Lucknow wallahs understand the language of my music quite well: Namit Das

Film, television and theatre actor and singer Namit Das of Wake Up Sid fame was in Lucknow recently. In a chat with us, the Ankhon Dekhi actor shared his musical journey which began from the city, his experience of performing in Lucknow and the reason why he has been missing from films and television. Having been part of the hit show

Sumit Sambhal Lega

and many other TV shows and films, Namit has been missing from films and television for quite a long time now. Sharing the reason for the same, the Lafangey Parindey actor says, “I have been travelling a lot for

Monsoon Wedding

, The Musical, a theatre project for which I am associated with Mira Nair for three years now. So, I have been away from the country for quite a long time. Probably the last thing you have seen me in was Sui Dhaaga and Pataakha in 2018. After that, I have been doing ads whenever I was here, so things keep happening for me.”
The Bombay Talkies actor is the son of ghazal singer

Chandan Dass

and started his musical journey from a theatre festival in the city in the year 2015 and has performed here twice since. Ask him how has been his musical journey been so far and he shares, “It has been great, although it has been very challenging as well because the kind of music I play and the people it caters to, is a niche audience.”

Namit Das (BCCL/ Aditya Yadav)
Namit adds, “But having said that, we have been doing music for five years now with my band and we have almost completed all of the indie circuits now. And we are looking to launch our new album this year, and we will soon start working on it, depending upon the time I get from my commitments. So, it has been a great musical journey so far.” Talking about the experience of performing in Lucknow twice, Namit shares, “Essentially, what I sing is poetry and the language I sing in, Lucknowites understand that very well, and that is Urdu. It was a great response from the city’s audience. I have never ever seen an audience that not only just listens to the music but also listens to the words and the atmosphere which is being created by the music. For Lucknowites, words matter and it actually affects them, which is rare to find anywhere else in the country.”
Namit has been to the city several times before, quiz him what he likes the most about the city and he is prompt to reply, “Ittr (perfume)! I just love the ittr in Lucknow. In fact I have gone crazy for a particular brand of ittr, a part of me has gone mad for it. I have a private collection of ittr now.” He adds, “Apart from that, I love the people of Lucknow, they are so loving, caring and generous. They are so soft-spoken and of course the language here makes you realize how beautiful our language is.”