When Bullet meets the Hall: A symphony in steel

In a coming together of legacy, craft and creativity, the Royal Albert Hall in London has collaborated with motorcycle brand Royal Enfield for the creation of ‘The Ballad of the Bullet’. The continuous production features London-based composer and multi-disciplinary artist Rushil Ranjan, and it is official campaign film for the launch of the new Royal Enfield Bullet 650 motorcycle. 

Ranjan, a Royal Enfield enthusiast, life-long rider and an artist who bridges the prominent cultures of motorcycling and music. He has composed an original score that translates the story of this motorcycle into a powerful musical composition.

For the first time in history, the Royal Albert Hall’s 153-year-old organ—a British Icon in its own right—joins forces with traditional Chenda and Paria drums from South India, creating a stunning dialogue between grandeur and raw percussive energy. The ballad culminates in a transcendent veena solo from fellow associate artist Abi Sampa. 

The campaign film was released at EICMA 2025 in celebration of the launch of the Bullet in its new incarnation on the acclaimed 650cc platform. It showcases the Bullet 650 placed on the stage around the Hall’s 5,272 seater auditorium while a group of classical musicians surround the motorcycle to perform on a range of instruments.

Matthew Todd, director of programming at the Royal Albert Hall, said, “We’re incredibly proud to be partnering with Royal Enfield, with our associate artist Ranjan at the forefront of the collaboration. His deep connection to the Royal Albert Hall and Royal Enfield shines through in this fabulous film, with both his personal appearance and cinematic score helping provide a truly celebratory launch of the Bullet 650. We’re thrilled to see where this collaboration will lead.”

Mohit Dhar Jayal, chief brand officer, Royal Enfield, added “Royal Enfield’s global community is full of exceptional individuals and organisations that are constantly exploring new forms and expressions of motorcycling culture. The results of these quests and experiments are always spectacular and this collaboration with the Royal Albert Hall is a beautiful example of this creative process.”

Ranjan is an award-winning composer, arranger, and producer known for blending global classical traditions with contemporary orchestral music. He was announced as a Royal Albert Hall associate artist alongside Abi Sampa earlier this year. The two artists, who sold out the Hall with their Orchestral Qawwali Project last year, have already announced the first shows of their tenure, including a spectacular new collaboration with AR Rahman, titled Rangreza रंगरेज़ा, which will run across three dates in April 2026. They will also work with the venue’s Engagement team to inspire music students, young people and community groups, and platform the next generation of artists.

Campaign’s take:  When Royal Enfield rides into the Royal Albert Hall, history doesn’t just echo; it roars in harmony. The Ballad of the Bullet, the brand’s latest campaign film, transforms its flagship motorcycle into a cultural symphony that fuses British heritage with Indian rhythm.

Founded in 1901, the 124-year-old marque finds itself quite literally at home in the 153-year-old concert hall. This is an elegant metaphor for how legacy and reinvention can share the same stage.

The film opens in monochrome, a visual nod to the Bullet’s vintage soul. As colour seeps in, each contour gleams under orchestral light, revealing the evolution of a machine that has outlasted trends, governments and generations. Composer Rushil Ranjan conducts this heritage with finesse. He blends the might of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with South Indian Chenda and Parai drums, before the veena takes the narrative to its crescendo.

This is not just a soundtrack; it’s a dialogue between two nations and two timeless institutions. The Ballad of the Bullet feels like a cultural duet where piston and percussion, steel and soul, merge seamlessly. Instead of celebrating a motorcycle; it celebrates motion itself, which is eternal, emotional, and in perfect tempo.