Every day when the sun sets over Mumbai, members of M-town breakers, a local group of rappers, meet at Shivaji Park, Mumbai's iconic park, to practice their skills or to prepare for their new video song.
It all started in 2016, when Manas, a Hip-Hop choreographer from Dharavi, inspired by the movie 'Break Out' felt like learning head spin.
"I was practising in a public park when some dancers contacted him. So that is how this group - M-town breakers was born. It was initially a dance group," Manas Dhiwar founder of M-town breakers told SBS Hindi.
Along the way, rappers, beatboxers, singers and graphic artists joined and M-town breakers became a Hip - Hop group.
Most members of this group are between 18 to 22 years of age, mostly students who are from a low-income family.
Manas dropped out of his bachelor's degree. Prathamesh helps his single mother in her tiffin service business and others like Rakesh, Guru, Sunil too have faced hardship.
"In the beginning, we used to make dance videos with our phones. Then we got an iPhone. Then we all contributed to hire DSLR camera" says Manas.
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There are many challenges to pursue their dream, but one of the major challenges is financial.
The group members come together to contribute to making a video. Many times, their big ideas are not realised as they do not have enough money to make video songs, record, hire a producer or manage other expenses.
The group featured prominently in the film, Gully Boy, based on their life and struggles.
These street rappers, Prathamesh and Manas, featured in two tracks from the movie – Aapna Time Ayega and Meri Gully Mein.
"It feels good when there is a film on us, the actual gully boys and people are paying attention to it," Manas says.
M-town breakers want to change society's perspective so they choose to work on real issues like - corruption, women's safety, political satire and many more.
Their songs showcase their sheer talent despite the financial challenges to realise their goals.
"We don't want the sympathies. We want people to look at our talent because we have loads of it," says Manas.
