The campaign
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has released ‘Dharavi Ka Kal Bula Raha Hai’ for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project. The anthem was written by lyricist and poet Prasoon Joshi, with music composition and vocals by Shankar Mahadevan. ETBrandEquity reports that the release took place on Gandhi Jayanti, giving the launch a pointed date for a project about renewal.
- Brand: Dharavi Redevelopment Project
- Released: Gandhi Jayanti
- Lyrics: Prasoon Joshi
- Music and vocals: Shankar Mahadevan
- Showcase: Dharavi Experience Centre
The agency and film director are not named in the source. The anthem will run at the Dharavi Experience Centre, a space built to show residents and visitors the area’s past, present and proposed development plans.
What the film says and how
The campaign puts people before infrastructure. The song centres on the identity, local enterprise and aspirations of Dharavi’s residents while articulating the urban transformation planned for the precinct. The title works as the creative’s tagline: Dharavi’s tomorrow is calling.
Prasoon Joshi describes Dharavi as “a living story of resilience, enterprise, aspiration and human spirit.” His writing, he says, looks ahead without forgetting where Dharavi has come from. Shankar Mahadevan adds that the task was to translate Dharavi’s “extraordinary rhythm” — its people, work, energy and dreams — into music that feels rooted locally but carries the optimism of the future.
The response so far
The source reports the makers’ statements more than audience numbers. Ajay Kakar, head of corporate branding at Adani Group, positions the anthem within the group’s “Hum Karke Dikhate Hain” belief: a brand is built not only by what it says, but by what people experience. He calls the track an invitation to look ahead with hope and confidence.
No viewing figures or public-sentiment data appear in the ETBrandEquity report. The initial signal is the frame itself — a contested redevelopment introduced through cultural pride and music rather than a policy or construction update.
The category context
Place-branding campaigns for large civic projects can tip into bureaucratic messaging. Here, the project borrows the grammar of a film anthem: a celebrated lyricist, a popular composer-singer, an emotional title and a physical space where people encounter the full plan. That combination treats the anthem as the campaign’s emotional front door, with the Experience Centre as the deeper funnel.
For marketers, the useful thread is the pairing of communication and experience. The song is not framed as a standalone ad; it is embedded in a destination that carries the project’s evidence.
What to watch next
The next test is distribution. Watch whether ‘Dharavi Ka Kal Bula Raha Hai’ moves beyond the Experience Centre into community outreach, local events or public screens. The more meaningful measure will be whether Dharavi’s residents and small businesses adopt the song as their own, rather than hearing it as a project announcement.
Watch the original: Dharavi Redevelopment Project on YouTube
Source: ETBrandEquity.com
