Kansai Nerolac hands its 1990 jingle to Yashraj Mukhate

Kansai Nerolac has refreshed one of India’s most recognisable brand sounds just in time for Diwali. The paint maker has teamed up with music producer Yashraj Mukhate to rework the 1990 jingle “Jab Ghar Ki Raunak Badhani Ho” for its festive campaign.

Launched on 23 October 2026 in Mumbai, the digital film keeps the original melody intact while Mukhate rebuilds the production around it with new beats and textures. The visual story leans on colour, lights, family and the annual ritual of preparing the home for the festival.

01 · Why the jingle still matters

Kansai Nerolac has been refreshing the same melody for successive generations for over three decades. CMO Ramkrishna Naik argues that the tune “isn’t just remembered, it gets sung along too.” That kind of recall is rare in a category where most communication is interchangeable.

Audio cues are among the cheapest memory shortcuts a brand can own. Unlike a logo, a five-second melody can be recognised from another room, without visual attention. That makes a jingle especially valuable for a low-involvement, occasion-driven purchase like paint.

The brand’s challenge is familiar: hold on to the emotional connection older consumers already have, without making the jingle feel like a period piece to first-time listeners. Naik says the remix is meant to honour the legacy while giving the familiar tune new rhythm.

02 · What Yashraj Mukhate changed, and what he didn’t

Mukhate describes the brief as a responsibility as much as a creative challenge. He says he “left the part that people love exactly as it is and built new layers of sound around it,” aiming for beats that land as a surprise. The test, he suggests, is whether your foot starts tapping before the first verse ends.

That split between the core hook and the new arrangement is a useful template for heritage brands. The identity lives in the melodic phrase; the relevance comes from the production around it.

03 · What brand leaders can borrow

• Protect the hook. If people can finish the line, that line is the brand’s memory structure.
• Modernise the wrapper, not the meaning. Fresh sounds can update attention without changing the association.
• Anchor the refresh to a use moment. Diwali repainting is the natural occasion for a paint brand.

Kansai Nerolac’s move is less about chasing youth and more about keeping an audio asset culturally current. The familiar melody still does the recognition work; the remix gives a new generation a reason to hear it again.

Source: Campaign India

Mad About Marketing Desk The strategists and writers at Mad About Marketing, writing up what we see in the work every week.