Releasing October 9, Praveen Koval’s new song and character-driven film explores how an empty page can hold the stories we struggle to put into words.
What can a blank piece of paper hold? A memory, a person we miss, a regret, a dream, or perhaps a story we have never been able to tell.
That question forms the heart of âKaagaz', the upcoming song by Praveen Koval, set to release on October 9, accompanied by a character-driven music film shot in Manali.
For Praveen, who works across music, filmmaking and writing, the idea began with an actual blank sheet of paper. Sitting down to write with pen and paper, he found himself unable to decide what to put on the page. That moment led to a simple question: if this blank page belonged to someone else, what would they write? That question eventually became âKaagaz'.
The song explores the emotions of missing someone deeply, using the blank page as a metaphor for feelings that can sometimes be more powerful than words. Keeping the music deliberately restrained, Praveen builds the song around guitar, strings and space, allowing the emotion and story to take centre stage.
The story continues visually through the accompanying film. Set in Manali, it follows an elderly man preparing to leave a home filled with memories of the woman with whom he shared his life. While packing, he discovers a diary that takes him through fragments of their life together, including ordinary moments, companionship, memories and ultimately the experience of being the one left behind.
Rather than simply illustrating the lyrics, the film explores one possible story that the empty page could hold, reflecting Praveen's larger approach to creativity: story first, medium second.
At the centre of his work is the philosophy "Everyone Has a Story." Praveen's creative work moves between music, film and writing, with each medium serving the story he wants to tell. His songwriting is often accompanied by character-driven cinematic narratives, while his filmmaking is similarly rooted in character and story. His music has received international recognition, including a feature in Rolling Stone India for INSCRIBE, and he has also spoken at IIT on The Art of Storytelling Using Music.
âKaagaz' is another story in that larger body of work, one that Praveen plans to continue building across music, film and writing.
Ultimately, the song leaves the audience with the same question that inspired it:
If someone gave you a blank piece of paper and asked you to write anything, what story would you write?
âKaagaz' releases October 9, 2026.
