When Pitch Perfect released in 2012, we could feel the collective minds of the Internet begin working! Not only did the movie spawn trolls, the a capella renditions of popular songs became a hit with musicians. As far as covers went, Anna Kendrick’s version of When I’m Gone using plastic cups has become a thumbnail pinned to your YouTube playlist, right next to five deadpan people and a guitar, car songs and so on.
The love for this song hasn’t died, and in India — two young sisters have set the cups in motion. Just a few months back, we had written about 16-year-old Antara Nandy in the viral cover of Agar Tum Saath Ho, a multi-artist collaboration. Now, she’s back with her versions of the Cup Song with her sister Ankita. They first used the song Duma Dum Mast Kalandar, and then came the classic Humma Humma from Bombay, which went viral. The duo were also appreciated by many artistes worldwide, including sitar maestro Anoushka Shankar!
Antara reveals how she’s been practicing the cup rhythm for some time, but only recently worked up the motivation to record it. “I wanted someone to sing along with me so I bullied my sister into doing this,” she laughs. “We added a classical touch with Duma Dum… and it was a little difficult because you have to keep rhythm, pitch and so on, while playing the cups game,” she admits.
With Humma Humma, which has over 9,70,000 views on Facebook, she even rearranged the beats a little, transforming the catchy song. “Now we are in a dilemma about what song to cover next! We want to make something that clicks with people,” she sighs in conclusion.
