Words fall short when describing how it was to listen to the man who weaves magic with his lyrics and tunes. Anjan Dutt’s live performance at Someplace Else on August 11 touched the hearts of people across age groups. Doesn’t matter which generation one belongs to, songs like Ranjana, Ekdin brishtite, Cigarette, Mary Anne and other classics will simply remain evergreen for music enthusiasts. Watching Dutt perform with Neel Dutt, Amyt Datta, Proshanto Mahato and Deboprotim ‘Tukai’ Bakshi (on drums) at Someplace Else was a burst of nostalgia for people. As the maestro took the mic and addressed the audience in his baritone, the crowd erupted in joy and couldn’t contain their excitement. They enthusiastically requested their favourite songs from him, and Dutt surprised them with some classics and left them mesmerised. The concert concluded with an unexpected twist and one went home humming the songs.
A Telegraph chat with Anjan Dutt
What inspires you to write your songs?
I watch, observe and take my inspiration from the mundane things around us. Songwriting for me is about making a piece relatable to the common people. From love to heartbreak or rain, it’s just about capturing the essence of it through my lens. Someday I might just sit and watch the rain, however I view it and whatever perspective I form, I write about that.
Your fans wanted you to sing Bela Bose. Is there any reason why you didn’t add it to your setlist?
I don’t perform Bela Bose every time there’s a concert. It isn’t mandatory for me to sing it and there are so many songs that they like. So, I didn’t feel like singing Bela Bose that day.
Could you talk about your experience of performing at Someplace Else?
The Park has been extremely supportive of whatever I do. Music, shoots, name it and they’ve been there for me. Playing at Someplace Else after a long time was just a part of it!
What are your upcoming projects?
I’ve been focusing on travelling and performing, making music in different languages. I’m working on an OTT project that’ll come out soon!
THE BAND
“Well, playing music is fun in general, and with Anjan, it’s fun too with all the travelling around and more, especially because we go back many many years as friends… so overall it was great to perform with him at Someplace Else,” said Amyt Datta.
“After many years we performed at Someplace Else. It was great fun. We got to play songs which we usually don’t perform elsewhere,” said Neel Dutt.
“It’s a given that every time Anjanda performs at Someplace Else it will be fully packed. SPE will always be special to me because I played there with my band Crystal Grass between 2005 and 2015. Performing with Anjanda at SPE happened after a long gap of four years, so it was even more special,” said Proshanto Mahato.
Pictures: Rashbehari Das