Directing music videos for regional folk songs is a discipline that sits at the intersection of visual storytelling, cultural sensitivity, and practical filmmaking. Over the years, I have directed dozens of music videos for New Series Music, shooting in the mountains, villages, and studios of Jammu and Himachal Pradesh. Here are some of the most important lessons I have learned.
Location Is Everything
For Pahari and Dogri folk music, the landscape is not just a backdrop — it is a character. The audience for this music has a deep emotional connection to the mountains, rivers, forests, and villages of the region. When the visual setting matches the spirit of the song, something powerful happens: the music and the image reinforce each other, and the viewer feels transported.
I always spend time scouting locations before shooting. For a song about a river, I want to find a stretch of water that captures the feeling of that specific river in that specific season. For a devotional song, I want a temple or a natural setting that carries genuine spiritual weight. Generic beautiful scenery is not enough — the setting needs to mean something.
Work With the Culture, Not Against It
Regional folk videos need to feel authentic to the people who watch them. This means using traditional costumes correctly, depicting folk practices and ceremonies accurately, and avoiding the clichéd visual language of mainstream Bollywood that feels jarring in a folk context.
I often consult with local cultural experts and community members before shooting. If the video depicts a specific festival or ceremony, I want to make sure we are representing it with respect and accuracy. Our audience knows immediately when something does not ring true — and they will call it out.
Keep the Artist at the Centre
The job of a music video director is to serve the song and the artist, not to impose a personal creative vision. The video exists to help listeners connect with the music — that is its only purpose. I always start the creative process by asking: what is this song about? What emotion is it trying to convey? How can visuals help communicate that?
Sometimes the best decision is the simplest one. Some of our most-watched videos are relatively simple productions — a singer in a beautiful natural setting, with lighting that brings out the emotion in their performance. No elaborate sets, no large cast, no expensive visual effects. Just the music and the moment.
Technical Lessons
Shooting in mountain locations presents real practical challenges. Weather changes rapidly; the light can be extraordinary or terrible within the same hour. Battery life is shortened by cold temperatures. Getting equipment to remote locations requires planning and often physical labour.
After years of mountain shoots, I have learned to build flexibility into every schedule, always have contingency plans for weather, carry more batteries than I think I need, and prepare my crew for the physical demands of the locations we choose. A shoot that goes smoothly in spite of these challenges is deeply satisfying.
The Edit Is Where It All Comes Together
The most important phase of music video production is often the edit — the point where you discover what story you actually captured, as opposed to the story you planned to capture. Sometimes the best moments are unplanned ones that happen between takes. Sometimes a sequence that looked brilliant on location does not work in the cut, and you have to find a completely different way to structure the video.
I spend as much time on the edit as I do on the shoot itself. The final video represents thousands of small decisions, each one made in service of the music. When it works — when the images and the sound feel completely unified — there is nothing quite like it.