Alongside his acclaimed acting career, Chanchal Chowdhury has long been admired for his singing. At public events he is frequently invited to perform, and he has often been seen covering well-known songs by other artistes.
Now, for the first time, Chanchal has lent his voice to a Kolkata film. He has recorded songs for Bratya Basu’s forthcoming film ‘Shekor’, marking his debut as a playback singer in Tollywood.
The production house Friends Communication shared the news on social media, posting photographs from the recording studio in which Chanchal is seen rehearsing with music director Prabuddha Banerjee. In the post, the company described Shekor as an “eternal love story” and confirmed that post-production is under way. It added that Chanchal had recorded multiple songs for the film under Banerjee’s musical direction, making his first appearance as a playback singer in the industry.
Speaking to Ajker Patrika, Chanchal revealed that he has re-recorded two popular Baul songs for the film: Bijoy Sarkar’s ‘Ei Prithibi Jemon Ache Temni Thik Robe’ and Gostho Gopal Das’s ‘O Jibon Re Chhariya Na Jao More’.
According to the actor, it was his own suggestion to incorporate the songs into the film. “The two songs have been used in harmony with the story,” he said. “While we were shooting, I felt certain scenes would work better with music. I asked the director whether any songs would be used there. When he agreed, I suggested these two. He decided to include both, on the condition that I would sing them myself. After finishing the dubbing, I recorded my vocals for the tracks.”
Shekor is based on Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s short stories ‘Drabomoyir Kashibas’ and ‘Dadu’. Chanchal plays a central character named Indra, a factory worker whose father suffers from memory loss. The role holds personal significance for the actor, as his own father experienced a similar condition before his death. Chanchal has said that this connection was one of the reasons he chose to work on the project.
The film also marks Chanchal’s first collaboration with West Bengal actor, politician and filmmaker Bratya Basu. Basu previously directed ‘Dictionary’ and ‘Hubba’, both starring Mosharraf Karim. Chanchal completed shooting for Shekor in October last year.
The cast includes Loknath Dey, Seema Biswas, Ambarish Bhattacharya, Riddhi Sen, Angana Roy and Anasuya Majumdar, among others. The film is scheduled for release later this year.
