Director Soumyajit Majumdar’s debut film #Homecoming features a soulful and eclectic soundtrack that encapsulates the essence of the movie. A few days before the film released on SonyLIV, The Telegraph was present at an event at Offbeat CCU to discuss its music with Sameer Rahat, the music producer for the film and Rashmeet Kaur, who has lent her voice to the female version of the track Jugnu hote hain.
“Soumyajit and I got together 10 years ago. Even back then, he had the idea of making this film. Two of the songs in the movie already existed since he was already following my music. So he ended up incorporating the song into the narrative and the script. It was not the usual scenario where the script is provided at first and the director thinks a certain kind of sound will fit. This seldom happens,” Sameer Rahat told The Telegraph. “I feel films like #Homecoming come once in 10 years. It is a brave, fearless film,” he said.
(L-R) '#Homecoming' cast members Rupayan Paul, Shweta Chaudhuri and Deeptarko Chowdhury
Rashmeet Kaur, who had shot for the music video of Jugnu hote hain just that morning, was gushing about the tram ride the crew had to take to shoot the video. “We were in a moving tram for almost three-and-a-half hours. It was my first time on a tram and it was exciting! Jugnu hote hain, the song, speaks for itself... about two people coming together. They are isolated from the rest of the world, in each other’s conscience. It’s like being in that one tram, with all that chaos around you... and I could not connect more with the song, with the location and in that situation. This song is very close to my heart and I loved being a part of this film. It was very smooth, very connecting. I loved the vibe, all the actors were outstanding,” said Kaur.
Director Soumyajit Majumdar (right) with Meghdut Roychowdhury, founder and curator, Offbeat CCU
The evening witnessed a brief but soulful performance by Sameer and Rashmeet where they performed Jugnu hote hain, among other numbers, as a small and intimate crowd cheered them on. A few of the cast members were also present. Shweta Chaudhuri, who plays Shubangi in #Homecoming, said: “We have all been part of theatre together, so it was no different for us to come together and create the vibe. What did feel different for me personally was that I have always acted in the theatre group but here I was playing a set designer, which was completely different. Soumyajit had this amazing process where we sat together during the workshop and discussed what we can tell through the design. Whatever ideas he had, he wanted me to incorporate mine too. It was really interesting for me.”
Deeptarko Chowdhury, who plays Doobie in #Homecoming, said: “We all literally played ourselves since we have a theatre background. Hats off to Soumyajit for getting such a varied cast together. The story that is shown in the movie is very real”. Also present were Rupayan Paul, who plays Bhola in the film, and Deeptaroop Basu, aka Fozzie.
Pictures: Rashbehari Das