Gajanan Dudhalkar

The beat’s moving faster than ever for singer and composer Jeet Gannguli. He’s the first choice of Bengali movie directors — whatever the type of music they want. Whether it’s peppy numbers like the title track in the film Poran Jay Jolia Re or soft romantic numbers like Jaage Re Jaage Re Mon in Prem Amar or innovative compositions like the rock-based Jiboner Jalchabi in Amanush, he’s making music that has caught the fancy of the masses.

At a time when Bengali cinema’s getting adventurous and trying out newer subjects, Gannguli is suddenly everywhere. He has received rave reviews for his musical experiments in films like Amanush, Josh, Bolo Naa Tumi Aamar and Challenge. His latest compositions from Dui Prithibi, directed by Raj Chakraborty, have also become hot favourites.

Says director Chakraborty: “Gannguli’s magic touch is evident in the foot-thumping track Yaare Ve, which is a hit. And just when you thought that he was capable of doing only energetic scores, he surprises you with a soulful romantic soundtrack like Bol Na Aar.”

The composer (right) sings with actors Jeet and Koel Mullick at a charity event

What is it about Jeet Gannguli that has listeners craving for more? One answer is that his forte is fusing eastern sensibilities with Western sounds. Says lyricist and singer Anindya Chattopadhyay: “His music is fresh because he understands what listeners want. Most importantly, he loves to experiment. His sense of melody and rhythm fetch him full marks as a composer.”

Says Gannguli: “From Western symphony to Middle-Eastern sounds to Indian folk music, today music directors need to expand their horizons. People ask what my magic formula for Bengali films today is. I consider my music edgy, urban and with an earthy element.”

Gannguli has his hands full for the foreseeable future with upcoming Bengali films like Mon Je Kore Uru Uru directed by Sujit Guha, which will release in Diwali and Kella Fateh releasing at the end of the year. In both films he has innovated fearlessly — in the former he’s used Sufi music accompanied by the Irish flute, and in the latter he is experimenting with earthy Baul music of Bengal. He’s also scoring the music for Paglu directed by Rajib Kumar and Shedin Dekha Hoyechilo by Sujit Mondal. In Mondal’s movie he has already scored soft romantic foot-tapping tracks to suit the mood of the movie.

Gannguli and Monali Thakur regale the audience at a live show; (below) the composer loves to spend his leisure time at home with his wife Chandrani (left) and friends

The composer has more offers in the pipeline but says he prefers to turn down work rather than get overloaded with it. He says, “I am choosy about work. I don’t follow any particular musical trend. I listen to my directors’ suggestions and have discussions with them. New music is created out of these discussions.”

Chattopadhyay reckons that Gannguli is one of the key forces responsible for bringing back audiences to watch Bengali cinema. He says: “Young listeners were averse to Bengali films even a few years ago. Composers were mindlessly copying Hindi films. But the scenario has changed today thanks to Jeet’s fresh music.”

Gannguli is more modest but admits that he’s keen to help change Bengali film music. He says: “I’ve been greatly influenced by the music of R.D. Burman and Sudhin Dasgupta, and I took it as a challenge to bring back the golden days of Bengali music. I’m happy that youngsters are tuning in to Bengali film music and even downloading ringtones from Bengali film soundtracks.”

Another of Gannguli’s strong points as a music director is that he has well-established relationships with almost all established singers like Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal and even new singers like Monali Thakur and June Banerjee who are climbing the charts today.

Says Thakur, who has sung several of his compositions: “The best part about him is that he’s open to suggestions and allows space to new singers.” She adds: “On the one hand he’s deeply rooted in Indian classical music and on the other he has a vast knowledge of contemporary music. He gives melody prime importance and that’s why his music has a lot of energy.”

Thakur also attributes the popularity of his songs to the top-notch production quality. She says, “As a composer, his music quality is smart. And when the production quality goes up, it’s bound to succeed.” Thakur plans to work on a private album with Gannguli soon.

His musical journey began when he started playing the tabla at an almost prodigy-like four years old. He followed this up by learning the tumba (drums). Later, as a teenager, his father Kali Ganguly, who was an accordionist, saw the spark in him and took him to jazz guitarist Carlton Kitto. Also, he trained in Indian classical music and Rabindrasangeet with his mother Meera Ganguly. He considers his first guitar, which his father gifted him in 1990, as one of his prized possessions.

In other ways too he started out young. Gannguli, who was born and brought up in north Calcutta, began composing music when he was in school. For instance, his superhit song Dhaker Tale sung by Abhijeet Bhattacharya in the film Poran Jai Jaliya Re was first composed by him for a children’s play. “I used to record my songs and keep them. So Dhaker Tale was first composed as Satti Bhuter Galpo Boli for a play. When director Ravi Kinnagi wanted a foot-tapping number for a Durga Puja scene, I suggested this composition and he immediately agreed,” he recalls.

Dev and Subhashree dance to a number composed by Gannguli in Poran Jai Joliya Re

Gannguli moved to Mumbai in 1996 accompanying bhajan singer Anup Jalota. At the time his father had just met with a serious accident and he was in two minds whether to go. “It was a major turning point in my career when Anup Jalota invited me to accompany him on his various world tours. I was in two minds whether to pursue a music career in Mumbai or to stay back in Calcutta. Being the only son, it was a tough decision.”

Apart from doing world tours with Anup Jalota, he started composing ad jingles. “Ad jingles are still my bread and butter,” he says.

His tryst with composing began in 1999 when he teamed with Pritam in Hindi films like Tere Liye and Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai. The duo eventually parted ways and Gannguli took to composing for Bengali films.

His first film was Premi in 2004 directed by Ravi Kinnagi. “When I started composing for Bengali films, I had to face a lot of criticism because directors were unsure about my work,” he recalls.

But that situation didn’t last and there was no stopping him after that. He’s had an incredible run with several chartbusters from films like Bandhan, I Love You, Premer Kahini, Love, Jackpot, Challenge, Dujone, Prem Amar, Amanush and Josh. Besides commercial Bengali cinema, he has also composed title tracks for several Hindi and Bengali serials like Meri Awaz Ko Mil Gayi Roshni, Maniben.Com, Ekhane Akaash Neel, Maa and Durga.

Offers from the Hindi film industry are also pouring in. Last year he composed music for a Hindi film titled Morning Walk directed by Arup Dutta, which starred Sharmila Tagore and Anupam Kher. “There are offers from Bollywood but they are too premature to talk about,” he says.

So what’s his style of work? “I cannot work at a stretch. I take innumerable breaks in between. And I cannot work under pressure,” he says. Though he is based in Mumbai, he travels to Calcutta frequently for story sittings with directors. I love to brainstorm with my directors before I compose. Right now, I am building my own recording studio in my Mumbai flat,” he says.

The composer also acknowledges that his family plays a big role in his life — even more so after he has become a star. His wife Chandrani who runs her own consultancy in Mumbai says, “He may be racing up the musical charts but at home he is extremely disorganised. Jeet is very forgetful and that often leads to fights.”

But she adds: “However, as a composer he is the most chilled-out person I have ever come across as he doesn’t get hyper during recordings.” Chandrani sang a duet with her husband in the hit number Keu Elo Mone Mone from the Dev-Koel Mullick starrer Bolo Na Tumi Amar.

When he isn’t composing, Gannguli likes to read books related to music. His leisure time is completely devoted to his wife and friends. He says, “I am not into social networking. I just call my friends to my house and we spend some quality time together.”

The young musician has plenty to be happy about right now. But he insists that neither the awards nor the trophies have made him complacent. He says: “I have a long way to go. Things are changing in Bengali films and I want people to remember me as part of that change.”