Truly Madly

The crowd gathered at dusk on the sprawling parkomat in front of New Market. The air was thick with New Markety smells— grilled corn cobs,bandel cheese,Nahoum’s brownies and raw meat. At the far end of the parkomat,stood the stage that was set up for the grand music launch of Anjan Dutt’s latest film Madly Bangalee. A steel and cloth structure which seemed as impermanent as the grotesque fountain behind it. The performers took the stage before the first star announced itself. They played to the galleries,the youngsters— head banging,playing an air guitar,the works. They executed the numbers alternating between cockiness and trepidation. Inferno they called themselves. In many ways,they probably mirrored the lead characters of the film that was launched at the function— fresh-out-of-school youngsters who want to set up a professional unit. But one wonders if they faced the same problems that the protagonists of Madly Bangalee seem to have—teaser trailers that were projected on the screens showed orthodox parents,pregnant girlfriends and intra-band rivalry.

Meanwhile,the crowd was getting restless. Songs about teenage angst couldn’t really compete with the many wonders of New Market. Nahoums with its freshly baked cream rolls beckoned. So did the gaudy tops at Sriram Arcade.

Damage control came in the form of Neel Dutt,the film’s music director,and his band,Friends of Fusion. Neel took the mike,urged the crowd to be more vociferous and teased them with some soft numbers. The audience cooed in appreciation. They loved being teased. They love soft numbers and they loved being talked to. When the young cast of the film comes to the stage to take a final bow with the director,a youth asked — “Eta ki Bangla version of Rock On (Is this the Bengali version of Rock On)?”