Established since 2009, by MD Hinal Pattani & Shama Shah as co-founders, The 515 Crew is a widely recognised brand within the British Asian Music Industry. The 515 Crew are the leaders in Live Bollywood and alternative British Asian Music. With extensive experience in corporate and private events, this act has gone from strength to strength year after year gaining the trust and respect of Artistes such as Shama Artiste, Chirag Rao, Sonia Panesar, Shin (DCS), Channi Singh (Alaap), Sardara Gill, Taz (Stereo Nation), Navin Kundra, Mangal Singh, San2, Amarjit Sidhu, Jaz Dhami and Sona Walia. Led by Hinal Pattani as Director, since 2009 the band have performed major concerts, melas, private and corporate functions worldwide alongside household names such as UB40, Billy Ocean, Kool & The Gang, Labyrinth and The Specials. As well as being a significant player on the Live circuit, The 515 are also a production team and have had various releases since 2009 earning them recognition for creating a unique, and very sophisticated 'Brit Bollywood' sound. The 515 are multi genre. Between its core members, 2 main vocalists (Shama & Chirag Rao) and a host of vocalists they collaborate with, there is very little that they do not cater for. Having toured extensively now individually and together, The 515 will bring an unmatchable sound to your event and the personal touch it takes to make your event that much more special.

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Hinal Pattani – Musical Director

Instrument(s): Keyboards, Piano & Bass

Hinal Pattani is first and foremost a pianist and lead keyboardist and has been performing on stage since the age of 15, and been producing material for world music acts since 2000.

 

Hinal has acted as MD for several acts in the British Asian Music Circuit such as The 515 Crew, Shama Artiste, Chirag Rao, Sonia Panesar, Taz Stereo Nation, Shin DCS, Navin Kundra, Alaap, Najma Akhtar, Mangal Singh and Silinder Pardesi to name a few. Having travelled the world extensively and played across several genre's covering Jazz, Blues, Funk, Reggae, Soul, Bollywood, Bhangra, Indian and Western Classical, Indian and Western folk styles, it's difficult to place him in one particular box.

 

In June of 2012 he debuted as Musical Director with The Royal Shakespeare Company on Iqbal Khan's production of 'Much Ado About Nothing' featuring Meera Syal and Kulvinder Ghir of 'Goodness Gracious Me'. Hinal has worked on several theatre productions in recent times including Bombay Superstar (Phyzzical), The Empress (RSC), Surinderella (Rifco), The Indian Army at The Palace (Rifco).

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His session works also have an impressive clientelle with names such as Arijit Singh at SSE Wembley Arena in June 2015, Kumar Sanu, Himesh Reshamiya, Gurdas Maan, Asha Bhosle, Nitin Mukesh, Anup Jalota, Kanika Kapoor, Rasika Shekhar, Lisa Mishra, Sarthak Kalyani.

 

Bindi Bhumbra

Instrument(s): Lead Guitar

Bindi Bhumbra has been a fully-fledged member of The 515 Crew for the past 3 years.

Born in Glasgow, Bindi started his musical career in the 80’s as founder member of the Scottish Bhangra band, Bombay Talkie. During this time he co-composed much of the band’s music, and wrote the hit Chargiye, which was the opening track of the band’s no 1 album Judgement Day. In the 90’s, Bindi moved to London and became part of the London music scene, performing major stints as guitarist for Holle Holle, and then more recently, Alaap.

 

When asked about his musical influences Bindi said “I started playing guitar because of Elvis, and then became obsessed by the Beatles – their talent for melody and arrangement was amazing. And Jimi, who was the greatest showman guitarist of all time. However I grew up watching Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh movies in the La Scala cinema in Sauchiehall St, and so the songs of Kishore and the compositions of R.D. Burman are a large part of my musical DNA. I am really enjoying my time now with the 515 Crew, I’m exposed to a huge range of genres and musical styles. I love the challenge, and the fact that therefore I’m always developing as a musician.”

 

Ragen Brahmbhatt

Instrument(s): Bass Guitar

 Ragen was born in Kenya into a musical family and influenced from the start by his father J K Brahmbhatt, who was a self taught classical singer and one of a handful of ‘Dilruba’ players in Kenya at the time and then the UK. Guided by his father, Ragen’s first instrument was tabla when he started training with Pandit Manikrao Popatkar for a short time. Guitar and bass lessons soon followed when an opportunity arose to join a local band, playing R and B, soul and blues. Ragen joined his older brother’s Bollywood band and has been performing in the UK music circuit ever since.

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During the Bhangra explosion mid 80’s, Ragen started playing with the hugely popular bhangra band, Holle Holle as part of the original set up as well as freelancing with other bhangra bands on the scene at the time including Premi and Shava Shava, whilst still maintaining his connection with the Bollywood circuit. In the 90’s Ragen left the bhangra scene to join a new bollywood band, Sound Machine. Having freelanced with several bands, Ragen has now been with The 515 Crew since it first started in 2009.

 

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Dhaivat Acharya

Instrument(s): Tabla, Dholak, Congos

Dhaivat is a versatile percussionist born and bought up in the UK who has performed with leading bollywood, bhangra and folk artists. He has learnt classical tabla and indian percussion under the guidance of his father and tabla teachers both here in the UK and in India, where Dhaivat spent 6 months learning from the great Pt Bhavani Shankar.

 

Dhaivat performed in the West End musical Bend it Like Beckham and has also contributed to various music albums produced in the UK and Mumbai as well as featuring in music videos released by top UK artists. He was also part of the 515 musical team for Bombay Superstar musical.

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Shama Shah

Vocalist

Born in Libya and deeply connected to her Indian roots, Shama has been performing for audiences worldwide since childhood. Trained by renowned vocalists Smt. Swati Natekar, Smt. Krishna Chakraborty, Mangal Singh, and Tauseef Akhtar, she has developed a distinctive voice and style of her own.

Shama is the only Asian female artiste in the UK to have led two successful long-running bands:
• Shama & Friends (1994–2009)
• The 515 Crew (2009–present)

In 2010, Shama made her debut as a lyricist with Maahi, the first release from 515 Productions, followed by Diljaani, Baarish, and Jogan. Her single Jogan entered the iTunes World Music Top 10 on its first day of release.

Songs from her debut album Forever Yours (1995) have featured in Taken 3, National Geographic documentaries, the French film Gomez et Tavarez, Coronation Street, and BBC1’s The Real Marigold Hotel.

Over the years, Shama has shared the stage with celebrated Bollywood artistes including Anup Jalota, Sukhwinder Singh, Nitin Mukesh, and Mangal Singh.

In 2020, she received the SHE Award in the Arts & Culture category.

Albums: Forever Yours, Spellbound
Singles with The 515 Crew: Maahi, Diljaani, Baarish, Jogan

Additional features include Let Me Love You on Geri Halliwell’s debut album Schizophonic and Biba Nova on Roddy Frame’s album Reason For Living.

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Chirag Rao

Vocalist

Chirag Rao is a dynamic British-Indian singer, actor, and performer celebrated for his rich, soulful vocals and commanding stage presence. With roots in Hindustani classical music and a passion for Bollywood’s golden era, Chirag has built a reputation as one of the UK’s leading interpreters of Hindi cinema music, seamlessly bridging traditional and contemporary styles.

 

Lead Role – Bombay Superstars (West End / Phizzical Productions)
Starred as Arjun, the male lead in this acclaimed musical set in 1970s Bombay cinema. Chirag combined acting and live playback singing, delivering iconic Bollywood songs to sold-out audiences across the UK, culminating in a celebrated West End run.

 

Principal male vocalist in Bollywood Time Machine, Yeh Dosti and Tujhe Dekha with Desi Central, performing to audiences of over 1,000 nationwide. These tours celebrate timeless Bollywood music and storytelling, earning rave reviews for Chirag’s versatility and charisma on stage.

 

The Bollywood Bratpack (Band Leader & Vocalist)

Fronts The Bollywood Bratpack, a live band fusing classic Bollywood hits with jazz and swing influences,

showcased at leading UK venues including the Leicester Square Theatre.

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Chirag’s voice has been described as “velvet-toned and effortlessly expressive.” His range spans romantic ballads, soulful ghazals and high-energy cinematic anthems. Trained by renowned playback vocalist Tauseef Akhtar, he brings authenticity, precision and emotion to every performance.

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