A quick catch up with Babul Supriyo on his latest independent track Saudebaaziyan

Songs like Dil Ne Dil Ko Pukara from Kaho Naa… Pyaar hai  (1999) and Chanda Chamke from Fanaa (2006), are evergreen love songs that evoke nostalgia till this date. The magical voice behind these tracks, Babul Supriyo has emerged as one of the most successful contemporary playback singers in the past three decades. His latest track Saudebaaaziyan, along with Prakriti Kakar explores the emotional upheavals, compromises and self realisations that come along in the journey of love. Released by Sony Music India, this song is a part of a series named #RoposoJamRoom that brings new composers and musicians together with senior artists to create some musical magic. Mentored by celebrated composer Pritam, this initiative is a part of Jam8, a platform curated by him to encourage budding artists.

What concept shapes Saudebaaziyan?

The song explores different shades of emotions and compromises that come along with love, romance and courtship. It’s a journey of ups and downs between two individuals, who come together to a common ground to be with each other. There’s a particular line in this song that translates to compromises one needs to make with themselves in order to maintain harmony in the relationship. This particular line intrigued me a lot, and I believe it adds a different note to the entire concept of love. It has Punjabi lyrics and a groovy tune, which makes it catchier. This song is a duet with Prakriti Kakar, and traverses common definitions of genres as it offers much more. The song has been composed by Bobby-Imran, and penned by Geet Sagar and Mandy Gill.

Independent music scene was booming in Bengal, back in the early 2000’s. Is there any lack of encouragement that has made local indie musicians see a downfall?

Bengal has always had a very thriving independent music scene, back from the times of Hemanta Mukherjee and Kishore Kumar, but yes, individual tracks are slowly declining locally. I believe it’s mainly because radio and television platforms refuse to promote non film songs over popular playback numbers. Moreover, audiences used to listen to music back in the days but now visual content has changed the nature of music. Bengali audiences do need to work harder to encourage newer performers, musicians who actually put in the effort and talent towards their work. Similarly, people also need to monetarily support musicians as well. Audiences prefer to spend hundreds on junk food, but refuse to buy a song on digital platforms. They resort to pirated versions that come for free. This definitely is a little discouraging towards independent musicians.

Is the pandemic-induced digitisation of music a welcome change, or does it replace the nostalgic value we associate with CDs and cassettes?

Digitisation has definitely helped propagation a lot, but personally I do miss the nostalgia associated with CDs and cassettes. I remember the amount of effort we used to put in to create unique inlay cards and packaging. There was a sense of romanticism associated with CDs, and you know if someone is listening to your CD, it’ll just be your songs for that little while. Digitisation provides the scope to skip to another song with just one click. There used to be such long queues outside shops like Music World on Park Street, for autograph signing sessions.

What’s next?

I have already sung quite a few tracks in recently released films, and have donned the actor’s hat for Lokkhichhele.