Veteran singer Tapan Chowdhury is stepping back into the composer’s chair with a new original track for Dr Priyanka Gope, marking the first collaboration between the two artistes.
The song, titled ‘Kotodin Hoyni Dekha’, has been co-written by Chowdhury and lyricist Kabir Bakul. Chowdhury has also composed the melody, while Ujjal Sinha is overseeing the musical arrangement. Recording for the project is expected to begin in the coming days.
For Chowdhury, whose voice helped define Bangladesh’s modern song movement during the 1990s, the project signals a creative return to songwriting. His solo album ‘Onushochona’ remains one of the most celebrated releases of the cassette era and his duet album ‘Nishwase Tumi Bishwase Tumi’ with Indian singer Mitali Mukherjee earned widespread acclaim across audiences in Bangladesh and beyond.
Dr Priyanka Gope described the collaboration as a milestone in her musical journey. Growing up listening to Chowdhury’s songs, Gope considers Onushochona and Nishwase Tumi Bishwase Tumi among her personal favourites. Calling the opportunity an honour, she expressed hope that she would meet the expectations attached to his composition.
Gope has remained active on television and in recorded music. She recently performed ‘Megher Vela’ on BTV’s cultural programme ‘Fagun Molat’. The song was written by Adhara Jahan and composed by Suman Kalyan. Her recent releases also include ‘Ekhono Koeliya’ and ‘Aji Nemeche Andhar’, arranged by Pallab Sanyal and Sonali Roy.
Beyond her performance career, Gope has served as Chair of the Department of Music at the University of Dhaka since July 2014. In 2015, she received the Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the film ‘Anil Bagchir Ekdin’.
