He was greeted on stage with ear-splitting screams and claps, and Anupam Roy turned it on and how! The singer-songwriter wowed the Nazrul Mancha audience — at Cancun Bhumi presents 91.9 Friends FM Live Plugged, in association with t2 & Yamaha — before Anjan Dutt took the stage, with one hit after another. Boba tunnel, Phaka frame, Tarar moto, Bawshonto eshe gechhe... he strummed his guitar, matching steps to the beat, flashing his cute smile and holding out the mic to his fans. And they lived it up to it, singing along with Anupam to Amake amar moto thakte dao. Post-show, Anupam talked concerts and more with t2...

You don’t talk much between songs…

I try to talk as less as possible and maximise the music part. I have tons of songs on my set list and I want to sing all of them, or as much as possible. If I talk more it’ll eat into the time allotted for me.

You come across as a shy, quiet, soft-spoken person. But you get totally transformed on stage. How do you do that?

Well, a person can have different characteristics. On stage the spotlight is on me and I cannot afford to be shy. There’s also fun in soaking in that atmosphere. I love playing football, and I’m pretty aggressive on the field. I’m a different person on the football field (laughs).

What does the stage mean to you or how important is it to you?

It is very important. The stage is the musician’s ultimate place. You can reach out to so many people and instantly get feedback on songs. You can gauge the pulse since there’s a direct connect with the audience. It gives me a huge kick when the audience sings along with me. It energises me. I get a lot of positive energy from live gigs, it’s really invigorating. I get inspired to do new kind of work. And if the rendition of a song isn’t up to mark, the audience lets me know that too.  

How seriously have you worked on your stagecraft over the years?

On stage I try to be as spontaneous as possible, feeding off the energy of the audience. I just let myself be and have fun on stage. Initially, I wasn’t aware of certain technical aspects of live shows, but I just loved to perform on stage. I didn’t know what one had to do during soundcheck. I started with a basic set-up, and I would sing seated since I was playing my guitar on every song. I started my preparations after forming a band.

The songs you perform at gigs are set in a modern rock format. How did you arrive at this sound?

On stage I don’t like to do the sound I’ve done for films. We have a pop/rock band set-up, without a violin or a flute player or an orchestra… so I can’t recreate the film music on stage. My songs easily
lend themselves to this pop/rock format. But we’ll move out of this domain very soon.

When did you pick up the guitar?  

I participated in a JU fest in 2001 and did a Westlife song. A woman there suggested that I start performing with an instrument and then I picked up the guitar. But my learning process has been haphazard. I started concentrating more on vocals than the guitar, and took up vocal lessons. I usually compose on guitar or keyboard.

Do you have a favourite Nazrul Mancha memory?

Initially, I wasn’t comfortable doing live shows at Nazrul Mancha since acoustics were quite bad at that time (2011). We didn’t have sound engineers then and a Nazrul Mancha gig then meant we wouldn’t be able to hear ourselves. We got comfortable once our sound engineer came in, we got better monitors and finally Nazrul Mancha underwent a huge transformation. It’s really good now.

Arindam Chatterjee

You are the music director of the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Piku. How would you describe the soundtrack?

It’s very organic. One will get to hear a variety of musical instruments. And the songs are melody-based. It’ll be an acoustic-sounding album. And I’ll be singing in Hindi. 

Why they loved it

 

“These days we hardly find musicians who can perform their own compositions and keep the audience entertained. Anupam Roy is one such musician. Boba tunnel and Ekhon onek raat are among my favourites. I even read about his girlfriend Piya in t2 and she has a pretty great taste in music and that is very cool!” said Angana Mukherjee, a second-year student at CIEM

 

 

“I have always been a huge fan of Anupam Roy, even though his lyrics are very difficult to comprehend. The music he creates is amazing. His songs remind me of the love of my life and I am sure Anupam thinks of Piya when he composes them. They make a very charming couple,” said Writi Bagchi, a research analyst

 

“Anupam Roy has a high level of energy and I completely adore that. Bawshonto eshe gechhe is a lovely tune. It is one of those songs that you want to listen to on a nice rainy day,” said Roshni Hazra, a second-year student of English at Loreto College

 

“Anupam Roy’s performances are always brilliant. His soothing voice relaxes me. Each of his songs has a depth which cannot be found in the lyrics of others’ songs. Piya is really lucky to have such a talented man in her life and I wish them a happy future,” said Suparna Dutta, an MBA student at NSHM Knowledge Campus Kolkata Group of Institute

Additional reporting by Abhinanda Dutta
Pictures: Pabitra Das

Who’s your favourite singer-songwriter — Anjan or Anupam? Tell t2@abp.in