Journalism of Courage
Advertisement
Premium

Bangla Rocks

Madly Bangalee is an odd name for a rock band but it might just be apt for this bunch of Kolkata youngsters who come together to make music in Anjan Dutt’s latest Bengali film,titled,well,Madly Bangalee.

Anjan Dutt’s Madly Bangalee rocks the Capital

Madly Bangalee is an odd name for a rock band but it might just be apt for this bunch of Kolkata youngsters who come together to make music in Anjan Dutt’s latest Bengali film,titled,well,Madly Bangalee . The film hit screens in Kolkata early this summer and finally made it to Delhi multiplexes this week. “This isn’t a new subject for me. Several years ago,I’d made a television serial called Half Chocolate,about music. But after my recent releases like Bong Connection ,Bow Barracks Forever,Chalo-Let’s Go ,I wanted to reconnect with my musical side,” says Dutt who has attempted to capture the pulse of the city’s youth through Bangla Rock. “I still remember the year,it was 1978 and Mohiner Ghoraguli (a popular independent music group) appeared on the scene. Bangla rock was born,” recalls Dutt. With his script in place,he was on the lookout for the perfect cast when he encountered Tin Can,a theatre troupe in the city. They were young,talented and much like the characters Dutt had scripted for Madly Bangalee.

Pablo,Neon (actually Noyon),Baaji and Benji are the young protagonists of the film who form a band and rehearse in a ramshackle garage owned by Bobby played by master bassist Lew Hilt. What brings them together is music and their domestic lives which run parallel to each other. Their story is told in flashback mode: Benji the guitarist has grown up and recalls that summer when everything changed. “I wanted to make a Pan-Indian Bengali film because there is an audience outside Kolkata who want to watch Bengali films. New faces,new urban stories are urging Bengali cinema to become more cosmopolitan,” says Dutt who also wrote lyrics for the songs of Madly Bengalee .

Primarily an urban folk lyricist,he found it difficult to write rock lyrics again but welcomed the change. “Music in Kolkata has evolved much more than cinema and this film was one way to connect with change,” says Dutt. His next film however,takes him away from the urban-youth terrain: Dutt has just completed shooting Byomkesh Bakshi ,a film on the legendary fictional detective. “I wanted to make a classic. This is a very ‘serious’ film,it is a period thriller and without any frills,” says Dutt.

Curated For You
India Women vs Sri Lanka Women 5th T20I Highlights: IND defeat SL by 15 runs, complete 5-0 series whitewash
‘Do I need to choose my friends based on religion?’: Woman after vigilantes disrupt her birthday at Bareilly cafe 
Pune sees coldest year-end mornings since 2018, minimum temperature to hover around 10 degree Celsius on New Year

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Tags:
  • Kolkata talk
Edition
search
Install the Express App for
a better experience
Featured
Today's E-paper
Dec 31, 2025
Trending Topics
News
Multimedia
Follow Us
Big PictureEight months after terror attack, walking up to Pahalgam
X