Rocket Mondal goes experimental with music for new Nitish Roy thriller

Rocket Mondal, who directed music for successful Bengali films like Angshumaaner Chobi, Takhon Teish, Rangmilonti, Jemai no 1, Olot Palot and Ek Poshla Brishti, is back with experimental music for a new film(thriller) directed by national award winning art director Nitish Roy, Tadanto, releasing in the last week of February.

Working for a crime thriller for the first time, Mondal, who has arranged music for Ajoy Das in over 100 films, has composed an offbeat title track, Tadanta Chai Tadanta, which would remind audiences of the James Bond movie, Golden Eye. 

“I have used Western arrangement for this track which is played whenever some investigation is done on the murder in this film starring Rituparna Sengupta and Debshankar Halder,” Mondal told Millennium Post. Sengupta will play the role of a callgirl and Halder, the investigative officer  in this film.

The other song is a Rabindrasangeet sung at a party in the film, Purano Shei Diner Katha. “I have used Western musical instruments like the piano and the saxophone for this song sung by newcomers like Sharmi Chakraborty, Rik Maity and Meghanjali Mondal,” added teh musician who has been performing on the guitar since the age of five.

Interestingly, Mondal got his first playback assignment from Nitish Roy in the 1991 film, Ek Poshla Brishti (Keu Jaane na bhai, ami thaki uttore, dakhine tumi) which had six songs sung by the legendary Amit Kumar. Mondal is however a tad disappointed with the Bengali music scenario at present. 

“The audience does not accept just melody to that extent any longer. All they like is good dance beats. And whatever Bollywood does is imitated to a great extent in modern Bengali music,” he added.

Mandol, recording at a studio on Friday evening, remembered the golden era of Bengali music with nostalgia, when he worked for stalwarts like Salil Choudhury, Sudhin Dasgupta, Manna Dey, Satyajit Ray as a musician. 

He also got associated with the Calcutta Youth Choir as a show conductor and a musician. “It’s a long story. But I live and work in Kolkata now,” said Mondal.