Picture this. A hall full of music buffs in Japan swaying in perfect harmony to an old Syrian Christian hymn of which they understand, well, not a single word. Now imagine a similar scene playing out at the Smithsonian or at Trafalgar Square or closer home in Mumbai's MMRDA Grounds. Unlikely, right? Well, not if the hymn in question is called Kandisa and is being rendered at an Indian Ocean concert.

Indian Ocean's soulful music flows freely, charting its own intrepid path. Since its inception in the early '90s, the band - guitarist Susmit Sen, percussionist Asheem Chakravarty, bassist Rahul Ram and drummer Amit Kilam all of whom sing - has constantly pushed the creative envelope with eclectic and universally loved albums like Kandisa, Desert Rain and Jhini that dissolve musical genres to weave uniquely enchanting compositions. The music transcends language, geography, age. Its sheer power even shone through a proverbial eclipse when the group's Bollwood music debut Black Friday got stuck with the censors. Though the theatrical release of Anurag Kashyap's cinematic recreation of the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts was held up for a long time, Indian Ocean's haunting soundtrack - featuring the chart-topping Bandey - became an instant hit and made the movie famous well before its release.

Black Friday, of course, was a while ago and more Bollywood projects have come the band's way since 2004. One they're already working on, while the other two "like most Bollywood projects, have gotten pushed a bit". But the maverick group has no intentions of selling out to Bollywood. "Honestly, I don't think mainstream stuff would even come to us," says Chakravarty. With the unconventional cinema of Nagesh Kukunoor and Anurag Kashyap achieving box-office success in recent times, aren't they likely to find more takers for their unique compositions now? Ram agrees Bollywood is rife with change. "The mainstream itself is changing. Dil Chahta Hai is an example of a mainstream movie with different and very beautiful music. We are now being approached by people who like Indian Ocean. Now more than ever people might agree to take us on our own terms."

But they are not sitting around waiting for that to happen. With a frenetic performing schedule, the globetrotting quartet is a regular presence on the national and international music scene. They don't believe in putting their music on hold for Bollywood and think of themselves primarily as performers. "Live performances are far more interesting than restricting yourself in a small studio. We have been making albums and performing live way before Black Friday happened. Even if the movie hadn't happened, we would have done our stuff. We don't see films as our goal in life. We want to continue to be Indian Ocean and do music we believe in. Films could be our retirement plan," smiles Ram.