Come 2025, and Dehradun-based Bobby Cash’s musical journey—from the hills of Uttarakhand to the Tamworth Music Festival in Australia via the Indipop wave in Delhi—will be portrayed on the big screen in an Indo-Australian production. Christened Bal Kishore Das Loiwal, India’s only Country music artiste to operate at the top level played to packed venues in Australia and the US and cut out albums and singles.
The biopic, provisionally titled One in a Billion, will hit the floors later this year. Australian director Anupam Sharma, originally from Dehradun, will direct the crossover English language film. The 62-year-old singer-songwriter is the executive producer.
The crux of the story is Cash’s ascension into the Country music fraternity after being noticed at Tamworth in 2003. No Indian had done it before. He started to headline festivals and released three albums: Cowboy at Heart, Phoenix to El Paso and State of My Heart.
Cash had a brief stint in the Indipop scene alongside Shaan and Daler Mehendi in the 90s. Record label Magnasound signed him for a private album, Yeh Pyaar Hai, in 1996. “It gave me great exposure. This film will cover that journey before showing my initial success in Australia. It was supposed to be just a trip, but soon I started headlining festivals, and albums were getting released. They made it to the Country music charts,” says Cash, who last featured in a film 20 years ago.
Australian film producer Colin Bromley—who introduced Cash to the Tamworth Music Festival—had earlier cast him in a documentary, The Indian Cowboy... One in a Billion. It was aired on ABC Television in Australia and Discovery Channel in India in 2004. “I was recording with the finest musicians. The late Larry Muhoberac, the pianist of the legendary Elvis Presley, was playing on my record. For six years, from 2003 to 2008, I was touring coast to coast,” reminisces the singer.
Director Sharma has Slumdog Millionaire actor Dev Patel on his wishlist to portray Cash. The filmmaker, who has earlier worked as a line producer for Bollywood films shot in Australia, such as Dil Chahta Hai, wants “an Indian soul in a Western body” to play Cash. “Dev will be perfect since it is a crossover film. The only challenge is to tell Bobby’s story that travels organically. The story is the star of the film,” says Sharma, who has known Cash for over 20 years.
Highlighting the challenges an actor may face to absorb his character, Cash says, “It will not be easy. The guy has to lip-sync to my songs. It isn’t a typical Bollywood movie, and my style (fingerstyle) of playing the guitar is unique.” Some of Cash’s songs, such as Man Out on the Road and Baby So are You, will be used in the film. “I will also throw in some new songs besides covering songs like Can’t Help Falling in Love,” says Cash.
Sharma, who directed the film UnIndian (2015) featuring Brett Lee and Tannishtha Chatterjee, wants to hire award-winning professionals in the music department. “Bobby’s songs will be there, and for diversity, background score will be composed by top music directors,” he says. Satish, the producer and the director’s brother, feels it is too early to discuss the budget even though the expectations are high. “Once the script is locked, we will look at eligible grants from India. We will be eligible for various benefits from Australia as this film will be one of the first official co-productions after the Indo-Australian co-production treaty came into force in November, last year,” he says.
Who knows, but Cash’s magical story of success could inspire underground Country artistes of India to come out of their shells.