Jun 12, 2026 7:27pm IST
Parikrama At 35: Founding Member Subir Malik Says, ‘This Is Just the Beginning’ (EXCLUSIVE)
The video is turned off during the Zoom call between Variety India and Subir Malik, the keyboardist and founding member of Parikrama, one of India’s longest-running active rock bands. Recovering from a surgery to fix a detached retina, the passion is palpable nevertheless. The band Malik helped found turns 35 this year and there’s plenty being done to celebrate the milestone.
Notorious for encouraging fans to pirate their music and known for opening for metal royalty Iron Maiden, it’s just a few of the exploits in a long-list shared by the silver-haired Subir Malik, whose enthusiasm for his craft is tinged with a well-worn streak of realism.
Excerpts from the interview…
Congratulations on completing 35 years this year. What does this milestone mean to you?
It means to start again and plan for the next 35 years, yaar. This is just the beginning. And 35 just a number. It actually doesn't feel like it at all. Probably because we had so much fun and still do. I'm what? 55-56? How many people will be blessed to do the same thing that they started out [doing] in college and way back in the 1980s and the ’90s and are still doing the same. It's just brilliant to be one of the very, very lucky few. So, good fun.
You've never done a Hindi song in all these years and yet, Parikrama is a household name. What's worked?
We stayed true to our art, to what we started; to what the band is. We started the band to play tribute to all the gods of rock that we've grown up to. That was the main purpose. I was supposed to join my family business and had four months of music left and I said, ‘Okay, man, I need to play some [Led] Zeppelin and [Pink] Floyd and [Deep] Purple and AC/DC and [Iron] Maiden before I say goodbye and sell Jeep motor parts all my life.’ Toh, the purpose was only that. From the first show itself, we started getting so much appreciation that four months turned into six months into eight months into now, 35 years, pataa hi nahi chala. And then we realised, ‘Okay, this is something that we should not give up…’ One of the best decisions we took was: We decided that if you have to play rock-and-roll all your life, you have to keep your home running through other sources of income. We all set up different businesses for everyone. I mean, in fact, it's a double whammy that we are still doing this for 35 years without it being our primary source of income and we are still at it. If it was, you never know…. After three-four years, we would have said, ‘Oh, let's go to Bollywood, let's go do Indipop, let's do this, that.’ But, that one decision saved us. And we did get lots of offers, but we refused them all. That said, we stuck on to what we started doing and we still stay true to that artform.
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What if things had not kicked off the way it did, in Kirori Mal College (KMC), when Parikrama was formed?
To be very frank, I don't think we would have ever gone into Bollywood or any such thing because that's something that none of us did, too. I'm talking about the lineup that was there then. We would have probably packed up and gone back home. But yeah, I don't think Parikrama would ever have gone on to be a Bollywood band or a wedding band or something. With due respect to all of them. Others have chosen to live their life like that. We didn't. We chose what we wanted to do.
You've been rebels by choice and yet remain India's longest actively running band. What's the secret behind the success of the band?
Of course, we listened to everyone and always did things that we wanted to do. We did things that no one ever did. I mean, in the early 1990s, middle of Napster and Metallica’s piracy wars, we were the first band, probably in the world, who openly endorsed piracy of our own music. We gave out CDs for free, told everyone to replicate it and give it off to anyone. We were always a very different and experimental band doing things with a vision far, far ahead. I think what still keeps us alive is because we still work very hard on each and every show that we're doing. There is still that… sorry if I may use the word in Hindi, let me make it a little subtle: ‘Picchwade mein abhi tak utni hi aag hai jitni tab thi (we still have the fire within us) when we were 18-year-old kids. We're still very passionate about everything. We try and make every show different. We try and get in some extra guests, try and do something or the other. It's not that we take it redundantly. We go ahead, play 10-12 songs and go back home. No, we want each and every show to be cracking, rocking and the biggest part of it, we have a great time and our audiences have a great time. Our missions are pretty clear.
How do you plan on celebrating the anniversary?
There are lots of things happening… There’s this small teaser of a documentary film that will be released on June 17. Also, we're introducing a brand new single called “Inside My Skin.” And, in terms of a party, June 13 will be a party with the public. On June 17, we will be having a small party at home with the party band members and we’ll sing, dance, have a good time and headbang. And other activities are planned throughout the year. So, yeah lots of things are happening.
How much can you share about the latest single ‘Inside My Skin’?
It’s an out-and-out rock-and-roll track and it's a little bit about people who suffer from anxiety. That's why it's about ‘I stay inside my skin…’ and stuff like that. So, that’s it. It’s absolutely ready. It's already uploaded and on June 17, we’ll be releasing it. And part of it, we will be playing live as well. So, anyone who wants to come join us on June 13 in Delhi and record it live and bootleg it and put it on the net before that, we don't care, they can.
If you could advise aspiring rockers on how to live their passion while surviving in the music business, what would you say?
I always tell young kids, ‘Don't stick only to live playing.’ A lot of people think that they'll only play live shows and make a living. It doesn't work out like that. Let's say even if you do 50 shows in a year and keep 50 days for rehearsal and 50 for shows, that's 100 days. You still have 265 days, right, right? One needs to do related things: play in other bands, do studio work, documentary films, do something.
Like Parikrama, have multiple sources of income and if you are, ultimately, comfortable in terms of an income, you can be much more successful, happier, in a better mental space. When you’re younger, it's different compared to when you get married, want to buy a car, a house… your expenses increase. Similarly, with music, you should treat it as like a 50-day-a-year business.
Take those days out, go for holidays, enjoy yourself, but make a routine and make sure that you are doing something or the other, even if you're not earning on that day. That you are making a small piece of music, to be creatively happy.
The life of live acts anywhere in the world is very limited. There are very few lucky people, probably like us,, Indian Ocean, Euphoria, who are still able to play for such a long time, but a majority of the other acts, unfortunately, do not make it that long.
