A Delhi-based singer-songwriter's new single pays homage to pets

A still from the music video of Shourya Malhotra’s PAWS | I’ll Wait, shot at Fur Ball Story’s animal shelter in Delhi

There are songs about heartbreak, songs about home, and songs about finding yourself. Then there is PAWS | I'll Wait, a new single from Delhi-based singer-songwriter Shourya Malhotra. It's a song that captures all three sentiments.

Releasing on Monday, the track is a homage to the two rescue dogs that irrevocably changed his life and served as an emotional blueprint for the entire project. What elevates this release from a personal ode to a powerful cultural moment is its accompanying cinematic music video. Shot entirely inside an animal shelter in Delhi, the video is designed to translate art into tangible action: a city-wide adoption drive.

Malhotra, known for his introspective and often melancholic discography, admits this song strays away from his usual beat. It was sparked by an intensely stressful period in 2017, when he was fighting bureaucracy to bring his sister's adopted dogs from Canada to India. "My sister lives in Canada, and she had to move to a hostel," he recounts. The dilemma of where her two adopted dogs would go led to a pivotal moment. "My mom gave me an ultimatum... She said she wouldn't talk to me again if I didn't figure out a way to bring the dogs to India," he laughs.

Pic/Ishita Singh

After a tough process of navigating governmental policies, the two dogs finally arrived, bringing with them a transformative peace and lots of love. "You know how dogs can totally change your life, and they can make you a better person," he reflects. "I wanted to pay homage to them, and it took me a year to write PAWS because there was so much I wanted to capture."

While the song began as a tribute to his two rescues, "I realised that there's a larger message which can go out. So basically, PAWS is kind of a letter to pets for bringing so much joy into our lives," he says.

Malhotra is hopeful his dogs will appreciate the song, but they certainly know how he feels about them. "The amount of time that I spend cuddling with them, I think they already know that I'm kind of obsessed with them. To a large degree, these guys have saved me; that is the message I want to put across to them."

Pic/iStock

Musically, the song marks a distinct departure for the artiste. Malhotra describes his inherent style as that of "a sad songwriter," but PAWS mandated a different feel. "I wanted it to be a happier song," he says, detailing the use of brighter synths and guitar parts to create a "more lively" mood. The emotional complexity remains, as the song does contemplate the short time pets are in our lives, but he adds, "All in all, it's a happier song, and it ends with a realisation that I found home in you [referring to his pets]."

Any dog lover would find themselves smiling watching the video. Each frame shows dogs at the shelter that are up for adoption. Each one of them has a story of survival, but are seen running, playing with Malhotra, rolling in the grass, enjoying pets and scratches, and well... just being merry. A part of the video is also shot at Malhotra's home, where you see him and his band playing with his pets.

The video was shot in collaboration with Fur Ball Story, an association that began serendipitously when Malhotra initially sought them out for sponsorship advice. Finally, he decided to film at the organisation's shelter. "We knew that we could serve a larger purpose of adoption through it as well," he says. The director, too, fell in love with the space, making the facility - which houses up to 30 dogs up for adoption - the perfect set.

The shoot itself was a marathon of genuine canine interaction. "The shoot started at five in the morning, it was a gruelling 13-14 hour shoot. But the good thing was that I got to spend time with a lot of dogs," Malhotra recalls. "We wanted to show these dogs in a happier place, you know, in a more energetic, active mood."

While the experience involved plenty of running, changing clothes due to drool, and playful kicks from the dogs, the emotional payoff was immediate. "Genuinely, we were kind of missing the dogs as soon as we left the facility," he says. When asked about the concrete change he hopes to spark, he says, "I don't have grand expectations... but even if one dog gets adopted or if this video can impact people more positively, what more can I ask for?"

For Malhotra, PAWS is also a step in a larger artistic evolution. Having secured his profession as a lawyer, he has freed his music from the pressure of monetisation, focusing purely on passion. He no longer wants to be constrained by genre labels. "I'm just having fun... I don't want to be categorised as a singer-songwriter only or a folk artiste only," he says, hinting at a forthcoming January album that will showcase this diverse new sound.