, being directed remotely on video calls.

Gaurav Wadhwa, CEO & Co-Founder, Big Bang Music, said, “These are unprecedented times and while it’s important to keep the spirit alive, it’s more important to gear up for the world to come because we all know there is light at the end of this tunnel. World over, life will now be viewed as before and after the virus - BC and AC will have a new meaning in ‘Before COVID’ and ‘After COVID’ and we need to prepare for that! At Big Bang, we truly believe that music unites like no other and no better time than now to encourage people to use this ‘forced’ time at hand meaningfully.”

Dhruv Chitgopekar, Founding Partner and COO, Kwan, stated, “Influencers are an integral part of any campaign, and more so today as they become custodians for keeping the morale high and mindset positive during the pandemic. We have carefully put together renowned and diverse names to be able to reach out to a large cross-section of people and encourage them to be productive while locked down in their homes. It’s been an amazing collaboration where an edtech major has chosen music as their preferred route of disruptive communication.”

Mayank Kumar, Co-Founder and MD, upGrad, added, “While everyone is adapting to the new normal, it’s time, we to be cautiously optimistic and look at the silver lining of the pandemic. With this upskill anthem, we want to encourage people to stay home and use the time meaningfully to enhance their skill set which otherwise would have parked in their to-do list. Preparedness for the coming economical storm is essential so that the youth and the working professionals can smoothly bounce back to their careers or make a new transition once we resume to our regular lives.”