Arnab Chakraborty – Exclusive Interview

: Arnab Chakraborty with Family

Gaanmela.com recently interviewed young and talented Arnab Chakraborty. We thank Arnab very much for his time that he spent with us. We wish a very successful career to Arnab. Please listen to the exclusive VIDEO INTERVIEW by clicking on the video.

Interviewed by: Monalisa Mukherji.
Write Up: Mohua Chakraborty

ARNAB CHAKRABORTY

To introduce Arnab Chakraborty solely as the winner of the reality show ‘K for Kishore’ is not entirely true. He has done considerable work in the world of commercial Hindi film playback singing, advertisement jingles and also released his private album ‘Naam’ from Times Music.

Arnab dreamt of being a successful playback singer in the Indian Film Industry right from his childhood. He managed to persuade his parents to give him an opportunity to try his luck in Mumbai after he finished his graduate studies. Participating in stage shows right from his schooldays in The Assembly of God Church School and Salt Lake School through to S.A. Jaipuria College had given him considerable experience. Not too happy with the basic music lessons he had been taught in Kolkata, Arnab followed it up with a 2 year diploma course in Light Music from Mumbai University under the guidance of Pandit Achyut Thakur and stood first class first. He is still under the tutelage of Shri Gautam Mukherjee and is also pursuing a degree in Western Music through Trinity College, London.

Foreseeing the need for correct pronunciation in a language other than his mother tongue, Arnab took Urdu classes to perfect his diction. The music of Kabir Suman deeply influenced Arnab especially the song ‘Haal Chherona Bondhu’ which served as a motivational line when he was trying to get a foothold in the music industry in Mumbai. Work started coming to him in the form of advertisement jingles, a lot of them recorded with the famous music director Shantanu Moitra.

The title song of the film ‘Yek Kya Ho Raha Hai’ was Arnab’s first step into the world of Hindi films under the guidance of Javed Akhtar and music directors Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy. Music director Ram Sampath recorded the dummy track of the song ‘Wada Raha’ for the film “Khakee” with Arnab and his soulful rendition prompted director Rajkumar Santoshi to keep his vocals. This song went on to become hugely popular and Arnab got numerous nominations for Best Male Playback Singer for ‘Wada Raha’. Arnab got a chance to work with Rajkumar Santoshi and Ram Sampath again in the film “Family” and sang many songs for the film’s soundtrack including the popular ‘Qatra Qatra’.

: Arnab Chakraborty at stageArnab Chakraborty at stage

Times Music released Arnab’s first private album “Naam” in 2006, the music of which was composed by Arnab himself and Dony Hazarika and the lyrics were written by Amit Singh. Bauddhayan Mukherjee directed the music video of the song ‘Aitbaar’ which was shot in Kolkata to give authenticity to the nostalgic mood of the song. At present Arnab is planning an album with HMV Saregama.

The invitation to participate in the popular reality show ‘K for Kishore’ came as a golden opportunity for Arnab whose songs had been very well received but the audience had not been able to put a face and name to his songs. Arnab’s own interpretation and rendition of Kishore Kumar’s songs was very well received and he was crowned the winner of the show by the legendary Asha Bhonsle. He was invited to perform at the Banga Sanskriti Sammelan 2008 which was held in Toronto, Canada and has done many shows in places like Dubai and South Africa and of course in India.

Friends and family have played a very important role in Arnab’s life, encouraging him every step of the way. He married his childhood sweetheart Mohua and they have a two year old daughter, Arohi. Arnab’s parents have always encouraged his dreams of becoming a singer especially when Arnab came to Mumbai, after completing his graduation, to pursue his dream. Proper planning, awareness of the present music scenario, music education and of course, talent has helped Arnab turn his dreams into reality.