Bongs connect to this Rabindra sangeet: Neel

Kolkata, Aug 6 (UNI) Up and coming music director Neel Dutta's experiment with Tagore's 'Pagla Hawa' is brewing quite a storm in these parts of the country.

While some think of it to be a rage, others consider it a raging attack on the traditional essence of the music.

Neel Dutt, music director of "Bong Connection" and "Bow Barracks", has already carved a niche for himself as a 'New Age' music composer with his 'Pagla Hawa' burning the dance floor at almost all the discos.

This 27-year-old director while talking to UNI here said he likes to experiment with music and does not mind doing a Rabindra Sangeet his own way.

'Pagla Hawa', a fusion of one of Rabindra Nath Tagore's composition, recieved criticism from several quarters in Kolkata.

People even called it sheer madness as they felt the director had tampered the essence of the song.

Ingnoring the sarcasm, Neel said he was very optimistic and confident about his kind of music.

''People have loved it and I got a huge response for the song. I have not changed the lyrics or the music. I only gave it a fresh feel,'' the musician said.

Neel further added that ''The music has become stagnant. Present generation cannot relate with those songs any more. I just tried to revive that in my own way.'' Asked for the reactions from Shantiniketan, Neel said the music was loved by all there and the film too.

''Even Rabindrath Tagore had experimented with his songs like Phule Phule Dole Dole...The music was lifted from an Irish song,'' he said.

Inspired by his father Anjan Dutt, an actor-musician-director, Neel considers him as a role model besides, John Denver, Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan.

''Dad and me have done a lot of concerts in West Bengal. People have always admired and loved the jazz n rock n roll music. I started music in school,'' he said adding that he ventured into the screen with a Bengali serial 'Half Chocolate'.

Asked on the response among Bollywood directors, Neel said he was talking with some renowned directors and would soon be scoring music for bollywood movies.

''There is a stiff competition and currently Bollywood has started experimenting. There is no demarcation between commercial and parallel cinema. So one has to market himself well,'' the director, who is composing for Anjan Dutt's Hindi movie "BBD", said.

''I am keen to see the response of "BBD", starring Naseeruddin Shah, Kay Kay Menon and Jimmy Shergill. Its a political thriller and is produced by Pritish Nandy Communications,'' he added.

Among his next projects is a music album 'Ami aar Godot' to be released by Saregama this Dusherra. The music is given by Godot, Neel's pet name, and the numbers are sung by him and his father.

Well there was also another facet of this musically talented personality, when he is not working, he loves cooking, especially crabs, and claims to know the places in Kolkata which sells best fishes, that's the Bong Connection indeed.

UNI