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Antariksh’s Varun Rajput talks about Rehguzar, Iltija, Jack Gardiner, global collaborations and why Indian rock must enter a wider conversation.
In an exclusive chat with News18 Showsha, Antariksh’s Varun Rajput opens up about Rehguzar, Iltija, Jack Gardiner and taking Indian rock global.
Antariksh’s music has always sounded like it is trying to outrun a boundary. Not in the noisy, self-conscious way bands sometimes chase reinvention, but with the stubbornness of a restless mind that refuses to accept that Indian rock must choose between distortion and tradition, between a guitar riff and a raag, between the anthemic rush of the West and the inward pull of home. For Varun Rajput, the band’s frontman and creative force, that search sharpened into something deeply personal in the summer of 2024, during one of those private reckoning moments when an artist sits alone and asks an uncomfortable question: where do I go from here?
The answer became Rehguzar, a 12-song concept album that Antariksh is unfolding gradually through 2026. At one level, it is an album about artists, creators, entrepreneurs and anyone foolish or brave enough to choose the road less travelled. At another, it is Varun’s own emotional ledger, written from lived experience rather than borrowed romanticism. It understands that resilience is not always a grand, chest-thumping act. Sometimes, it is just returning to the work when anger feels easier, lowering the ego when applause has not arrived, and continuing to build when the world has already moved on to the next shiny distraction.
That philosophy sits at the heart of Iltija, Antariksh’s latest chapter from Rehguzar. The song is framed as a quiet conversation with oneself, a plea to choose humility, focus and inner steadiness over rage and noise. But quiet, in Antariksh’s universe, does not mean small. The track begins with vulnerability, gathers muscle through anthemic choruses and finally tears open through a blistering guitar section by Jack Gardiner, the British virtuoso whose playing gives the song its storm before the storm. Gardiner does not understand Hindi, just as Marty Friedman and Jakub Zytecki did not when they entered Antariksh’s world before him. Yet, across these collaborations, something more primal than language seems to have travelled. Mood, ache, chaos, surrender, ascent. The things music knows before words interfere.
It is not accidental that guitar legends from different corners of the world have found themselves drawn to Antariksh’s orbit. Marty Friedman on Quest, Jakub Zytecki on Naaqis and now Jack Gardiner on Iltija do not merely decorate the band’s songs with international muscle. They widen the room. They place Indian rock on a larger map without sanding away its grain. For Varun, these collaborations are not vanity stamps. They are proof that specificity can travel. That a Hindi rock song can hold its own beside global virtuosity. That Indian rock need not be a niche curiosity, but can step into the broader global conversation with the same confidence that Bloodywood has brought to Indian metal.
What makes Antariksh compelling is that its fusion never feels like a tourist brochure with distortion pedals. The band does not add Hindustani or Carnatic phrases merely to announce Indianness, nor does it lean on rock and electronic textures just to sound modern. Varun’s process begins with a riff, a progression or a lyrical idea, not with the obligation to fuse. If a song calls for sarangi, as Naaqis did, it enters. If a moment demands clean guitar over sarod, as Iltija did, the guitar stays. That instinctive refusal to force-fit is perhaps why the band’s sound feels lived-in rather than assembled. It carries Indian classical memory, Western rock architecture, pop immediacy and electronic sheen, but its real foundation is the old rock instinct: be fearless, be honest, and do not obey convention simply because it has been repeated loudly enough.
In an exclusive conversation with News18 Showsha, Antariksh’s Varun Rajput opens up about the deeply personal origin of Rehguzar, why the album is being released song by song, how Iltija became a metaphor for lowering one’s ego and returning to the work, what Jack Gardiner brought to the track, why collaborations with Marty Friedman, Jakub Zytecki and Gardiner have pushed Indian rock onto a wider stage, the discipline behind making fusion feel organic, the band’s US tour, opening for Gardiner in Delhi, and why Rehguzar is ultimately a reminder that meaningful journeys are rarely clean, quick or convenient, but always worth walking.
Here are the excerpts:
Rehguzar is described as a personal tribute to the everyday courage and resilience of artists and creators. In what ways has constructing this album—song by song through 2026—become its own act of quiet resilience for you, and how does that personal parallel shape the music itself?
Varun Rajput: There was this one day in the summer of 2024 when I was sitting by myself doing a bit of identity analysis to figure out the way forward for Antariksh as well as my own self – this idea of the concept album dawned on me. And as I started exploring the idea further, and began writing the lyrics as well as the song concepts, I realised that I was writing about a theme that felt very personal and at the same time I felt that any artist, entrepreneur or a creative person who’s chosen the road less traveled would relate to since it generally takes a lot more resilience to brave the crests and troughs of an entrepreneurial journey.
I feel that the personal parallel adds a lot of authenticity to the music and lyrics as I’m writing about themes and topics that I have a lived experience of.
The album’s central story arc frames moments of struggle and eventual ascent. How intentional was the decision to unfold Rehguzar gradually rather than as a complete release, and what does that pacing reveal about the kind of emotional journey you wanted listeners to experience alongside the band?
Varun Rajput: Honestly, the idea of unfolding Rehguzar song by song instead of a complete release has more to do with the market dynamics and the times we live in – these days people do not have the attention spans to listen to a full album, which is why we’ve seen a lot more singles and short EPs than full length albums in the last decade. It takes a hell lot of work when you’re writing a 12 song concept album – so I didn’t just want to put it all out at once and give myself only one shot at promoting and marketing it. At the same time when you unfold it song by song, it gives me more opportunities to push the songs out and it also gives the audience a lot more time to understand and absorb the themes and concepts we’re talking about.
Three vastly different guitar virtuosos—Marty Friedman, Jakub Zytecki, and now Jack Gardiner—each connected deeply with these songs. What does it say about the DNA of Rehguzar that it could attract such distinct musical voices from different corners of the world, and how has each collaboration subtly altered the album’s overall character?
Varun Rajput: I feel truly honoured and ecstatic that 3 of the world’s top guitar players and my guitar heroes have liked and appreciated our music and found it good enough to be a part of. Quest, the song that we did with Marty Friedman was a part of our previous album, while ‘Naaqis feat. Jakub Zytecki’ and ‘Iltija feat. Jack Gardiner’ are both a part of Rehguzar. I strongly believe that each collaboration has lifted the song in a very unique way as all three of these guitar legends have the incredible ability to truly understand and play according to the mood and vibe of the songs. I also feel that these collaborations put Antariksh on a global pedestal and put Indian Rock music to a much wider international audience.
You’ve spoken about wanting someone who could “completely tear the song open” for Iltija. Beyond technical prowess, what deeper musical or emotional quality in Jack Gardiner’s playing made him the right voice to fracture and then elevate that particular track?
Varun Rajput: As I said, guitar players of Jack’s stature truly understand the vibe and demand of a song even when they do not understand the language. I’ve seen this across all 3 songs which are all in Hindi – none of the collaborators understood the lyrics, but despite that they played the most apt guitar solos that fit with the song. Jack Gardiner with his incredible playing and deep understanding, brought a very unique flavour to the guitar solo section of Iltija making it one of the most memorable sections of the song.
Iltija balances restraint with intensity and is framed as a “quiet conversation with oneself” about choosing humility and focus over anger and distraction. How did the arrangement and Gardiner’s solo serve as musical metaphors for that internal turning point in the Rehguzar narrative?
Varun Rajput: The way Jack Gardiner builds up, adds colour and shreds through the guitar solo section and the following chorus – it reinforces the message of the song which is to bow down, focus on the work, and summon inner resilience to power through tough times.
The music video reaches its crescendo as the central character pushes himself to lower his ego and focus on the work ahead. In what ways did you approach translating that invisible psychological climb into visible imagery, and how does the visual language reinforce the song’s philosophical core?
Varun Rajput: Once the song was done, we roped in an incredible team to conceptualise the music video for Iltija, which came with a bunch of super cool ideas to translate as well as elevate the message of the song through the music video. From the music video’s perspective, the character’s shown who’s practicing and playing in an empty hall, struggling to play right. As he continues to focus on the practice, the hall slowly starts filling up and then he finds people who’re interested in playing with him (the band members in this case) and the second half shows the entire band rocking out showcasing that climb and what focus and self-belief can lead to.
Sonically, Iltija unfolds through a dynamic rock soundscape. How did you and the band navigate the tension between holding back and letting the track explode, and what role did Gardiner’s contribution play in striking that delicate equilibrium?
Varun Rajput: Well, most of the balancing of the tension and release largely happens through the songwriting and production process. The verses kind of highlight the vulnerability and thus we kept them a bit mellow and slightly melancholic, while the choruses talk about summoning self belief and resilience which musically are represented with anthemic melodies and wide sounding distorted guitar arrangement. Jack Gardiner’s solo represents the chaos before the final storm and then his playing through the final chorus amplifies and elevates the message of resilience and overcoming self doubt that we’ve talked about throughout the song.
Antariksh describes itself as “the sound of a new India—bold, relentless, and genre-defying.” How does the deliberate layering of raw rock energy with Hindustani and Carnatic traditions, alongside modern pop and electronic textures, embody that vision rather than simply decorate it?
Varun Rajput: Ever since I began writing music, I’ve always wanted to push the envelope and bring something new to the table – that’s where the idea of fusing my rock music influences from the west with the hindustani and carnatic influences from India came into being. For me, that fusion & experimentation is what Antariksh truly represents and is not just an aesthetic choice. When we talk of Antariksh as the sound of new India – I’m trying to express how people experience music today in India which is naturally rooted in Indian traditions and culture but very global in its sound. Rock music, which is something at the core of my guitar playing & composition brings the raw energy, pop and electronic textures help present them in a modern context and Indian classical instruments, phrases, rhythms and melodies make our sound unique and truly Indian.
The brief notes that the band blends Eastern classical elements with Western rock structures. In creating tracks like Iltija and Naaqis, how do you ensure these fusions feel organic and inevitable rather than forced, and what does that say about the evolving musical identity of contemporary Indian rock?
Varun Rajput: Well, whenever I write a song, I always begin with a musical riff, progression or a lyrical concept and never with the idea of fusion itself. Over the course of the composition and arrangement, if a part calls for the fusion as per my musical understanding, only then I would try and experiment with the blend. If it doesn’t I won’t force fit it – which is why you will not hear that fusion in all our songs.
While composing ‘Naaqis’, there was a section which was just literally calling me out for an Indian legato instrument and after considering multiple options, the sound of Sarangi felt the most apt and that’s when I roped in the incredible Momin Khan to play in that part. Contrarily in ‘Iltija’, there was a section in which I had to decide between a Sarod solo and a Clean Guitar Solo, and I went ahead with the guitar instead of force-fitting the sarod as that felt more natural.
To me rock music has always been about being authentic, fearless and not conforming to conventional knowledge and wisdom without reason and that’s exactly how I see contemporary Indian Rock music evolve.
You opened for Jack Gardiner during his maiden India tour in March 2026, months before Iltija’s release. How did sharing a stage with him beforehand influence the way you approached the collaboration, and what unexpected insights about live energy or musical dialogue carried over into the studio recording?
Varun Rajput: So, the collaboration with Jack Gardiner happened much before we shared the stage with him. Jack had recorded his solo on Iltija in 2025 when I was composing and recording the song. When we got to know earlier this year that Jack’s touring India – we just knew that we had to open for him. So I reached out to the promoter and a good friend of mine, Karan Mehta, who’d also helped facilitate the collaboration with Jack and we lined up Antariksh to open for Jack during his Delhi gig.
With a successful US tour already behind you and Rehguzar still unfolding, how has the experience of building momentum through international guitar partnerships and live performances reshaped your understanding of what it means to be an Indian rock act on a global stage in 2026?
Varun Rajput: Honestly, what I’ve realised is that the audiences connect with uniqueness and authenticity more than geography. Both the US tour and response to our recent songs & collaborations has expanded my view of what’s possible. I wouldn’t want ‘Indian Rock’ to be a niche but a part of a much larger global conversation. Our friends at Bloodywood have already done that for ‘Indian Metal’ & honestly I take inspiration from that to be able to do that for ‘Indian Rock’ with Antariksh.
Looking at the larger arc of Rehguzar, what do you hope listeners ultimately carry away from this slow-release concept album—not just about the music, but about the quiet courage required to keep creating in a world full of distractions?
Varun Rajput: I would like the listeners to come away with an understanding that most meaningful things take time and every journey is full of crests and troughs. Beyond the music, I hope Rehguzar becomes a reminder to embrace the process, honour every distinctive moment that paves the way and to truly cherish the journey.
About the Author
Yatamanyu Narain is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for all things entertainment. Whether he’s breaking the latest Bollywood news or chatting with rising stars in the OTT world, he’s always …Read More
