He is a peoples' person. Bubbling with stories and filled with great cheer for his past, present and future, singer Babul Supriyo is also an actor
He is a peoples' person. Bubbling with stories and filled with great cheer for his past, present and future, singer Babul Supriyo is also an actorHe speaks to CS about singing and his mid-April Bengali film release that's a remake of Uttam Kumar's Ogo Bodhu Shundari:
Mumbai dreamsI came to Mumbai at a time when there wasn't a need for a playback singer. I simply addressed the need of the hour. Singing cover-versions and remixes was like playing Ranji Trophy for me. It was preparing me for bigger things. I am grateful to the music companies that got me work, as they provided me with the platform to learn how to sing in front of the microphone u2014 something I had never done in Kolkata. I sang in bulk, 50 songs a day, and filled my coffers. It took care of all financial matters and more!
New tunesLots of non-singers are coming into the industry today. You do not have to be in tune and you could still be delivering successive hits. That's the deal. No good singer is indispensible today. When Akon can come to India to do a track, you need to explore as many avenues for yourself as you can u2014 be it world tours or stage shows or anything else. You don't need to be a playback singer to be in touch with your music, really.
Screen craze
I am a complete film buff. And I must confess that I am really fascinated by the concept of leaving home at six in the morning with a script in hand and spending hours on a set. It was in 2008, when I had actually gone to sing for Tarun Mazumdar in Kolkata that he asked me if I had ever given acting a thought. I was amazed. The universe does actually conspire to get you want you really want! I got a role in Tarun's Chandan Bari opposite Rituparna Sengupta. The film was a hit and following that, I got another offer to work with Satyajit Ray's son Sandip Ray in Hitlist to play the negative character.
Let me be honest. I have never aspired to be a hero. All I have is a strong urge to explore character acting. Bollywood has created a space for it and it does excite me. There have been singers before me who've tried their luck in the acting industry and haven't met with much success. But if you can afford to give a debutant 10 films to prove his mettle as an actor, why would you not be that gracious to singers?
