Exclusive Interview of Siliguri music-man Ashutosh in SILIGURI 007

ASHUTOSH SINGH

SILIGURI 007: Since you are from Siliguri and had a very smooth career in academics, what prompted you to shift to Mumbai?

Ashutosh: I had my own business establishment at Regulated Market. Though I was associated with Don Bosco School through Mr. John Paul, its music-teacher. I am also an ex-student. At home and amongst friends, I used to play the guitar, write and compose my own songs and always felt I could do it at the highest levels. This led me to scour on the internet and had a chance meeting with an executive of Vinod Pande.

He was making RED SWASTIK starring Sherlyn Chopra then. They wanted a promo song. I wrote, composed, arranged, sang and recorded one on my home pc and emailed it. The song was selected and I decided to shift to Mumbai after this chance break.

SILIGURI 007: Was that shift to Mumbai fruitful enough and how?

Ashutosh: Initially it was tough since I knew no one in Mumbai and had no idea on the levels of performance and competition in the industry. However, things worked out for me and I started getting projects. WOMAN FROM THE EAST was my first film as solo music director. Then came DESWA and GOOD BUDDY GADBADI after that.

The film industry is considered the most competitive sector. Apart from people from all over India, it is quite common to see people from Russia / CIS countries, Europe and Americas trying to get a footing.  Though a lot of work is happening, good projects are few and rare to come by. Every team is closely knit and generally do not entertain freshers.

It’s tough to get a film to work in. It’s tough for a film to complete. It’s even tougher to get the film sold. It’s a further uphill task to get the film a proper release with promotions. Even after all that, if the film does not do well, or does not create an impact, it does not help ones career. So years of work just might not be as fruitful as expected.  

I have been lucky on that account. After analyzing the industry, I was determined only to do quality films. Initial days were struggle but one project brought another and so on. I am one of the few Music Directors who, while waiting for his first release is in the process of completing his third film. And I have already worked with the topmost singers of the industry. Generally, people wait for releases to happen before more work offers arrive. With my films slated for release now, I think the shift has been very fruitful. I think I am the first Music Director from North Bengal to make a dent in the Hindi Film industry. With the sort of reviews and recommendations I receive for my work, I think it was a good decision to take a shot here.

SILIGURI 007: You are one of the few a strong believers of the audio-visual media development in Siliguri, so please clarify your viewpoint.

Ashutosh: Entertainment industry is getting localized all over the country. There is content being developed in all regional dialects and languages by local artists. Several super stars have been created all over north India. One of the strongest examples is Sri Dineshlal Yadav Nirahua who was a simpleton village folk singer. His peppy earthy singing made him so popular that he is currently the superstar of Bhojpuri cinema which is released in 7 states of India apart from countries like Fiji, Surinam, Mauritius, Singapore, Holland etc. 

North Bengal is blessed in several ways. We are culturally and ethnically very rich. Several communities are in strong numbers and all of them have their own cultural expressions. Our people have strong knack for arts. We are blessed with natural locations. All what we need to do is to start creating quality content in audio-visual medium and make a self-sustaining marketing regional network. One can follow the Punjab or the Pakistan model. There is a throbbing local theatre and film industry which makes video films and survives on localized distribution of VCD. Several of the films – music videos have become hugely popular and created opportunities for thousands of people all over North India.

North Bengal has been laggard in embracing new economy. There is no IT sector. Our tourism industry is in bad shape. We don’t have good academic institutions, no proper place for higher and technical studies. Our health sector is primitive. Our roads and civic infrastructure would make Jurassic parks proud. All what is there worth talking is initiated by its local entrepreneurs. Even the business, trade and industry sentiment is low. That is because working there is so difficult. There is a dire need to start new economy projects there. In the new age, Intellectual Property is a huge capital. Its returns are much more than other traditional modes of investment. With an entertainment industry, North Bengal can develop a huge economic sector of its own providing jobs and prosperity to thousands. Apart from that it will encourage talents in several disciplines to elevate their artistic expressions. 

SILIGURI 007: Since you were a teacher by profession in your earlier profession, how do you rate the enthusiasm of the younger lot from Siliguri especially in this performing arts field?

Ashutosh: I was not a teacher though I was in regular interaction with youth. Our children are as enthusiastic as any other place. And they are immensely talented and can match the best anywhere. Look at the Table-tennis sector. With minimal infrastructure, they have managed to make Siliguri a powerhouse in TT. It’s just a matter of organizing and we can take off in several ways and directions.

In performing arts, we need to brush up our theatre scenario. It has to be made more common man centric. And our theatre movement should break the language barriers, attracting audiences from everywhere. That is where the talent pool for the audio-visual medium will be prepared. Much of Mumbai film industry people received their training and experience in the theatre groups of Delhi colleges and universities. 

The youth here need platform. They have it all in them.

SILIGURI 007: There were many attempts from Siliguri by many directors to grow from this region, however, they almost failed in their attempt (till date). What may be the reasons behind this failure according to you?

Ashutosh: It’s not a total failure. The cinema movement in North Bengal has had its moments. When the first Rajbongshi film was made, it was immensely successful. That encouraged a spate of projects to earn a quick buck. But the sort of quality upgrading required to retain the audience was absent. The initial euphoria weaned away. We could not establish even one Production House Banner worth its name in the enthusiasm.

I think the reason was short term vision. One can’t make shabby copies of Hindi films from the 1960-1970’s and create a film industry there. The content has to be from here, from the land itself. Unless local aspirations, struggles are visible, it will not succeed in the long run.

Today the people have the option to watch 100 world class channels at home. So our work should have a basic minimum acceptable technical standard too.

Also a proper distribution network has not been developed. We don’t have established procedure to Monetize the projects as yet.

In meetings with FM channels there, I learnt that they were getting their content consultation from Delhi. Now how can some city slicker sitting in Delhi understand the likes and dislikes of a man on the street in Siliguri? So the FM movement is still struggling to find a ground. Unless we upgrade and package our local content and create a locally sustainable market, we have an uphill task.

SILIGURI 007: What are the things lacking infrastructurally to develop North Bengal as a second hub of film production from Bengal.

Ashutosh: We are ages away. Film making is a tradition. Imagine a group of youngsters who must have assisted the likes of Satyajit Ray, learnt their film making there. All of them are huge names in cinema now like Gautam Ghosh, Anjan Dutt, Aparna Sen etc. are some of them.  

Who will our kids learn from? But if we start properly with a view to improve all the time, we can collaborate and hire talents from established places till our own guys gain experience and ability. In this age of digital cinema, it is cost effective too.

Film industry needs technicians, writers, artists, musicians, producers, distributors etc. And it also needs equipment. Though some work is being done, the need of the hour is an all-round upgrading. Our guys need to work on productions and gain experience.

Local Business houses have to come in as full time Film Production Houses. They will give this business a proper shape.

SILIGURI 007:  Most Tollywood directors often view Siliguri as a transit camp for film production, What is your opinion about such viewpoints?

Ashutosh: I am against forcing any visiting team to relent to any conditions. However, if any team comes to Kolkata for shooting, they are forced to hire locals. And teams from Mumbai, though hire and pay the locals, prefer to work with their own guys. They make the Kolkata locals just idle around.

There are lots of Bengali films and serials being shot in North Bengal. Our aspirants should get to be on the sets as assistants. But we MUST develop a separate work culture here. Our guys should add to the project and any complaint, should be dealt with strongly. Just because a team from outside is shooting in my area “I should be in it”, is ghetto mentality. We should work our way and deserve to be in it. Or we should develop our own projects, bigger and grander than theirs.

To sum it up, local entrepreneurs have to enter the industry. People with business and financial experience have to collaborate with artists and creative people and create a production and marketing infrastructure. We can’t wait for some one from outside to come to our place to make a change. Development has to come from within.