A singer and his songs

A few years back, a soft-spoken man with next-door looks, sheepish grin and immense passion for music went to Mumbai to pursue his late mother's dream — making his mark as a singer.

On February 24, at the Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai, Debojit Saha fulfilled his mother's wish as he was voted India's best new voice in the coveted and keenly-fought Hero Honda Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005.

In Calcutta on Friday for the launch of his first album titled Debojit, the singing sensation from Silchar in Assam revealed how he had always been inclined towards music and painting.

"Right from my childhood, I would try and pick up difficult tracks like Manabendra Mukhopadhyay's Esho priyo aaro kaachhe. In college, more than studies my musical shows kept me busy," smiles Debojit, who then trained under Sridipa Bhattacharya and Amarendra Chakraborty.

Music continued to be his top priority as Debojit dumped a career in civil engineer and came to Mumbai to pursue singing. Patience, perseverance, self-confidence and the support of wife Bandana saw him through many ups and downs in the first six months that Debojit refers to as "a tough period with depleting financial resources and no godfather to turn to".

In between, Debojit was busy assisting music director Pritam and singing background scores in serials like Kyun Hota Hai Pyarrr and Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi before the music show on Zee TV happened.

"Askaran Sharma (the vocalist Debojit trained under in Mumbai) and Bandana pushed me to participate," says Debojit. The rest is tuneful television history.

Having grabbed 50.42 per cent of the 5.5 crore votes, the boy from Barak valley, more than anything else, is happy to see how "a musical platform was instrumental in terminating a traditional rift in Assam between the valleys of Brahmaputra and Barak".

Recounting his Sa Re Ga Ma Pa experience, Debojit thanked Ismail Darbar's tips and words of confidence that allowed him to maintain his cool through all the controversy about regional voting bias. "Ismailji always said I must let my songs speak for me."

That he sure did. The album Debojit is an effort to prove his versatility. A compilation of eight songs includes soft romantic numbers like the title track Jeena, the Ismail Darbar composition Tu dil hai mera that explores various human emotions, and then the hip-hop humdum.

Debojit, who has sung for Bappi Lahiri in the upcoming film Cabaret, draws inspiration from Kishore Kumar, Manna De, Mohammed Rafi, Suresh Wadekar and other singing greats. "To be an all-rounder in this field, you need to enjoy all kinds of work," smiled the singer, who dreams of working with A.R. Rahman and Ismail Darbar.

Despite the sudden stardom and adulation, Debojit loves spending time with his family in his spare time. Now busy with shows, albums, film offers and more, the affable young man dreams of "continuing to improve as a singer" and setting up an old-age home some day.

His advice to young singers: "Be patient, practise hard and nurture perseverance and perfection."