Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona song 'Tumi Ashbey Bole Tai' gave me my rock-star image: Somlata Acharyya Chowdhury

Anjan Dutt’s Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona (2011), which was released 10 years ago this day, won three National awards. Two were for Best Bengali Feature Film and Best Music Direction. The third was a special jury award. Starring Parno Mittra and Dutt himself, the film depicts the journey of a struggling vocalist on her way to becoming a star.

In this film with a plot centred on music, Dutt launched two of Bengali cinema's promising talents of the past decade, Mittra and vocalist Somlata Acharyya Chowdhury. While Mittra has become a leading actress, Chowdhury became a household name with her rendition of the song 'Tumi Ashbey Bole Tai' from the film. The music was composed by Neel Dutt.

Chowdhury sang four solo songs and one duet, with the director, in the film. Speaking to Cinestaan.com, she recalled how she got the rare opportunity to sing so many songs in a film as a newcomer and how it became one of her special experiences. Excerpts:

How did you get the offer to sing in Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona?

I met Neel for the first time at a music chat show for a private music channel. I used to sing the opening as well as closing songs for the show called Take A Break. Neel approached me for Abhijeet Guha and Sudeshna Roy's Cross Connection in 2009. That’s how my association with Neel began. Then I also sang in a few of Anjan-da’s plays.

In 2010, I was doing a few Durga Puja shows in the USA when I got a message from Neel to call him back for something urgent. He briefed me about this project and the songs they thought I would be appropriate for. Initial talks were done on the phone. Then, after seven days I came back and recorded the songs. The rest is history.

Were you part of the composition of the songs from the beginning? What was the process like?

First, the scales of the compositions were decided on the phone. Initially, I was supposed to sing the three other songs except 'Tumi Ashbey Bole Tai'. When I came back, I heard the final tracks of the songs, including 'Tumi Ashbey Bole Tai'. Someone else was going to sing that song. I was very new then and quite happy to simply get on board. But deep inside, I was longing to sing 'Tumi Ashbey Bole Tai' as well and was feeling bad. I was probably asking for too much, but the desire was so deep that my wish came true.

On the final day of recording, we took a break after recording two songs. Suddenly Anjan-da told me to record 'Tumi Ashbey Bole Tai'. I was taken aback and elated at the same time. For the same reason, I gave my 100% to the song and it did not require too many takes. Then Anjan-da explained that it would have been illogical to have another voice for one song while the rest of them, sung by a single character in the film, were rendered by me. Again, I got lucky! That’s the song that actually gave me the rock-star image.

Did the songs require any change in your singing style?

Not really, because I was into recordings before singing in films. I used to work for backing vocals a lot. I always had the knack for contemporary Western singing. I am trained in Hindustani classical music and the other pole, which is Western music, also interested me a lot. Hence, I used to get calls for backing vocals in Westernized songs and improvisations. I think these experiences made my recording for 'Tumi Ashbey Bole Tai' easier.

How do you think the songs and the film changed your career?

I sang four solo and one duet song for the film — 'Tumi Ashbey Bole Tai', 'Jagorone Jae Bibhabori', 'Chalo Jai', 'Andhakarer Pare' and 'Brishti'. Singing for this film definitely changed my career graph. It made my name and songs more familiar among people. My songs reached homes where I was not a familiar name. This project gave a whole new dimension to my career. Everything I have now, I owe to this project.

It’s a rare opportunity for any artiste to have so many songs in a single film. I was extremely lucky at the beginning of my career to get a film where all the female songs were by me.

Not only the songs but the film itself was path-breaking in the genre of music-oriented films as it depicted the journey of a struggling vocalist. The entire experience was quite special for me. I still remember how big the music launch of the film was. The entire cast and crew of Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona went to Darjeeling for the music launch. About 70% of the flight was booked for us and the press people. It remains a fond memory as I never had such a grand festive experience of a music launch before or after the film.

Correction, 18:51pm: An earlier version of this interview misstated the film for which Somlata Acharyya Chowdhury was first approached by music composer Neel Dutt. It was not Chowrasta: Crossroads Of Love by Anjan Dutt by Cross Connection by Abhijeet Guha and Sudeshna Roy.