The familiar sounds of Pune's election season are no longer just speeches and rallies. The city's lanes now echo with custom campaign songs blaring from autorickshaws and promotional audio clips shared virally on social media. This political whirlwind has sparked a significant opportunity for the local creative community, turning the election period into a lucrative season for artists, musicians, and digital producers.
A Creative Surge in Political Marketing
With campaigning intensifying across all wards, candidates from various parties have launched extensive outreach programs. This has led to a massive demand for diverse audio-visual content. Artists are now contributing across multiple formats, which include:
- Campaign songs and jingles
- Promotional audio clips
- Social media reels and short videos
- Two to three-minute documentaries
- Street plays and podcasts
- Anchoring for public meetings
This demand has translated into steady and often high-paying assignments for many professionals in the creative field, providing a substantial income boost.
Artists from Pune and Beyond Get Busy
The work is not limited to Pune-based artists. Professionals from across Maharashtra, including those from rural areas, are finding opportunities. Folk artists, theatre professionals, narrators, singers, and musicians are fully engaged in campaign-related assignments.
Tejas Sathe, who produces short films and street plays for election campaigns, reported having 13 clients from across Pune. "We started production two months ago," Sathe explained. "The ideas were generated for voice calls and social media reels, approved by our clients—the candidates—and then executed. After the official candidate list was announced, we began releasing all the videos and audios on all platforms."
The Soundtrack of the Campaign Trail
Campaign songs have become a crucial tool. These are custom-created around different themes to suit a candidate's image and message. Playback singer Brijesh Rathod shared his experience: "I have so far sung 28 jingles for agencies who outsourced work for candidates. It was a great experience, and I delivered a good variety of songs. Now I get to hear my own work on various media platforms."
These songs, typically one to one-and-a-half minutes long, are recorded in Pune's studios. Artists write lyrics as per candidates' requirements, and others compose the music. The final products are played on LED screens mounted on rickshaws and vans moving through the wards.
Beyond Music: Voice-Overs and Documentaries
The creative work extends beyond catchy tunes. Artist Riddhi Kulkarni is lending her voice for various campaign media. "Along with audio clips, I am also doing voice-overs for documentaries," Kulkarni said. "Candidates are getting 2 to 3-minute documentaries made for campaigning, which include information about the candidate and details of the development work they carried out."
These audio clips usually range from 2 to 12 minutes. The process involves first writing the script and dialogues, followed by studio recording with a voice-over artist. Currently, these clips are being widely shared on WhatsApp and played on campaign vehicles.
A New Revenue Stream for the Creative Economy
The election season has effectively created a temporary but robust market for creative services in Pune. Sukrut Tambe, Director of a digital media agency, and others in similar roles are at the forefront of coordinating this content creation blitz. This phenomenon highlights how political campaigns are increasingly relying on professional, high-quality multimedia content to connect with voters, directly fueling the local creative economy. For many artists, this period represents a significant and welcome financial opportunity, blending their craft with the dynamic world of political communication.
