Anurag Basu: Pritam is my alter-ego

Filmmaker Anurag Basu and

composer Pritam

have a track record that’s envied by many. As friends, they go back well over two decades. Those who have seen them at Saraswati and Durga Pooja celebrations, offering prayers and making merry, will know just how deep their emotional bond is. As a director-composer team, they’ve delivered albums like

Jagga Jasoos

, Barfi and Life In A Metro, which continue to be applauded by music patrons. Acknowledged for their penchant for perfection and fine-tuning, they’re both popular across the industry for adding finishing touches to their pieces of work right till the last minute.
Talking about his equation with Pritam, Anurag says, “We have fun while working together. We have to eat, we’re Bengalis and we can’t do without that. Uske bina kaam nahi chalega. Khaate-peete, hanste-khelte, kab kaam ho gaya pata nahi chalta. My journey with Pritam is very different. We continuously work together, irrespective of what I am making and when. Pritam is my alter ego. He is just like me - we both work till the last minute.”
Pritam adds, “I am not being diplomatic. Anurag is extremely passionate and interested in music which is his first love. That’s the best thing for a music director. It hurts when music comes at the bottom of the priority list for a filmmaker and it’s a joy when it sits right on top, like it is with Anurag. He and I are friends first and that makes things even more special.”