 |
You are composing the music for Suman Mukhopadhyay’s film Mahanagar@Kolkata. How is the experience?
I am composing five songs for Mahanagar@Kolkata. I primarily compose for myself and the composition part for films is not different. But yes, for the arrangement and production of the music for Mahanagar@Kolkata, I am not depending on the inputs of my fellow band mates. The decisions are being taken by me, and Indra (keyboardist Indrajit Dey) is assisting me on the project. The sound we wish to project will not only be ‘the Fossils sound’.
What was Suman’s brief for you?
The film has three stories and the songs will act as a bridge. Sumanda wanted them all to be ballads on Calcutta. They should be able to portray the pain, anger, anguish, failure, success, the crowded life as well as the loneliness of city life. The music should not be very smooth on the ear, like traditional ballads, but be edgy. The lyrics should be able to express the theme.
Have you written the lyrics?
Yes, for all five songs.
You will sing the songs and be featured singing them in the film too. Whose idea was it?
Entirely Sumanda’s. We want to feature Fossils in some shots as well, we are still working on that. I have previously been featured in films like Olot Palot and Via Darjeeling. I am there in Ichhe, directed by Shiboprasad Mukherjee, Riingo’s Risk and the music video for Jannat takai (the Bengali version of Jannat jahan). I will shoot for Sumanda’s film later this month.
How has your experience been in front of the camera?
From my previous experience I can say that I am comfortable in front of the camera. I sing in my own characteristic style which the directors want me to do!
You are also doing playback singing for various music directors in Tollywood...
Yes, you have recently heard me in Madly Bangalee, Olot Palot, Angshumaner Chhobi and Dwando. Films that are due for release are Piyalir Password (Bickram Ghosh), Kanchan Babu (Indradeep Dasgupta), Ichche (Surojit Chatterjee), Sabdhan Poncha Aschhe (Dron Acharya), Aleya (Rohan Gangully), Shukno Lanka (two songs for Debojyoti Mishra), Grohon (Raja Narayan Deb), Risk (Bickram Ghosh), Jiyo Kaka!!! (Neel Dutt) and Bratya Basu’s Tara (Tapan Sinha).
As a singer-songwriter-composer, do you have any artistic conflicts singing for other composers?
Not at all. The music directors actually select me for my ability to compose, the fact that I am more than just a singer. They give me the freedom to improvise and add my personal touch. I learn a lot from each music director which in turn helps me in my own work. I give them full authority and they should always have the last word.
You have done playback for commercial Tolly films, like Swapan Saha’s Olot Palot. How comfortable are you doing that being a Bangla rock singer?
I have absolutely no problems singing these songs. I am a musician first... a singer. I listen to all kinds of songs, hence I can also sing all kinds of songs. Incidentally, Swapan Saha’s Olot Palot had me singing a hard rock number. I sang a semi-classical song with only a nylon string guitar for Mayookh Bhaumik, and a Rabindrasangeet -folk mix without any instrument for Narayan Deb.
You’ve sung Dil kare for the film All The Best. How different is playback singing in Bollywood from Tollywood?
The difference lies in the recording. Here, in most studios I have had difficulty in getting the right balance during recording. But there I don’t even need to mention the kind of balance I want. I always get that.
The inlay card of All The Best spells your name as ‘Roopam’. Have you taken to numerology?
This is rather unfortunate and has nothing to do with numerology. My name was not only misspelt on the CD but was written after Suraj Jagan, the other singer in the song Dil kare. The song starts with my vocals and if you listen to the full song, you will realise that my voice has been used more than Suraj’s.... Pritam (the music director of All The Best) called me up to say that he was angry and disappointed over the mistake by the company.
What’s next?
I am now composing for films... a Bollywood film is in the pipeline.
