Jatiswar : A dream of the past, present and the future

This is a dream combining the creations of several film makers , song writers and composers.

With Rituparno Ghosh's Raincoat, there is Basu Chatterjee 

with  Rajanigandha and Chotisi Baat. 

Srijit Mukherjee is there with  Chatushkone and  Jatiswar. 

 

Weaving the dream together are Debojyoti Mishra and 

Anupam Roy and the inimitable Suman Chattopadhyay.

Reviving Tara Music TV

Tara Music TV channel has been in the news last year for all the wrong reasons.It started as a premium Bengali 

music channel.

The quality of its programs were really marvelous. And it kept it’s word as a music channel. It promoted Bengali music, 

starting with Rabindrasangeet like never before. Participation from the separated twin, Bangladesh, was noteworthy.

 Many nonresident Bengalis participated with zeal and  made it a topic of discussions across Bengali homes from 

Kolkata to Canada. The quality of the singers, the stage setting, lighting, camera work made the shows a treat to 

watch. And a lot of talent unfolded before our eyes. Shreya Guhathakurata, Iman Chakraborty and Jayati 

Chakraborty to mention a few.

And then came Saradha. It appeared as a dominant logo on the screen one fine evening. Its first impact was to 

take away a prominent keenly watched program, Take a Break, beautifully anchored by Kamalini Mukhopadhyay 

promoting upcoming talents and new finds. And then the repeats started to appear, slowly but regularly.

And then last year Saradha vanished from the scene. A lot of sentiments and State Government takeover followed. 

And the channel now runs on repeats only. The way it is heading, it looks like only the date of demise remains to 

be notified.

Why did this happen? And why is the Channel ailing? I understand they don’t get advertisements . This is apparent 

from their telecast. The breaks are filled up with their own program promos which are repeats anyway. 

Advertisers pick up high TRP shows. So Tara Music shows must be having low TRP. But talk to any Bengali 

family and when you mention TV shows Tara Music will come up for sure, mostly as a lament that the channel 

is failing now. I have found people simply tune in to the morning show ‘ Aj sakaler Amantrone’ despite repeats 

just to listen to the songs over and over and over again. It has become a radio for many households. And still no 

TRP, no advertisements. Do the Bengali households across the world lack purchasing power? When advertisements 

for Bengali Food is splashed across print media, why is Tara Music far behind? This is a mystery to me. Why are 

advertisers avoiding Tara Music?

I have a suggestion. Presently ringtone downloads contribute a sizeable revenue share for all movies. Can we ask 

Tara Music to produce some signature tunes with the help of it’s talent pool which we can download and 

contribute? Additionally Tara Music can come up with a website and a smartphone app for a survey of the 

purchasing pattern of its viewers. This will show us our strength to promote this channel with the advertisers.

The Great Indian Cartoon Show

The Reality of Indian Cinema

People go to movies to enjoy! And the levelof enjoyment of 
a person is determined by what he likes. A man brought up on 
Western Classical music will definitely not spend his money and 
time  for a session of  Bappi Lahiri songs. A test match connoisseur 
will not pay for a T20 game. And a crowd loving silly cartoons will 
not spend their hard earned money and holiday evening on 
The Lunchbox. 

And the crowd never had it so good. All the Khans and Kapoors have put up different flavoured cartoons for the crowds.  
 

Ek Tha Tiger

in Modesty Blaise flavor- only here Modesty Blaise is a man in 
keeping with Indian Traditions. He  has a female interest to counter 
that. 

Chennai Express

is a cartoon of Chacha Chowdhury type family flavor. The lover 
boy and his damsel breeze through this South India Express 
dancing lungi tunes and bashing baddies.  

Dhoom 3 is the Magician Mandrake flavor cartoon.  

They made a couple of them and made them fight each other. Just 
for variety. And the list goes on and on,  Krish 3, Ram Leela by 
whatever name called, and even one adult stuff with lots of galis 
thrown in – appropriately called Grand Masti.  

These have been produced by the topline producers, directed by 
not so topline directors and acted out by the topline actors. And 
they calculated correctly. The last 4 together swept away Rs 717 
crores from just Resident Indian pockets. Non Resident Indians 
paid their dues in millions of dollars. 

This is the ground reality of the country in terms of cinema. And 
maybe a lot of others too, politics, work ethics, sports. We don’t 
like reality. We like cartoons. Generally, who likes cartoons? 
Children. Who are children? Those who are yet to grow up.  So? 

Now everyone likes children, don’t they? Why do you love  children? Because they are cute. They are sweet. And they believe in you. 
And they will believe whatever you say. They won’t do that when 
they grow up. So, it would be nice if they wouldn't  grow up and 
forever remained sweet and cute . And believed whatever you  said.

But alas, they will grow up. That is the law of nature. They will grow in body and mind. Just a minute- grow in body AND MIND. 
Body is not so important. Rather better that it grows. Can manage 
themselves, you don’t have to look after them all the time.  But 
how does Mind grow? And starts taking its own course? By  learning. 
Through useful education, healthy entertainment, sports  activities. 
Catch them there. Give them learning by rote that is useless in life, entertainment that are suitable for 6 year olds, with some soft 
pornography thrown in and make them a nation of sports  watchers on television. Do not promote learning . Do not 
 promote participation in sports. Do not promote excellence. 
 Promote mediocrity. Keep the media by your side. And you will be smiling  all the way to the bank, er Swiss Bank. 

Rituparno Ghosh : The Lyricist

               

Bahu manorathe saaju avisaare pahlu suneel besh

Kajar nayaane salaaj bayane kusume 

sajanu kesh

 

Sakhi hum, mohan avisaare 

jaaun

                                                           

Bolo hum, etath sukh kahan paaun

Jamunar pare, gahana 

aandhare, ghana nipaban 

maajhe

Piya setha more bedana katare mohe 

laagi baithi aache

Sakhi hum, mohan avisaare jaaun

Bolo hum, etath sukh kahan paaun

Sakhi chira abhagini hum

Baithe ekakini pohanu rajani tobu naa 

aailo shyam

Sakhi chira abhagini hum

Krishna kajal pighal sajal nayaner nir 

dhare

Eka khina patha britha manaratha bifala avisaare

Sakhi hum, kabhu naa avisaare jaaun

Dukh laaj etath sah nahi paaun

Britha manorathe saaju avisaare pahlu 

suneel besh

Kajar nayaane salaaj bayane kusume sajanu kesh

Fir aaj yun, mohan avisaare jaaon

Sakhi bol etath dukh kahan paaun

                                                     ---------------------------- 

                                              ____________

Sometimes a song will hit you suddenly, a word, a tune, the feeling. It will be a known song, which you have heard a number of times, but not really paid attention. You liked it. But sometimes it will mesmerize you all of a sudden.

It happens often with Rabindranath. Suddenly the feelings match yours and it resonates in your mind. Like O JE MANENA MANA. One night I was watching Iman

Chakrabarty perform on TV and when she sang Bidhura bikala haye khyapa pabane, faguno kariche ha ha fulero bane, the entire song hit me. I was angry at my stupidity at not realizing the emptiness that rang out so loudly throughout the lyrics. Just because I hummed along with the tune and painted a different picture.

               

 

The other day, Subhamita was being interviewed on radio and I was humming along the songs she played. She has a distinctly high pitched voice with a sweet tone, that demanded and got your  whole hearted attention. And then she played Bahu manorathe saju abhisare,  from Memories in March. I heard the song before. I liked it. But that day, I got the full picture portrayed by the Lyricist, Rituparno Ghosh.

 

How he pens in a few lines, the yearning lady going to meet her beloved in all her finery, her anxious journey, her agony at not finding him.  How the happy ‘etath sukh kahan paun’ melts into a tearful ‘etath dukh kahan paun’. She swears ‘ Sakhi hum kabhu na abhisare jau, dukha laj etath saha nahi paun’  only to relent later into ‘ phir aju mohana abhisare jau, sakhi  woh , etath dukh kahan  paun’. It is a beautiful story penned in those few lines, set to a haunting melody by Debojyoti Mishra and rendered to perfection by Subhamita. If you had seen her perform this song in the event organized to pay respect to Rituparno Ghosh, you may agree with me.