PRATEEK KUHAD'S Sonic Surge

Armed with a new deal with Elektra Records, the folksy singer-songwriter has added swelling synths, susurrating strings, and a horn section to his repertoire. Which makes his new record one of the most hotly anticipated Indian albums in recent years.

- BHANUJ KAPPAL

THE LAST TIME I met Prateek Kuhad, the 32-year-old singer-songwriter was struggling through a quick 10-minute photo shoot, awkwardness writ large on his face. "I hate smiling for photos," he said ruefully, as the photographer tried to coax him out of his default brooding lurker pose. "I just can't get these [shoots] right."

That was in the summer of 2018, just a week after Kuhad had surprised fans with the cold/mess EP. A classic "break-up record", cold/mess would end up being a breakout success on the back of its eponymous hit single. A ballad that perfectly married his intimate folksy songwriting with more expansive pop production, "cold/mess" racked up millions of streams on Spotify and propelled Kuhad to the big league.

A year later he was playing to packed crowds in both India and the U.S., even earning a nod from former U.S. president Barack Obama who put "cold/mess" in his list of favourite songs of 2019. All that buzz resulted in a record deal with Elektra Records in 2020, making him the first Indian singer-songwriter to get a deal with a major American label. This May, he's all set to release his third studio album and major label debut, an 11-track collection titled The Way That Lovers Do.

All that success must have been accompanied by a lot of practice in front of the camera, because Kuhad seems completely at ease on the sets of this GQ photo shoot. He's still a brooder, but the awkwardness has been replaced with practical professionalism: It's not like he's thrilled, but you no longer get the sense that he's gritting his teeth through the whole experience. Is he finally comfortable with the glare of budding stardom?