India’s first musical road debuts in Mumbai, to play ‘Jai Ho’ for motorists

Civic officials said the musical grooves are positioned around 500 metres ahead on the lane closest to the divider after the Worli-bound tunnel exit (Image: X)

Mumbai’s Coastal Road will soon feature the country’s first musical stretch, where vehicles driving over it will trigger music.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the musical road stretch on Wednesday. The installation is on the northbound lane between Nariman Point and Worli.

Fadnavis said the concept of a musical road developed along the Coastal Road is set to provide a delightful experience for motorists. He added that the innovative concept, based on Hungarian technology, would be implemented further in the future.

"In the first phase, the concept has been implemented on a 500-metre stretch of the Coastal Road, and there are plans to expand the musical road concept further," Fadnavis said.

Civic officials said the musical grooves are positioned around 500 metres ahead on the lane closest to the divider after the Worli-bound tunnel exit. As vehicles move over them at 70 to 80 kmph, the friction produces the melody of ‘Jai Ho’ from Slumdog Millionaire, which can be distinctly heard inside the vehicle.

The hit track was composed by AR Rahman, with lyrics penned by celebrated poet Gulzar. It went on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song as well as a Grammy.

Officials added that signboards have been installed inside the tunnel at 500 metres, 100 metres and 60 metres before the stretch to inform motorists about the musical road and the speed required to experience the tune.

Coastal Road project overview

The 29.2-km stretch, named the Dharamveer Swarajya Rakshak Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Coastal Road, runs from Marine Lines to Dahisar and links directly with the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. The ambitious project has been built at a cost of approximately Rs 14,000 crore.

Designed to address long-standing traffic bottlenecks, the corridor cuts travel time between south Mumbai and the northern suburbs to nearly 40 minutes from more than two hours, offering major relief to regular commuters.