Khnada should make a good RJ

Silajit talks about his first film as a full-fledged composer and the lineup change in his band..
Though you���������ve composed a couple of songs in films, which had other composers, you are making your full-fledged debut as a music director in ���������Chupkatha���������. What prompted you to take this decision?
I had composed the title track for ���������Bye Bye Bangkok���������.For ���������Kanchanbabu���������, I had also composed one number though the music for the whole film has been done by Indraadip Das Gupta. I had done the music for Debesh Chattopadhyay���������s play titled ���������Yea���������. But, this is the first time I am doing full-fledged music for a movie. ���������Chupkatha��������� is being jointly directed by Shouvik and Dipankar. I am also playing the lead in the film. But, that���������s not the reason why I am scoring the film���������s music. Like any other professional musician, I too wanted to score for movies. Of course, it needed to pay me well and also offer me a subject where I could experiment. ���������Chupkatha��������� is a triangular love story that deals with unspoken words. The directors want a 90s sound. Besides other concerns, I also found this aspect quite challenging. I am in the preparatory stages of doing the music.
In both ���������Kanchanbabu��������� and ���������Bye Bye Bangkok���������, you���������ve sung the numbers that were composed by you. Is that a mandate when you are composing for this movie?
Of course, not. Though I had also written the lyrics for my song in ���������BBB���������, I am not sure if I want to pen the lyrics for ���������Chupkatha���������. It might be interesting if I can work on someone else���������s lyrics. That can help me produce a new sound. As for the singers, I want to use fresh voices. I am not trying to take the attention away from music in my film by asking singers from Mumbai to do the playback.The only party I have is my band party
You���������ve also signed on two new movies...
Yes, I am doing ���������Katakuti���������, where my character is an aspiring playwright. He is torn between two relationships. In Tamal Dasgupta���������s ���������Bhalo Meye Kharap Meye���������, I���������m playing a bohemian singer, who never achieved much in life. The film has been adapted from a Suchitra Bhattacharya work. Shooting for this movie will begin in July.
Word is that you���������ve restructured your band Silajit.com...
Yes. There have been two major changes. After coaxing my brother (Shantai) for 16/17 years, I���������ve finally made him agree to be my band���������s manager. There���������s been a lineup change too. Bubun, who used to be my drummer, is no longer playing with us. He is a good drummer but our musical philosophy didn���������t match. Bilu is now the official drummer of my band.
Since movies, reality show and film music compositions are taking up your time, doesn���������t it impact the shows of your band?
It does. That���������s the reason I���������ve drawn up a contract with my band members. A portion of my income will be shared by my band members. During my absence, they continue experimenting with the music and also regularly meet up at my pad, which we call Antenna. It���������s only fair that I share my remuneration with them.
When you have a brother in your band and your partner (Khnada) as one of your band members, isn���������t it difficult to be democratic in your band?
It���������s very tough. But, I always maintain that performance and not personal equations should be the benchmark.
While you are doing movies, buzz is that you are also recommending Khnada for acting assignments...
Of course, not. Khnada has acting aspirations and has acted in her school and college days. I feel, she will make a good RJ. But, it���������s for her to bag an assignment. I am not recommending her to anyone.
You���������ve been criticized for being too selfish and money-minded during your shooting stint for a reality show...
Let me bust certain myths. I had a contract with the producers that they would pay me a certain sum just for me shooting for seven days. I���������m very satisfied with the amount that has been paid. If the prize money of `10 lakh was all that mattered to me, I would have accepted to be the wild card entry after being evicted. Fact is, I���������ve always believed that friendship doesn���������t mean I will support someone irrespective of whether the person is a good performer or not.
Do you feel friendship in today���������s reality shows and polarization because of the polls is difficult to maintain?
I���������m a professional. If someone expects preferential treatment because of being a friend when it comes to reality shows, I will not honour that. As for the polls, I didn���������t cast my vote this time. I was too frustrated with the way members from both parties were conducting themselves. It was cheap. No one had any ideology and the only thing everyone wanted to do was to defame the members of the other party. I am told my song, ���������Maniktolar more���������, has been played after TMC won. Since the song is mine, it makes me happy. But if the Left had won and played this song, I would have felt happy too. I have not read Marx or Lenin. I only believe in humanism. I guess, that���������s something everyone else also believes in. The only party that I belong to is my band party.
Bonnie Chakraborty has been repeatedly saying that Bangla bands in Kolkata need exposure and create a new sound...
Though I don���������t support Bonnie making such
comments after having left the city, it���������s a fact that Bangla bands have been stagnating when it comes to just recreating foreign music. They���������re becoming clones and trying to recreate the 70s rock sound and present it to the audience of today. But, I can���������t blame the bands alone for this. The listeners too want that and I���������ve seen that happen when I���������ve performed at college fests. I am trying to create an alternative sound. But I know that the listeners for this will always be pretty niche.