Two decades of music for ‘borderless’ Saqi
Music has always wielded significant influence over Saqi Banerjee's life. He embarked on his musical odyssey in his youth, initially supporting his father – music director Bachchu Bandyopadhyay, when he was just 12 years old.
"My musical upbringing naturally drew my focus towards it," remarked the singer and composer, who will celebrate his two decades in the musical realm this year. "I became part of the renowned band Cactus as a vocalist in 2017, and I remained with the group until 2020," he confirmed.
Siddhartho Roy, the founder of Cactus, noticed him during a reality show. "Interestingly, he reached out to me informally and said, 'Recite four lines from your work. If I find it appealing, I'll meet with you,' and that's how the journey began."
Gradually, Saqi immersed himself in the sphere of writing and crafting scripts for various reality shows such as ZEE Bangla's "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa", as well as programmes on National Geographic and Discovery Channel, including "Didi No 1". "During that period, I was also penning songs for various bands. In 2009, Rupankar Bagchi provided me with an opportunity in the film 'Prem by Chance' as a songwriter," he recalled. The movie premiered in 2010.
Finally, he began receiving more offers, particularly highlighting the years 2012 and 2013 as pivotal in his career. "During this time, I had the chance to compose two songs for Srijit Mukherji's film 'Jaatishwar' - 'Singho Rashi' and 'Bolo Konta Priyo'," he reminisced.
In 2015, he composed for the film "Guddu Ki Gun" (2015). He later went on to work on projects like the 2018 film "Biday Bomkesh" (Shondhe Namar Age), the 2018 television series "Charitraheen 2" (Borong Dukkho Diyo), and the 2020 film "Dracula Sir" (Abar Jonmo Nebo).
After working on these projects, he also earned nominations for prestigious awards like — Filmfare, WBFJA, and Mirchi Music Award, the last of which he won in two instances.
It was a fortunate year for the singer, as he got married to Esha Yousuf, daughter of the esteemed couple Nasir Uddin Yousuff and Shimul Yousuf, in 2018. Soon, he decided to move to Bangladesh for music as well.
Saqi believes that art knows no boundaries, which led him to settle in Bangladesh because he perceived greater opportunities and exposure for music in the country. He expressed his decision by stating, "I felt that Bangladesh offers a broader platform for music. I no longer wished to pursue music solely in West Bengal. It's not that I didn't receive love and support there; my band Brahmaputra was well-received and appreciated. However, I saw greater potential and possibilities for rock genre in this country."
"From my generation, I am the first to shift to Bangladesh since my grandfather was from Jessore," said the musician.
Saqi has also composed the background scores for the Hoichoi original web-series "Mobaroknama", released on December 21. Earlier, he did the background score for the Hoichoi web-series "Buker Moddhye Agun", and voiced for the title track of another web-series "Dour".
An interesting detail about this artiste that might escape notice is his involvement in the 2021 web-series "Contract", as an actor, which was directed by Tanin Noor. "I took on the character of Lady Gias, a transgender individual associated with an underworld gang."
The artiste is now working on a few web-series on both sides of the border. "I am also working with my band Brahmaputra with members Riad and Reza. The band completed two years last December. They also released a track commemorating the anniversary of their band, Ababil, in December, last year.
In this Ekushey Boi Mela, the multi-talented artiste has released the poetry book "Kholosh", from publisher Noirita Café.