Mimi Chakraborty got into the festive mood from September 24 with her first Puja single, Amader pujor gaan, which is a joyous celebration of she power. From playing the dhak to matching steps with the upbeat rhythm, Mimi has captured the Puja spirit and fervour in all its glory on song and in the music video. A t2 chat with Mimi.

Congratulations. The song and the video of Amader pujor gaan is a huge hit. How’s the feedback so far?

I’m so happy. People have loved the song... they have connected with its happy, vibrant, peppy vibe. I did a dance number after a long time. People have been sending requests for a long time now to do a Puja song, and a number that is heavy on beats. I had been telling them that I could not find time to do it. This year the Puja song happened all of a sudden. As a singer, this is my first Puja song. My mother is listening to the song on a loop. My fan clubs are playing it on repeat. Anything I do goes viral in my para in Jalpaiguri. It’s a huge celebration there.

When did you decide that you would do this Puja song?

It happened very fast. We shot the video on September 17 and we launched the song on September 24. Since I did not have a Puja release this year, I had a little window to work on a song and video. I liked the composition and we brainstormed on the theme. The lyrics also capture the whole Puja vibe. Yes, I wanted to capture that... the song chronicles how we celebrate the different days of the Puja, from Saptami to Dashami. I wanted to articulate eternal themes of the Puja and certain things that one associates with Puja, from eating out to Puja prem. There’s also the sadness that descends upon us on Dashami. The last bit where we cry out ‘Bolo Dugga Mai Ki’ happened on the spot. On that chorus we had people from my team and the studio.

How long did it take you to shoot the video?

We wrapped it up in a day, we shot for 10 hours in a north Calcutta house. This happened because our planning was totally on point. I am a very good planner and my team has also become very smart and swift. I have four looks in the video... and after we shot for the first look, the skies opened up and it started raining. We had to change the set-up.

Did you get worried when it started raining?

No. There is an interesting story behind this. The weather forecast for the day was that there’s going to be heavy rain and thunderstorm. The day before, some of my team members called me up and they expressed their doubts... they started thinking of keeping a buffer day for the shoot. I just told them to have faith, think positive and hope for the best. I had faith... I just knew that everything will be all right. On the shoot day, once it started raining, the upbeat mood of the crew dropped for a bit... but it stopped raining after 15 minutes. Soon the skies cleared up and the weather was fine. It did not rain after that. It was almost like a miracle... I always believe that if you do good, good will happen to you.

The video also talks about women empowerment.

Durga Puja is all about the celebration of womanhood. Women often end up doing all kinds of work that are thankless. We have celebrated the power of women in the video, and featured women from all walks of life, from the purohit who is a woman to women dhakis playing up a storm. I have sung the song, the choreographer is a woman. I always believe a woman can take forward the cause of another woman.

The image of you playing the dhak slung across your shoulder has also gone viral. Do you have fond memories of playing the dhak?

I had played the dhak before... but not in this way. This was a first for me. The woman dhaki in the video had done an ad campaign with me in the past. I really liked her playing and thought of her when we were planning this video. While shooting the video, I noticed her playing the dhak so well that I got inspired to play it. It wasn’t planned. It happened on the spot. It felt great playing the dhak.

MIMI’s first dance song

It was Roshni elo from Proloy. Shooting the song in a village in Purulia was an elaborate affair. The village had no light. The production people went there, got the lights and then did the set-up. People from the village gathered to see us, and you see them in the song. We would shoot the song through the night. The choreographer’s assistant never did a rehearsal with me, and I would be informed on the spot. I had never done something like that before. I had to go on and on until the steps turned out perfect. There would be 18 to 19 takes and that part was quite tough for me. I would do solo dance scenes and then again with the crowd. For a few steps they made me rehearse on the spot. And then they would again change the step. Now when I look at the song, it feels really special.

MIMI’s first Romantic song

Kothin from Bojhena Shey Bojhena. We had to shoot it in one-and-a-half days and we rushed through the song in Malda. Millions of people had gathered to watch us... the sun was blazing and it was really hot. I had five or six changes. I didn’t have a hairstylist for that day... there was no straightener or blow-dry. I had shampooed my hair and dried it in the make-up van, and I shot for the song like that. Baba Yadav used to tell me: ‘This is going to be one of the biggest hits. You are going to remember this song forever.’