Ricky Kej on staying away from mainstream music: ‘Your art defines you as a person’

3 min readMumbaiJun 17, 2026 09:30 PM IST

Ricky Kej at Expresso by SCREEN.

(Express Photo: Sankhadeep Banerjee)

Three-time Grammy Award-winning composer Ricky Kej, known for acclaimed albums such as Winds of Samsara, Divine Tides and Police – Beyond Borders, graced the 14th edition of The Indian Express series Expresso. During the conversation moderated by Suanshu Khurana, Kej reflected on his conscious decision to stay away from mainstream music and instead pursue a path that aligns with his artistic values.

‘Your art defines you as a person’

Speaking about why mainstream music never appealed to him, Ricky Kej said, “I was never keen on doing any kind of mainstream form of music, for various reasons. Many times, whether it’s art, finance, painting, sculpture, music, dance, filmmaking, a lot of these artists are not making the art that they themselves consume, or the kind of art that they themselves love. And I did not want that to happen to me.”

Kej explained that he has always believed an artist’s work should be a reflection of who they are. Elaborating on his perspective, he said, “The second thing is that I believe your art defines you as a person. In India, unfortunately, what’s happening with music is that most music that is created is either a love song or an item song. It’s either a party song or a love song. Those are pretty much the only two subjects we like our music to be about. I believe that your art needs to define you as a person. And I had to make that very strong decision early on in my career because a lot of people would tell me, ‘Why don’t you do mainstream music, gain popularity, and then use that popularity to make your own music popular?’”

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Ricky Kej recalled facing the dilemma early in his career and ultimately choosing artistic integrity over wider recognition. “So I had to make a strong decision: Do I become extremely well-known for songs that do not define me, or do I become less known for songs that truly define me as a person? I chose the second route. I would rather be lesser known, but be known for songs that define me as a person.”

Watch the 14th edition of Expresso with Ricky Kej

The 14th edition of Expresso was presented by AU Small Finance Bank in association with Taj West End, Bengaluru.

About Expresso

Over the years, Expresso has established itself as a platform for candid and in-depth conversations with some of the most prominent names in Indian entertainment. Previous editions have featured guests including Anil Kapoor, Shilpa Rao, Huma Qureshi and Shefali Shah, Anupam Kher, Richa Chadha and Kabir Khan, Randeep Hooda and Hansal Mehta, Pankaj Tripathi, Kajol and Kriti Sanon, Javed Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar, Imtiaz Ali and Taapsee Pannu, as well as Vidya Balan and Pratik Gandhi.