'Salon songs' to fix your soul: Developer makes website to play bangers from barber shops

Gen Z has found a rather unexpected way to revisit the India of its childhood by turning old Bollywood songs and everyday desi settings into immersive digital experiences. What started as a quirky website recreating the music of old Indian barber shops has now opened the door to a larger nostalgia trip, taking listeners from neighbourhood saloon chairs to highways, qawwali mehfils and roadside chai stalls.

Indian developer Yash Bharadwaj recently created Salon.wtf, a website designed to recreate the music-filled atmosphere of 1990s and early-2000s barber shops. The idea revolves around the era of ₹20 haircuts, simple hairstyles and neighbourhood shops where Bollywood songs played in the background. Bharadwaj shared the project on X on August 8, and the post crossed 1.6 million views as users began sharing their own memories.

The Barber Shop: Where Kumar Sanu Became Part Of The Memory

The first visual captures exactly that feeling. A colourful neighbourhood barber shop becomes the setting for an old Bollywood melody, with people sitting around and everyday life happening outside. For many Indians, these shops were more than places to get a haircut. They were where songs by singers such as Kumar Sanu became part of childhood memories.

One social media user summed up the feeling perfectly, saying that whenever they hear a Kumar Sanu song, it feels like they are getting a haircut.

The Truck: Bollywood At Full Volume

The nostalgia then moves from the barber chair to the highway. The second visual features a brightly painted Indian truck parked near a roadside dhaba, bringing back the familiar world of “Horn OK Please”, long journeys and music playing at full volume.

It is the kind of setting where a Bollywood song becomes part of the journey, accompanied by sunset highways, steaming chai and a truck decorated with the unmistakable colours of India.

The Qawwali Mehfil: When Music Was An Experience

The third visual changes the mood completely, transporting listeners into a traditional qawwali gathering. Musicians sit together with harmoniums and tabla while the Taj Mahal glows in the background.

Unlike today's individualised headphone experience, the scene represents a time when music was often communal, something people gathered around, sang together and experienced collectively.

The Chai Stall: Ordinary India, Extraordinary Memories

The final image takes the nostalgia to a roadside chai stall. Large metal kettles, glass cups, biscuits and busy streets create a setting instantly familiar to anyone who has grown up around India's local markets.

And perhaps that is why this experiment works. These aren't just old songs; they are soundtracks to places people remember.

Gen Z may have grown up with Spotify and algorithm-driven playlists, but this trend proves that nostalgia still works best when it comes with a place, a sound and a memory. The internet isn't just bringing back 90s Bollywood. It is rebuilding the India that those songs once belonged to.