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OAFF: The Indie Electronic Producer

Kabeer Kathpalia, who makes music as OAFF, went from composing ad jingles to scoring one of the most talked-about Bollywood soundtracks of the decade. His journey — from physics to film music, from indie electronica to Gehraiyaan — is a blueprint for how independent artists can break into Bollywood without losing their sound.

From Physics to Music

Kabeer started out studying physics before music took over. He spent a few years composing ad jingles, learning to write to a brief and to deadlines. He released his debut single in 2018 with his longtime collaborator Savera Mehta. The name OAFF came from an inside joke between friends — the English word "oaff" means a foolish, awkward, and silly person — and it stuck.

The Gehraiyaan Breakthrough

OAFF and Savera made their breakthrough in 2022 by composing the background score and soundtrack for the film Gehraiyaan, starring Deepika Padukone. The director, Shakun Batra, found their music online and reached out. The soundtrack's songs "Doobey" and "Beqaaboo" became big hits. As Kabeer later recalled, one day his music was relatively unknown, and the next, the whole country was listening. The duo went on to compose for Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, including the track "Hone Do Jo Hota Hai", and for the web series Bandish Bandits.

Live and the Weekender

In 2022, Savera and OAFF started performing live together. On 3 December 2023, they performed at the NH7 Weekender music festival in Pune — a full-circle moment for Kabeer, who had attended some of the earliest Weekender festivals as a fan in college and told his friends he would one day play that stage.

Between Flowers

In February 2025, OAFF released his debut independent album, Between Flowers, featuring nine tracks with vocal contributions from Sid Sriram, Divyam Sodhi, Amira Gill, and others. Working on the album was a way to pull himself out of an existential crisis after a year marked by personal loss and newfound love. The album fuses Indian classical melodies and folk sounds with contemporary electronic elements — a return to making music for himself rather than to a brief.

Signature Sound

OAFF's music bridges atmospheric electronica and accessible, feel-good pop. He describes it as "atmospheric pop" — cinematic, immersive, and built on feeling. His story shows that the path from indie to Bollywood runs through originality, not imitation.

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