Amid the fervent celebration of his novels, TV dramas and obviously, films, the musical soul of the wizard of words, Humayun Ahmed, is often overlooked. On the road to spawning some of the most notable characters in the history of Bangla film, television and literature, the all around handyman also silently reintroduced the legacy of folk music from north-eastern Bangladesh, popularly known as songs of Bhati Anchal and Sylhet to the local audience, ingeniously using weaving them into his films and TV dramas.
Humayun, a self-effacing songwriter, tried his hand on lyrics in 1994, during the shoot of his debut film “Aguner Poroshmoni.” The bashful auteur was reportedly too hesitant to use the song in his first film. He used the song “Ek Je Chhilo Shonar Konya,” later in his second film “Sharbon Megher Din” and witnessed an instant triumph of his musical creation in the voice of Subir Nandi. The duo collaborated again for the song “O Amar Ural Ponkhi Rey.” The song eventually became a benchmark for both Humayun and Subir's careers as songwriter and singer respectively, winning the hearts of the audience with its rich lyrical content composed with a heart-touching tune.
But what motivated Humayun to write lyrics when he was skeptical of his own finesse? Jewel Rana, his chief assistant director, has an unusual but very Humayun-esque answer. During an interview, Jewel said that the writer never wanted to be a lyricist but wrote lyrics anyway, only to “avert the pains of explaining his scripts to lyricists.”
“He wrote 'Channi Poshor Raite Jeno Amar Moron Hoy' instantly while sipping tea. He wanted us to play the song after his death,” Jewel said during the interview.
Following the success of the initial score, Humayun went on to deliver a series of hit film scores, including the likes of “Mathay Porechi Shada Cap,” “Shohagpur Grame Ekta Maya Dighi Chilo,” “Chadni Poshore Ke Amay Shoron Kore,” “Amar Ache Jol,” and “Jodi Deke Boli.”
Described by Subir Nandi as “a luminous aficionado of music,” Humayun composed around 40 songs throughout his career, and eventually turned these unparalleled scores into a salient feature of his films, something that completes a Humayun Ahmed film. He popularised songs of Baul Shah Abdul Karim, Hason Raja, Jalal Uddin, Gias Uddin Ahmed and Ukil Munshi through his works.
Apart from the film scores, the writer, whose mystic poetic metaphors in the lyrics made his songs appealing to listeners from different generations and social classes, also penned the lyrics of some popular singles, including “Jodi Mon Kade” and “Shomudro”.
For the love of Baul music, Humayun brought Baul Shah Abdul Karim to Dhaka, honoured him and made other singers render Karim's songs. He also recorded five folk songs by eminent singer Firoza Begum.
To Humayun Ahmed, quality and popularity were not the same, as described by Maksud Jamil Mintoo, who composed many of his songs. Regarding the quality of lyrics, Mintoo quoted the auteur in an interview, saying: “Any good work may not be popular; but what is good is good forever. Again, many popular pieces might carry no message.”
During his lifetime, Humayun could only work with a limited a number of musicians, but his sterling love and devotion for music still inspire many to fling themselves in the celestial realm of music.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
