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| (Left to right) Sumitra Baral (Babul’s mother), Mahua Lahiri, Babul Supriyo and Usha Uthup at the launch of Babul Baul at Park Prime (formerly Chrome Hotel) on August 23. Picture: Rashbehari Das |
Saturday afternoon and BJP MP Babul Supriyo is relaxing in his Park Prime (formerly Chrome Hotel) room, listening to Eric Clapton’s My Father’s Eyes and eyeing a plate of chocolates. After all, to borrow a line from Forrest Gump, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” Despite his hectic schedule, the singer has found time to record yet another album, Babul Baul, the follow-up to last year’s What The Folk, once again from Asha Audio Company. Minutes before Usha Uthup’s arrival to release the album, the 43-year-old spoke to t2.
You still find time to record albums?
There is always time for everything that you love. A lot of people ask why I shifted from singing to politics. It’s not that. Politics is not something that I shifted to; it was something that I got attracted to and life took a surprise turn. My musical and political beings got amalgamated…. Let’s be honest… people in Asansol initially came to hear me sing… that was the initial zing that got them close to me and kept them close to me. The amount of music that I indulged in during campaigning was far greater than I usually sing. It was music all day.
You mean you had to sing a lot?
As a singer, my job is to make people happy; give them what they want. As an MP, I’ve been given the job to serve them; bring them happiness. The nature of request has changed. When I went to villages, people said Dada sing this and that song. After I sang, people spoke about their problems — water, transport, closing of factories and so on. I realised that if I win, I needed to have the right kind of people around me; those who can help me give people their fundamental rights.
Wasn’t it a risk to move into politics?
It was about evaluating myself –– am I the same Babul Supriyo who left a Standard Chartered Bank job to pursue a new profession (singing). I had to take another risk and I like taking risks. I believe in the one life-one-chance theory.
Is there too much attention on your personal life now?
I have not lost my personal life. I still have a chance to walk my dogs. I still have time to play mischief with my daughter, play football and cricket.
What’s your daughter (Sharmilee) saying about Babul Supriyo the politician?
To her –– a 15-year-old –– politics used to be a dirty word. It is kind of a challenge to me to make her feel that politics is not a dirty word. It is what shapes a country and defines the history of a country. I feel invigorated to see her getting impressed by Modiji’s speeches on TV. Before him, Manmohan Singh was a very quiet person. He is a great economist and personality. But he lacked the vigour that a leader needs to direct his countrymen. Modiji has brought the voice back.
What does the prime minister have to say about your singing?
I have had the chance to sing for him only once. This was when he came campaigning to Asansol. He was late because of the rally he had in Bihar prior to that. I held the large crowd with my songs. He was briefed about that. From Najma Heptulla to Ramlalji are asking me to do a programme. And I want to do it because Kishore Kumar is my idol and this is his 75th birth anniversary year. I have met the President and he has asked me to perform at Rashtrapati Bhavan sometime soon.
Are you the same person as MP? Do you need to dress differently?
I still love bikes. Recently my dad gifted me a Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500. It’s a super-duper-looking bike and I ride it. I wear jeans, T-shirts and shorts. I’m what I am. Let’s not try to act as if something has changed.
Finally, are you happy recording with Asha Audio Company?
Asha Audio makes an artiste feel like an artiste, breathe like an artiste. She (Mahua Lahiri, director of Asha Audio Company) gives me the liberty to experiment.
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BOB From the basement
Big news for Bob Dylan fans. In 1975, the legendary folk singer released The Basement Tapes, which he had recorded with the Band in 1967, one year after he had met with a motorcycle accident. Considered one of the most important recording sessions in music history, 24 songs were released on the album. Dylan has finally agreed to release 114 more tracks from the same session on November 4 as part of The Basement Tapes Complete: The Bootleg Series Vol. 11.
Folk musician Sid Griffin, who wrote the liner notes for this new collection, has told Rolling Stone: “The stuff that people haven’t heard justifies, in every way, shape and form, all the hype, hubris and myth that surrounds these tapes. Some of this stuff is mind-boggling.” We can’t wait!
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He king, she slut?
And now she has blamed Elvis Presley for her controversial dance move! Miley Cyrus has told Australian TV show Sunday Night that her twerking has been inspired by The King’s gyrating hips! “Elvis, he wasn’t wearing the outfits I was wearing but he was coming out and he was doing like the twerking. Like, no one wants to admit that he was twerking, he was. He was like sex. He was a symbol of sex but no one would have ever called Elvis a slut because he wasn’t a girl. It’s that double standard and I think I’m doing something for the double standard.”
