Anjan Dutt, a name equally popular in both India and Bangladesh, has been ruling the Bangali music industry for over two decades now. With simple tunes and catchy lyrics, the singer has been extremely successful in melting the hearts of thousands of music lovers. Each of his songs is a story where he becomes a character. Sometimes he plays a school kid, sometimes he plays the lover with a broken heart, and sometimes he is a young boy in his early 20s trying to reach his girlfriend over the phone. With these stories come a good number of names that intrigue his listeners.
The popular singer met with such queries of curious minds during the reunion of Jhenaidah Cadet College held on January 2. Anjan Dutt performed during the closing cultural ceremony of the event. In between his melodic performances, a short 20-minute session was conducted where the singer took some interesting questions from the audiences. Rashid Khan, an old friend of Anjan Dutta and also a member of the Jhenaidah Ex-Cadets Association, moderated the session. Here is a glimpse of the session.
Who is Bela Bose?
Bela Bose is an imaginary character and the number 2441139 was the contact of a newspaper editor who actually had filed a case against me, which caused my singing to come to a halt. I do not know Bela! But I have met many men who resemble Bela’s lover in the song, the lover who repeatedly told Bela that he had got the job and that Bela must not abandon him. As a matter of fact, I have faced similar situations in my life many times.
Who is Marian?
Marian is my fourth love, when I was in ninth grade.
When did you have your first girlfriend?
Seventh grade.
Have you composed any song in connection to your first relationship?
Of course! But it is a sad song. I have got heartbroken 31 times in my life! Now at this point, I believe that it is good that those relationships dissolved. If you do not suffer the pain of losing someone, you can’t attain the emotions required in your songs, poetry, acting, cinema etc.
Who is Mala?
Mala is a blend of Aparna Sen, Munmun Sen and Sophia Loren.
What happens with Bela in the end?
I think Bela got married and did not get in touch with her lover. I do not think she received the call. She chose to get married. Bela was compelled to get married and many girls do the same. I do not know the situation now, but this used to happen a lot when I was growing up. Back then, girls were obliged to obey their parents’ decisions and meet their expectations. However, the scenerio is quite different in today’s world.
Who are Anup Chatterjee and Joyita?
I do not know them. They somehow got into the story. In all of my songs I try to become a character and narrate the story from my perspective. I often become a schoolboy, or a youth in his early 20s standing inside a phone booth, or perhaps running after someone with a rose carrying a backpack. I become different characters in different songs. Those are imaginary but I have seen them all in real life.
What inspired you to write the song bhengchi kete dekh?
I have many listeners who are children. Many little kids listened to the songs from my very first album. So the company I worked with demanded that I must dedicate at least one track to children in my succeeding albums.
Singer or music director, which identity is the primary one for you?
Hard to tell. I love cinema, more than music actually. But music has given me more. It has given me an identity. It has also helped me repay my father’s loans.
Near the end of the session, Anjan Dutt asked the audience a question: “Can you guess my age?” Leaving the audience quite startled by the question, he replied, “I have crossed 60 a long time back. At this age, I feel like my songs shouldn’t age at all, unlike me.”
