#DawshomAwbotaar, #BaunduleGhuri, #AnupamRoy
IBNS: Singer Anupam Roy‘s composer’s version of Baundule Ghuri, a popular track from Srijit Mukherji’s 2023 Durga Puja release, Dawshom Awbotaar, was released recently. IBNS correspondent Souvik Ghosh gets in touch with Anupam over the newest version, Dawshom Awbotaar, music industry and more…
Q. What different elements did you try to bring into the composer’s version?
A. Baundule Ghuri is primarily a duet song. SVF had asked me to make a solo on it. The film version, which has been sung by Arijit Singh and Shreya Ghoshal, was more like a conversation. Obviously, I had to edit the female portion of it. As a result, the length of the song was reduced. I have introduced a few variations into the composer’s version.
Q. Did this composer’s version give you a kind of liberty which is offered by music albums?
A. A lot of songs do give such liberties but not this one. This song is created entirely for the film so I didn’t have any spare thoughts. It could have been the case for some of my independent songs, which were later incorporated in a film.https://www.youtube.com/embed/1reZByeUhPY?si=yJdqRVJ1yxqgXVQs
Q. Your songs in Baishe Srabon were a huge hit. Did you face any challenge while working for Dawshom Awbotaar, which is a prequel?
A. Honestly, I didn’t have any such feeling. I felt a challenge to offer a different kind of album to the audience. All songs can’t be the same. Moreover, songs can’t be measured or judged on a scale because each one has its own beat. And this is true for any form of art. But I am aware of this kind of a pressure because the audience treats art as a commodity. I have always tried to make an album unique in its own tone.
Q. How do you keep yourself isolated from the trend of ‘treating art as a commodity’?
A. It is very difficult. Very difficult because we live in a market-driven world. Not that I have completely been able to isolate myself from the world but I keep on trying. It’s a constant process. One of the major ways is by disconnecting from social media and creating an imaginary world of one’s own and indulging in creativity.
Q. How much the reel culture has affected the music industry?
A. In a market-driven industry, the investors will definitely want the audience to use their songs for reels. Now, an artiste, who is making songs aligning with that, will be able to ace it. But for me, my goal is never reel but the song. When I am making a song, I don’t care about whether it is turning out reel-worthy or not.
Photo courtesy: SVF PR Team
I am only interested to know whether the audience is connecting to the song at a personal level or not. This is more important to me than people making reels on my songs. But this does not mean I am against reels. A lot of reels were being made on Baundule Ghuri and Aami Shei Manushta Aar Nei.
Q. How would you sum up 2023 that had kept you busy professionally?
A. I have worked in three major Bengali projects including Dawshom Awbotaar. People have loved the songs. Our work is always for the love of people. For my own satisfaction, I have worked on an album too. So it has been a good year. Apart from these, I have also worked in three Hindi films.
(Images: SVF PR Team)
