Masala Coffee Members 2026: Band + Munbe Vaa

Masala Coffee, Kerala's folk rock band since 2014: the 8 members in 2026, Munbe Vaa to Kavava, the Ektara album and 2026 Dubai and Singapore shows.

Key facts

Masala Coffee came together in Kerala in late 2014, founded by percussionist Varun Sunil from Kochi.
Its Kappa TV Music Mojo versions of Munbe Vaa and Snehithane went viral and remain its two most-watched videos.
Eight members: Varun Sunil, Abhijith Anilkumar, Razik Mujawar, Paul Joseph, Surya Bharadwaj, Daya Sankar, Amalsivan and Pranav KS.
The multilingual Ektara project has released Surangani, Urangaathey, Dil Ka Pata, Paint It Over Me and Kavava since 2023.
Most of the band's own releases on Apple Music carry a ℗ Masala Coffee line, while film songs sit with labels such as Sony Music and Zee Music.
The band's 2026 dates include Dubai World Trade Centre on 11 October and D'Marquee at Downtown East, Singapore, on 18 December.

Masala Coffee is an independent alternate folk rock band from Kerala, founded in late 2014 by percussionist Varun Sunil. It broke out on Kappa TV's Music Mojo with Munbe Vaa and Snehithane, is known for Kaantha, and in 2026 tours as an eight-piece fronted by Abhijith Anilkumar and Razik Mujawar.

Over more than a decade the band has gone from a TV studio session to film soundtracks, its own multilingual album project and concerts in Dubai, Singapore, Europe and the United States. Here are the members, the songs that matter, the full timeline and what Masala Coffee is doing now.

At a glance

Founded: late 2014 in Kerala, by percussionist Varun Sunil from Kochi (Masala Coffee official site).
Style: alternate folk rock, the description the band chose for its name (Masala Coffee official site).
Breakthrough: Munbe Vaa and Snehithane on Kappa TV's Music Mojo, which went viral in 2015 (Masala Coffee official site, Wikipedia).
Signature songs: Kaantha from the film Uriyadi, and Kaantha Reprised from December 2020 (Masala Coffee official site).
Current project: Ektara, a multilingual album released song by song since 2023 (Indulge Express).
2026 line-up: eight members. Founder Varun Sunil and bassist Paul Joseph, who joined in 2014, are the two who go back to the start (Masala Coffee official site).

Masala Coffee band members in 2026

The band's official site lists eight members for 2026.

Varun Sunil: percussion, founder. A percussionist, singer, producer and composer from Kochi who has guided the band's music since 2014. The Hindu reported in 2019 that he began training in mridangam at the age of four.
Abhijith Anilkumar: lead vocals. A Carnatic-trained singer who has sung for Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu films.
Razik Mujawar: lead vocals. A singer-songwriter who blends acoustic sounds with melodic hip-hop. The official site says his single Dil Khoke has passed 10 million YouTube views.
Paul Joseph (Pauly): bass and vocals. A self-taught bassist who has been playing since the 1970s and has played on every Masala Coffee song since he joined in 2014.
Surya Bharadwaj: lead guitar. A self-taught guitarist and producer based in Karnataka who founded the GSS School of Music.
Daya Sankar: drums. A drummer from Calicut with 13 years of tabla training.
Amalsivan: violin. A violinist from Kerala with degrees in music, who moves between Carnatic, rock, jazz and folk.
Pranav KS: keyboards, with a focus on sound design and atmosphere.

Behind them, manager Binoy Balachandran has run tours and logistics since 2018, and he first joined the band's tech crew in 2012, according to the official site.

Earlier line-up and the 2024 vocal change

In 2018 The Hindu listed the line-up as Varun Sunil, singer Sooraj Santhosh, Daya Sankar, Preeth PS, David Crimson, Pauly, Joe Johnson and Krishna Raj.

Indulge Express reported in February 2024, as the band marked 10 years, that Abhijith Anilkumar and Razik Mujawar had come in as the new lead vocalists, and that Razik was found through Instagram. That pairing is the line-up most new listeners now see on stage.

The Masala Coffee story, year by year

2014 to 2015, Music Mojo and going viral

The band came together in late 2014. Its official site says the name was chosen to signal the different kind of music it plays, which it calls alternate folk rock. Its sessions for Kappa TV's Music Mojo put it in front of a national audience, and its versions of the Tamil film songs Munbe Vaa (January 2015) and Snehithane (November 2015) went viral. Wikipedia dates the band's Music Mojo debut to 2014, while the official site places the viral videos in 2015. The official site says those two videos are still the most-watched things the band has ever put online.

The Hindu reported in 2018 that the band had about 110,000 YouTube subscribers by then, and that its top four videos had about 33 million views between them.

2016 to 2019, films and the Kimaya singles

Masala Coffee wrote and performed music for films in this period, including Uriyadi (2016), Solo (2017), the Kannada film Mundina Nildana (2019) and the Tamil film Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal (2020), according to the official site and Wikipedia. Kaantha from Uriyadi became one of the songs the band is best known for.

In 2018 The Hindu reported that the band was working on its debut album, Kimaya. The official site lists the singles from that run as Arivaal and Safar in November 2018, Kuttanaadan in January 2019 and Vadakkanpattu in October 2019. These were the band's first official music videos.

2020 to 2022, Kaantha Reprised and The Radio Brew

Kaantha Reprised came out in December 2020 and, in the band's own words, became one of its signature records. The first season of The Radio Brew, a live session series, followed through 2021 and 2022, alongside the Jambox Sessions covers.

2023 to 2025, the Ektara run

Ektara is the band's multilingual album project. Indulge Express reported in 2025 that Masala Coffee first announced it as a 13-track album back in 2020. The official site lists the releases so far as Surangani with Fejo (2023), Urangaathey (2024), Dil Ka Pata (10 February 2025), Paint It Over Me (30 May 2025) and Kavava (25 July 2025). The Radio Brew Season 2 filmed five more sessions with Vedom Art in the same period.

Indulge Express described Kavava as a rock and metal take on a Carnatic krithi in raga Varali. It is the clearest example of what the band does best: taking something from Carnatic music or Kerala folk and giving it a full rock band arrangement.

2026, new singles and the road

Apple Music lists four new Masala Coffee singles in 2026: Kaantha Njaanum Varaam (1 June), The Psy of Kailasa (19 July), The Onam Song (24 August) and Aalayal Thara Venam (28 August). The band's official site lists Dubai World Trade Centre on 11 October 2026 and D'Marquee at Downtown East in Singapore on 18 December 2026. The band's Instagram posts, embedded on the site, describe the Singapore show as its return there after eight years.

Masala Coffee songs to start with

Munbe Vaa. An A.R. Rahman song, in the arrangement that made the band known in 2015. The official site lists it as a cover.
Snehithane. The second viral Music Mojo video from 2015.
Kaantha. The band's original song from the film Uriyadi (2016), later reworked as Kaantha Reprised in December 2020.
Kuttanaadan. A traditional song from the Kimaya singles, released in January 2019.
Aadiyilalo Anthamilalo. An original, released as the single Aadiyilalo in January 2020 and featured on the band's own music page.
Dil Ka Pata. A 2025 Ektara single and the first song on the band's showcase player.
Kavava. The 2025 Ektara single that puts a Carnatic krithi into a rock and metal frame.
Kaantha Njaanum Varaam. An original 2026 single, released on 1 June 2026 and featured on the band's showcase player.

How Masala Coffee fits into Kerala's indie scene

Masala Coffee belongs to the same wave as Thaikkudam Bridge, a Kerala band formed in 2013 that, according to Wikipedia, also had its first big success through Kappa TV's Music Mojo. Both bands mix Indian folk, Carnatic music and film songs with rock. For the full picture, read our guide to the Kerala indie music scene and our history of Thaikkudam Bridge.

The band also matters beyond Kerala. It performs in more than 10 languages, according to Indulge Express, and its own catalogue moves between Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi and English. If you like that crossover, our list of Indian indie pop artists is a good next stop.

Is Masala Coffee independent

Mostly, yes. Apple Music shows most of the band's own releases with a ℗ Masala Coffee line, including Kaantha Reprised and every Ektara single. Film songs are released by the film's music label, such as Sony Music for Uriyadi, Zee Music for Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal and Saregama for the Sila Nodigalil song Fun Maaro, and The Onam Song in 2026 carries a Zee Music line.