Singer and actor Piyush Mishra gears up for his multi-city music tour

Piyush Mishra at a performance
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

It began with a love for theatre, when Piyush Mishra was in school in Gwalior. “I thought this was the best profession to be in, as people clapped for you, and laughed or cried whenever you wanted them to,” he recalls. Over the years, he entered other fields like films, singing, composing and lyric-writing. 

Piyush’s latest project involves a 15-city tour of his band Ballimaaraan in a series titled UdanKhatola. Beginning on November 9, it will continue till early March 2025, covering Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Indore, Bhopal, Pune, Thane, Raipur, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Gurugram, Chandigarh, Lucknow and Kanpur. The series has been produced by Tamboo and Thinking Hats, and besides a few more Indian cities, there are plans to visit three countries next year. 

“While I am writing a couple of new songs and releasing an album, the tour will feature all my popular songs such as ‘Aarambh’, ‘Husna’, ‘Ghar’ and ‘Ik Bagal’, among others. There will be a mix of retro and modern influences. One of our objectives is to promote the richness of our literature,” says Piyush. 

Ballimaaraan was conceived in 2016 when guitarist Nishant Agarwal saw Piyush perform in Chandigarh. “He followed me from there to Delhi right up to my doorstep in Mumbai. His idea was that we perform my songs with a band. When percussionist Jayant Patnaik joined us, we started as a band. When Rahul Gandhi of Tamboo started managing us, it took a different shape,” says the singer. Gradually more musicians joined them. He says, “Shirish Malhotra joined on the saxophone, flute and clarinet. Yohann played the bass, Natasha Pinto was on the keys, Varun was on the percussion, Shreyas played drums. Then we worked on lights, sound, and kept developing the band.” 

As a young boy drawn to doing theatre, his first role was of the Arabian Nights character Abu Hasan. When in college, he enrolled in the National School of Drama, Delhi. He became popular playing Hamlet. 

After graduation, Piyush wrote the play Gagan Damama Bajiyo, based on the life of Bhagat Singh. He started getting roles in films, beginning with Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se (1998) and then acted in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Maqbool (2003). He then wrote songs for Anurag Kashyap’s Black Friday (2004), which had music by Indian Ocean. The numbers ‘Bandeh’ and ‘Bharam bhap ke’ became popular. 

In Anurag Kashyap’s 2009 movie Gulaal, Piyush composed the music, wrote all lyrics and sang the songs ‘Aarambh’ and ‘Duniya’, besides playing the role of Prithvi Bana. “But the role that got me noticed as an actor was in Anurag’s Gangs Of Wasseypur in 2012,” he says. 

Piyush’s appearances in Coke Studio (India) gave him more exposure. “Films, songs and theatre hold the same importance in my life. And would like to maintain this balance.” 

Even after the UdanKhatola tour begins, Piyush has made sure his shooting schedules won’t be affected. “The concerts are over the weekends, so I have plenty of time for other activities,” he says.