Seven Film Music Stories That Shaped October 2026
A tour by a singer who quit playback, a Tamil catalogue deal, a Dharma love song and Shah Rukh Khan's new festival. Here is the month in Bollywood and South Indian film music.
Film music used to top Indian charts more or less by default. This October its biggest voices were announcing tours and festivals, and labels were buying up its back catalogue. Seven stories from the month, in no particular order.
1. Arijit Singh books the stadiums
Nine months after he retired from playback, Arijit Singh announced a nine-city tour for 20 years in music. It opens in Ahmedabad on 9 January 2027 and ends in Hyderabad on 15 May, with tickets only on thumpN. "There are so many songs, so many memories and so many people to meet. I can't wait," he said in a statement. Kotak Visa cardholders got presales on 10 and 11 October, and general sale opened on 13 October. Jaipur is the one date in doubt: the announcement says 7 February, while the promoter's tour page says Friday 7 May. Every other show falls on a Saturday.
2. "Chann" keeps him on the love-song charts
He quit playback, not romance. "Chann", from Dharma Productions' Udta Teer, has music by Sachin-Jigar, words by Amitabh Bhattacharya and Singh on vocals. It reached streaming on 16 October, and Dharma posted the full video on 19 October, four days before the film's 23 October release. The hook, "Chann ton vi changa tera mukhda ae jaana", puts a lover's face above the moon.
3. Warner buys the Gemini vault
Warner Music India has bought the Gemini Music catalogue, which means the soundtracks of Nanban, Thuppakki, Mayakkam Enna, Singam 2 and Paradesi, with music by Harris Jayaraj, G. V. Prakash Kumar and Devi Sri Prasad. The same announcement carried a long-term deal with filmmaker Gautham Vasudev Menon and a partnership with Malayalam house Magic Frames covering more than 500 tracks. The buying has come from more than one label. In January Universal Music India took a 30 per cent stake in Excel Entertainment, in a deal valuing the production house at about $267 million, and in March it formed an exclusive partnership with Albuquerque Records, the label Anirudh Ravichander launched.
4. Sai Abhyankkar gets Dhanush
Warner's upcoming slate includes the Dhanush film OM, scored by Sai Abhyankkar. Oru Startup Kadha, with music by Paal Dabba, and the Malayalam feature 40 Days of House Party, scored by Bibin Ashok, are on it too. These are the first new soundtracks to come out of the season's catalogue buying.
5. "Mutta Kalaki" travels
The Tamil surprise of Warner's season is G. V. Prakash Kumar and Ken Karunas's "Mutta Kalaki". The label says it peaked in the Top 3 on YouTube Charts India, without a Hindi version.
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6. Bollywood Music Project turns 10
The tenth Bollywood Music Project is at Jio World Garden, Mumbai, on Saturday 24 October from 2 PM. Himesh Reshammiya, Hariharan, Anu Malik, Shilpa Rao, Neeraj Shridhar, Euphoria, and Roop Kumar Rathod with Sonali Rathod are on the bill. The organisers call it Asia's largest Bollywood music festival. Tickets are on District, where prices have changed by sale phase. The listing showed Rs 4,000 upwards on the day of the show.
Clarification, 24 October 2026: An earlier version of this list said District tickets started at Rs 2,499. Prices on District have changed by sale phase, and the listing showed Rs 4,000 upwards on 24 October.
7. SRK starts a festival
Shah Rukh Khan is curating UNIFYD, a one-day festival at Etihad Live on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, on 20 March 2027. Arijit Singh, Karan Aujla and Sonu Nigam head a bill of more than 15 artists, and it will be Nigam's first festival set. "UNIFYD, produced by D'YAVOL Live along with District, will unite India's most incredible artists on a shared stage for the first time," Khan said in a statement. General sale opened on the District app on 20 October. District lists three ticket categories, from General Admission at AED 295 to the Platinum Lounge at AED 3,295. On 20 March, Singh plays the festival a week after his Bengaluru stadium date.
(Source: PTI, Warner Music India press release, Dharma Productions, Spotify listing, District event page, UNIFYD official announcement, Team Innovation tour page, UMG earnings call)
