Swanand Kirkire debuts in Bengali cinema

After penning hits like "Behti hawaa sa tha woh...", "Bande mein tha dum..." for Hindi movies "3 Idiots" and "Lage Raho Munna Bhai", respectively, lyricist Swanand Kirkire makes his debut in Bengali cinema with "Paanch Adhyay".

The movie also marks the debut of Bollywood actress Dia Mirza in Bengali films.

"Although 'Paanch Adhyay' is a Bengali film, since Dia plays a half-Bengali named Ishita, there was an opportunity to look at things from her point of view and create a Hindi song," composer Shantanu Moitra said in a statement.

He has written two songs - "Rahoon tere peechhe" and "Uda jaaye" - for the film. Not only this, he has also lent his voice to the latter song. Moitra has composed the songs and this is their first Bengali film as a duo.

Pratim D. Gupta, writer-director of "Paanch Adhyay" said: "I showed Swanand a part of the film and he came up with a couple of lines that summed up the core thought beautifully. Shantanu and I both instantly decided that he has to sing the track for the film."

The other four Bengali songs have been penned by the National Award-winning lyricist duo of Anindya Chatterjee and Chandril Bhattacharya and an English track has been written by Pratim himself.

The film also features Priyanshu Chatterjee and Soumitra Chatterjee. It is expected to release around Durga Puja in October.