Bonnie Chakraborty on the changing face of Bollywood
¦ Arindam Chatterjee
Hindustan Times
I n an hour-long conversation that straddles everything from Bengal's folk
music and the stagnant rock scene in Kolkata, to the opportunities offered by
Bollywood to brave creative souls, Bonnie Chakraborty reserves the clincher for
the end.
His 17-year career, he says, has been an enriching journey that has taught him
something new about life and revealed unknown facets about music.
He relocated to Chennai after an eight-year stint with Krosswindz in Kolkata,
in December 2007. Then, Chakraborty moved to Mumbai to take his chances with
the Bollywood music scene, which according to him is no longer home to "crass
melodies" and "cheesy remixes." Led by AR Rahman, composers such as
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and VishalShekhar have taken melody to the masses in a
sensible way. Song bird Chakraborty believes, "The most creative work in India
is being done in Bollywood. It is no longer restricted to commercial music.
Distinct genres like rock, jazz or baul have takers."
His newly set-up ensemble, Bonnie-Vinayak-Sudeep, has composed the score for
Mahesh Manjrekar's upcoming film, The Saint Who Thought Otherwise.
Apart from Jodhaa Akbar, Chakraborty has sung for many films including Anurag
Kashyap's Dev.D and Rakesh Mehra's Delhi 6.
Chakraborty's dream of forming an indigenous platform to experiment with folk
music took shape in Chennai when he met with like-minded individuals.
He founded the band Oikyotaan, which seeks to permeate folk sounds from West
Bengal and Bangladesh with a new, indigenous genre of music that reflects the
traditional and yet breathes of the contemporary.
"Some day, I would like to set up an institute in Chennai and archive the
melange of folk material in India," he adds. The funds for this project,
according to Chakraborty, will come from Bollywood. "If you want to earn money,
you have to be in Bollywood," he proclaims Big plans. With an album in the
works, Chakraborty is determined to retain creative control on the Internet. A
mail-order system drove sales of Oikyotaan's debut album (2003) while some
3,000 copies were also sold at concerts.
Clearly, he will not let his dream project be diluted by the marketing ploys of
a company wanting to cash in.
He is passionate about Baul, deprived of its real status in its homeland. "Baul
is the intellectual property of Bengal," he says. As he leaves for Mumbai, he
knows his destination can mature his dream of giving the true poets of Bengal
their due.
