“Shesh Theke Shuru is one of the most beautiful songs I have sung recently” – Anwesshaa

In her long and illustrious career in music, which started when she was a child, Anwesshaa has lent her voice to songs made in various languages. Bangla, of course, is a language which is very close to Anwesshaa as it is her mother tongue. In Bengal, the singer has rendered several popular films songs like ‘Dekhlam Dekhar Par’ (‘Rajdrohi’), ‘Papiya Piya Bole’ (‘Path Jodi Na Sesh Hoi’), ‘Bojhena Shey Bojhena’ (‘Bojhena Shey Bojhena’), ‘Mon Baware’ (‘Kanamachi’), ‘Janina’ (‘Shatru’) and Thekechi Bhabe Arite’ (Kothamrito’). For the song ‘Saradin Aar Sara Raat’ from the film ‘Rupkatha Noy’, she was awarded the Filmfare Award for Best Singer (East).

Anwesshaa has sung several non-films songs made in Bengali. One such track, ‘Shesh Theke Shuru’, was released recently on Zee Music Company. ‘Shesh Theke Shuru’ has been composed by Barenya Saha who has also sung this melodious number with Anwesshaa.

‘Shesh Theke Shuru’ has a very strong melody to it. The song registers an impression as soon as you hear it for the first time. From what we have seen the years, films and music made in Bengal have been consistently making highly melodious songs. One does not get to hear such melodious songs very often being vhurned out by the film and music industry in Mumbai.

I think even today composers in Mumbai are making some beautiful, melodious songs. ‘Tum Kya Mile’ from ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’, which was composed by Pritam da, was one such song. Today, composers are experimenting with a variety of genres. We get to hear electronic music, Punjabi pop music and a lot of other genres. Sometimes, melodious songs go unnoticed as they are not promoted well. Till the ‘90s or the early 2000s, we heard such songs in much larger numbers as the filmmakers, I believe, preferred having such kind of music in their films.

Traditional Hindi films, which emphasise on dance and music, continue to have such songs. In today’s times, we also see many realistic films being made which have limited scope for songs. I would not like to judge any trend. Personally, I prefer listening to melodious songs more. I have mostly been given the opportunity to sing mainstream love songs because of the kind of voice I have. The shelf life of such songs also tend to be higher. ‘Shesh Theke Shuru’ is one of the most beautiful songs I have sung recently.

‘Shesh Theke Shuru’ has been released by Zee Bangla. In the past, many of your songs, including popular numbers from films, have been released by the label.

I have had a wonderful association with Zee Music Company. While Zee Music Bangla has released many of my Bangla songs, several Hindi songs sung by me have come out on Zee Music Company as well. I feel music labels and artists grow when they complement and support each other. A music company should be in search of good artists who can add a lot of value to their repertoire. Artists benefit when the music created by them are distributed and promoted well by the labels.

‘Shesh Theke Shuru’ has been composed by Barenya Saha. He has sung the song with you and his company has produced the music video as well. How was the experience of working with him?

Barenya initiated this entire project. As a part of this project, he has created a bunch of other interesting songs with different singers. I had earlier done another song with him which was released by Zee Music Bangla. Barenya is a very talented composer. He comes from a musical lineage. His father Bani Kantha has been one of the legendary composers in Bengal. I hope to collaborate with him again soon. Somraj Das, who has written the song, is a very young and talented lyricist. The music video is simple and yet, very special as it features the team which has worked on the song. It is a performance based video and you can see the singers, musicians and choral vocalists in it.

A large team of musicians have worked on the song. In today’s times, when most songs are programmed using software, it is refreshing to come across a track which features a variety of music pieces played by musicians.

The sound of real instruments has a certain warmth which cannot be replicated by software. Guitar, sarangi, flute, keyboards, violin, drums, dhol, tabla, ghatam and rabab are some of the many instruments that one can hear in the song. The song has been arranged well by Atishay Jain and all the musicians have done a fabulous job.

Do you see a growth in the non-film music industry?

Yes, the market for non-film music has grown significantly over the years. Many artists are creating and releasing songs independently. The listeners, too, are supporting them. Music industries must also step forward and help many more artists in releasing and promoting their non-film songs.