Maalavika Manoj’s new single ‘Dr. Dust’ explores cult culture-OxBig News Network

Singer Maalavika Manoj
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

After a year-long break from releasing music, Maalavika Manoj, aka Mali, has returned with a dark, esoteric concept and an arresting music video that dives into the world of cults and control. ‘Dr. Dust’, which released on April 24, is about manipulation masking as care. It starts like a lullaby, and a deceptive, sweet melody accompanies an unsettling undercurrent as it reaches a crescendo. 

The song was inspired from watching and listening to many stories about subtle as well as extreme cases of interpersonal control, ranging from domestic issues to sensational cults. “The more I sat on it, the more I was intrigued by this world where people, especially the young generation, fall prey to these luring cult spaces. It also brings up more relatable questions about controlling relationships in our everyday lives,” says Mali.

Directed by Hitaali Dharamshi, the song’s music video stars Mali as a charismatic cult leader whose sacrificial ceremony makes way for a successor. Interestingly, Mali and Hitaali both share a morbid fascination with darker social phenomena, and Hitaali had been wanting to make a film in this space. The most obvious way to portray control was through the cult narrative, which explores the cyclical nature of control, identity, blind faith and dependence.

“There was something eerily compelling about how belief systems can be built and distorted. We wanted the video to capture that surreal, off-kilter vibe — something that felt performative on the surface, but hinted at something darker underneath,” says Hitaali. Shooting the video was an intense, playful process — somewhat like staging a dream sequence that constantly shifted between whimsical and unsettling. Hitaali says. To make it a little more fun and collaborative, Mali featured her fans, handpicked through social media, most of whom are creatives themselves — musicians, designers and artistes — in the video.

Mali has a dedicated fan following since her debut feature album Caution to the Wind (2021). She began working on it in 2019 with her then producer Arnob Bal. It took shape around the pandemic with its many social and personal restrictions, and ended up being released in 2021. “The album itself became more about carefree living during an apocalyptic period in history,” recalls Mali.

Similar to ‘Dr. Dust’ are some of Mali’s previous singles, including ‘Mango Showers’, ‘Age of Limbo’, ‘Semi Automatic Butane’ and ‘Anniku Raathiri’. What connects them all are the darker lyrical elements. So, while ‘Mango Showers’ is about foreseeing a dangerous situation, ‘Age of Limbo’ is inspired by the war in Syria. Similarly, ‘Semi Automatic Butane’ is about smoking and oral fixation, and ‘Anniku Raathiri’ is about a murder mystery.

In the past, Mali has collaborated with AR Rahman, Amit Trivedi, Indus Creed and Raghav Meattle, among others. “When collaborating with other artistes, what is most intriguing is to see each person’s style of working and way of interpreting the same emotions. We end up having so many in-depth conversations around it, and that sometimes becomes a bigger takeaway than the actual music we work on. But the music lives on as a souvenir of those thoughts,” she explains. 

A Forbes 30 Under 30 inductee, Mali won the award for Best Indian Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2024. She was the first Indian artiste to be selected by Spotify to be a part of its RADAR program. BBC featured her in a music documentary called Rhythms of India. Mali has performed at some of the most prominent venues around the world, including SXSW Sydney, Music Matters Singapore, Le Zénith in Paris, Wembley Arena, and Lollapalooza India. Mali was also invited to perform during the inaugural event of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Center in Mumbai.

Recently, Mali also opened for Ed Sheeran during the  Bengaluru leg of The Mathematics Tour. “Performing to a large audience really pushes one’s abilities as a singer as well as a performer. It was also really beautiful to see how everyone was so participative and appreciative of the songs during and after the gig,” she says. Up next, Mali  has a few more singles — including one called ‘Saviour Complex’ in the pipeline.