They are fierce competitors on stage, and occasional collaborators off it. The two frontmen of Bangla rock — Rupam of Fossils and Sidhu of Cactus — weren’t exactly on talking terms at one stage. But now they have cast aside their differences and joined hands to keep Bangla rock going. A t2 chat with Rupam and Sidhu over some orange pekoe tea and a platter of munchies... 

Rupam (turns to Sidhu): I was in Darjeeling recently. On the way to Darjeeling I wrote a song, and then in the next 24 hours I wrote five more songs. Away from the humdrum of city life and in the lap of nature, I could write six songs on a three-day trip! 
Sidhu: I wrote the second stanza of Bhalo theko on a trip to Manali from Shimla. 
Rupam: I can easily write songs when I’m out of Calcutta. I have written three songs in Digha, one of those being Khnoro amar fossil. I had written three songs in Darjeeling earlier as well. 
Sidhu: The vastness of nature is so inspiring. 
Rupam: Cactus’s Khudra ami tuchho ami is quite relevant here, since I think of that song when I’m close to nature. You realise that your are nothing before nature.

Sidhu, tell us about Cactus’s new song Nagarik botam...
Sidhu: We are calling the button on the EVM machine Nagarik botam. Thematically, it’s against vote-centric politics. Our rajniti should have an eye on the welfare of the people and the betterment of the state and country, which is not the case anymore. So increasingly the common man is starting to hate that EVM button. It’s how we are looking at the election system in the biggest democracy of the world. 
Rupam: I believe in the words (of the song) and I haven’t cast my vote yet (laughs). I don’t think anyone has been able to establish himself/herself as an absolute leader yet. 
Sidhu: Our last album (Blah Blah Blah) came out in 2013, and within a month of its release our fans wanted to know how to download the songs, even though CDs were available. We realised that the physical format is losing its importance and one has to take steps to embrace the digital platform. So we thought of releasing singles in a digital format. Since we were very happy with this new song, we thought of uploading it on a digital platform. In the meantime whatever differences we (Rupam and Sidhu) had were smoothened out and there was a sign from every corner to do something positive that makes a mark on the Bangla rock market. 

You guys weren’t exactly on talking terms the last two years. Who took the first step or who brought the two of you together? 
Sidhu: After a while we thought that we shouldn’t give so much importance to personal differences.
Rupam: Something had happened, and words were exchanged between us because of that. But now we have overcome our differences. We are looking forward to the future. Let’s not talk about the problem or else we’ll start fighting again (laughs). 

Before the rift, did you guys hang out together or bounce ideas?
Sidhu: Absolutely. 
Rupam: We would talk about music, its future, about our new compositions. The exchange was very healthy, like friends who don’t shy away from getting into arguments. 
Sidhu: Fossils and Cactus have mentored young acts for rock competitions. We have also composed theme songs for competitions together... Rupam’s written four lines, and then I’ve suggested one, our guitarist suggested a chord progression.
Rupam: We have done many shows together on stage and I hope there’ll be more. 

What are your plans to revive the Bangla rock scene? 
Sidhu: Bangla rock peaked from 2005 to 2010. Earlier there were multiple competitions. But that’s not happening now. In the last two years, the money flow from the sponsors has thinned, so it’s a bit disheartening for young bands. There are so many young bands out there rehearsing every day and making songs. The movement will get an impetus if we can inspire them, provide some kind of mental strength or give music tips. I feel this is one message from this reunion. 
Rupam: A few years ago, when nothing much was happening in film music, producers/music companies pumped money into the Bengali rock scene (2005-2008), supported Bangla bands and held rock competitions, as those were the only ways to get mass support. They also got revenue from it. Now the film medium is strong and people are making good films. Producers pump a lot of money into film music. 
Sidhu: Producers are ready to spend on promoting film songs. 
Rupam: They can rake in huge profits from film music and also control that space. But it’s different for non-film music.  The returns have to be shared with the artiste, and so the producers are not backing the Bangla rock scene anymore. It’s an indie scene now. We are trying to create an alternative media through Bangla Rock Magazine where we can introduce the songs of young bands to the public. We have been doing this for the past two years now without any commercial support.

Is film music dominating Bangla rock, or taking away its audience?
Rupam: Even though Bangla rock has talented singer-songwriters and musicians, they are not getting the same kind of promotion that musicians doing film music are enjoying. 
Sidhu: Somlata’s film songs are so popular, so successful… they made her a star. But how many are talking about her last album, which was really good. How many have heard the songs? The non-film category is lacking the marketing push that film music is getting. We have to find some way to revive the non-film scene. If the young crowd is hooked to digital platforms, then we can explore that and spread our music there. 
Rupam: Film songs are now hammered on television countless times, while nothing is done for non-film songs… or maybe one song is aired at 2am. We are trying to bolster the Bangla rock scene by publishing the Bangla Rock Magazine. 
 
The music you guys are talking about primarily caters to youngsters. Do you find this limiting and do you want to reach out to more people now? Is GenY listening to more film songs than songs made by bands/solo artistes?
Sidhu: You are saying with age maybe Bengalis lose the angst a bit (laughs). We have fans who have grown with us, and they haven’t stopped listening to Bangla rock. You are right in the sense that the 15-25 age group is the strongest supporter of rock music. But there’s more to it.
Rupam: Our audiences are with us and are stronger now. The music/language that we propagated is still there, alive and kicking. When we started our music, all that mattered was what we wanted to do. We spoke for the audience and we still continue to do so, unlike film music where the most important factor is supporting the story. For us, our songs spoke about our times, and what we wanted to say and the audience related to that, and they still do. Our shows prove that even today our songs have the power to pull in huge crowds. We had started early and are still continuing to do good work, but what about the new generation of musicians? How will the audience get to know about them?

Do you feel rock is dead or that rock music is facing a crisis?
Sidhu: I don’t think so. Maybe the audience have more options now, but that doesn’t mean there’s a crisis. There are quite a few alt rock or Brit-rock bands doing really well. 
Rupam: Rock is everywhere... even EDM has rock influences. Rock is actually a musical attitude and a philosophical stance. Even if I sing a song without playing any instrument, the audience will know that I’m a rock artiste since my expression will be different. Recently I have sung one qawaali and one kirtan, and both have been loved by the rock audience. Rock will never die… one will find it and its expressions in different forms of music. The rock format will keep on changing. 

Arindam Chatterjee
What’s your message for Rupam and Sidhu on the way ahead? 
Tell t2@abp.in