MUMBAI: Bangalore based folk-rock band ‘Swarathma’ has made it big by receiving nomination at the South Asian Rising Star Film Award for their debut film Greater Elephant.

The band has been nominated in the  ‘Best Composer’ category for Indie director Srinivas Sunderrajan’s second film Greater Elephant.

On Swarathma’s debut in film music and receiving nomination, band bassist Jishnu Dasgupta said, “It is a great thrill for a young band like us to be nominated for the SAIFF awards! Not only is a great boost of confidence for us, it feels great that our name's been taken in the same breath as composers like Ram Sampath, Amit Trivedi and Sneha Khanwalkar whose work we've admired. We'd heard of Srinivas' work as a filmmaker and when he approached us with the request of featuring our songs on the soundtrack of his film we were happy to be a part of it. The film has a lot of heart, and it our songs really go with the vibe that he has managed to create on the film.”

The South Asian Rising Star Film Award is an international award and a new initiative started by the South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF), New York, to celebrate its ninth anniversary. Already been released internationally, the movie has won ‘Jury Award for Best Film’ at the South Asian International Film Festival, New York in 2011.  The film releases in Pune on 19th October.

The album also features tracks like ‘Yeshu, Allah Aur Krishna’, ‘Sur Mera’ and ‘Ee Bhoomi’ from Swarathma’s eponymous debut album. The background music for the film has been composed by independent musicians Siddharth Basrur (Goddess Gagged) and Ayan De (Midicore).

Commenting on the music and film, director Srinivas Sunderrajan stated, “I strongly believe that Swarathma's music is universal. Their music relates to anyone and everyone who can feel pain, love and longing yet at the same time enjoy the simple pleasures that life offers - something that I, as the maker of the film, believe worked to our advantage. Their nomination at the South Asian Rising Stars Awards as the only true ‘indie artist’ in that category is a testament to the fact that music composed from the heart always leaves an impression.”

The film continues to be screened at international festivals across the world. On 5 October, the film was  screened at the Indian Film Festival of The Hague, Netherlands. Earlier this year, Greater Elephant was screened at the Indian Film Festival of Hope in San Francisco in as well as at a festival called CPH PIX in Copenhagen in August 2012.