Muskurane ki wajah tum ho.... Yes, the smile on homemaker Gargi Biswas’s face said it all, as actor Parambrata Chattopadhyay took the stage to loud cheers and applause for Royal Stag Mega Music presents Mega Music Night, in association with 

The Telegraph, at Oikatan, Nabapally in Barasat in mid-November (we will come to the Arijit Singh reference later!). 

The actor started with a disclaimer: “I’m not a singer. Primarily I am from the world of films.” By then his audience was already cheering on his every move, jostling for space and trying to get as close to the stage as possible. “I really enjoy this role. Not only do I enjoy performing, gaan bajna beche thakar jonyo. The idea is to have fun and share the songs that have inspired me… please cheer us on,” said Param, breaking into Ekbar bol from 22shey Srabon. 

Autograph connect

The songs he chose to perform fell into two categories: the hits from films he has starred in (like 22shey Srabon, Hemlock Society, Chotuskone) and the numbers he grew up on. And he delivered them all with a certain casual charm and candour, sometimes peppering the introductions to songs with witty asides. 

Faves from his songlist included popular numbers like Ekhon onek raat and Anjan Dutt’s Tumi na thakle. The backstories of the songs came to the fore. “This song is from a film that I wasn’t a part of… but I was supposed to be in that film. I went abroad to study. Eventually Indraneil (Sengupta) did the role. Can you guess the name of the song?” asked Param, breaking into Beche thakar gaan from Autograph. 

Rocking and ribbing 

Song over, Param shifted his attention to the crowd and some good ol’ ribbing followed. “The people in front are responsive but the ones at the back… it’s not that cold is it? Then why are you all still sitting on that carpet? But if you are feeling cold, then there is a way to get past it! Here’s a ‘hot’ song for you, but not a Honey Singh number! This is one of the finest love songs I have ever heard,” said the actor-turned-director, before singing the Arijit Singh number Tum hi ho (two hours later, Arijit himself sang the song at his live concert at P.C. Chandra Gardens!). 

High-energy Ranjana ami aar ashbona and Jibone ki pabona followed, and then Param went back to the ground-ed boys! “They have clearly decided not to get up. Okay, will you all rise if I do this song? There was no plan of doing this one but now I really want to see you all stand up... I’ve become desperate! Give me a D major scale,” said Param, launching into Jahan teri yeh nazar hai.

Mission accomplished, Param switched gears with the Tagore song Ekla cholo re and then Bawshonto eshe geche. “Here I am singing about bawshonto... and I have been shooting for a film called Hemanta since morning,” quipped Param, before wrapping up his set with Kokhon tomar ashbe telephone. 

Manna magic

As he was about to walk off the stage, a final request flew in. “Please sing a Manna Dey song,” pleaded an elderly lady. Param obliged, singing Ami je jalsha ghare. “Apart from Manna Dey, do you know who else has sung the song?” asked Param. “Sandhya Mukhopadhyay,” came the reply. “Correct,” smiled Param. 

Parambrata is Tollywood’s Mr Versatile because... 
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More memorable moments from Mega Music Night

 

 

A month after Durga Puja, Chaaran, the Calcutta-based folk band, brought back the festive mood at Babu Bagan (near Dhakuria) for Royal Stag Mega Music presents Mega Music Night, in association with The Telegraph. The brother-sister duo of Arpan and Arpita Chakraborty performed baul and jhumur numbers like Bokul phool bokul phool, Sal tole bela dubilo, Majhi tor naam janina, Piriti kathaler atha and Lal paharir deshe ja. “I have grown up in a folk music family. My father is folk singer Subhas Chakraborty. My sister too is a music lover, and she joined Chaaran last year. The Calcutta audience  enjoys jhumur, baul and loksangeet. Babu Bagan had a great crowd,” said Arpan.

 

 

 

 

 

The second half of the evening had Raghab Chatterjee wowing the audience with a mix of filmi and fusion songs. The audience clapped along as he started with Bhubanmohini bondi tomare and the Rajasthani folk number Kesariya balama. Pumping up the energy with Ami takdum takdum bajai, he moved on to the Rabindrasangeet Tumi robe nirobe and RD Burman’s Shono ei to somoy on request. “My childhood was filled with such music concerts in my para. From Rabindra-Nazrul sandhya to performances by artistes like Manna Dey, Nirmalendu Chowdhury and Indrani Sen, I attended them all. Kirtan performances in my mamabari enriched me musically,” said Raghab.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Percussionist Bappa Biswas’s beat boxing during a fusion song was a standout moment. “I had watched Ustad Zakir Hussain perform beat boxing when I was in school. So I had decided to incorporate it when I perform on stage. I do a lot of  jugalbandi with my musicians during concerts,” said Raghab.