MUMBAI: In spite of being the daughter of a music teacher, ‘Raske Bhare’ fame singer Arpita Chakraborty did not want to pursue music as a profession. Instead she enrolled in for a textile designing course from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. But destiny had something else in store for her. She ventured into music with her first Bollywood film 'Ragini MMS 2' and since then there has been no looking back.
“Music was always an integral part of my life because my mother is a Hindustani Classical Music singer and also runs a music academy. I started learning music from the very early age but then got more interested in designing,” said Chakraborty.
Having a background of music, she performed during college festivals and was even a part of her college band. After completing her course, she worked as a textile designer but somehow wanted to get back pursuing her musical interests.
“I think it was more of an inner calling that happened to me and I immediately quit my job and got back to music,” she added.
Her debut song for 'Ragini MMS 2' was 'Lori of Death.' Post this, she also crooned ‘Raske Bhare’ for the film ‘Satyagraha,’ where the music was composed by Aadesh Shrivastava. She recently sung the title track of the film ‘Bezubaan Ishq,’ which was a duet with Javed Ali.
As a singer, Chakraborty is trained in four styles of music- Hindustani Classical, Rabindra Sangeet, Nazrul Geeti and Qazi Nazrul Islam. “My mother was very particular and would not tolerate even the slightest of mistake in my ‘sur’, which has now helped me evolve as a better singer now,” she explained, while talking about her mother's contribution in her career. The first instrument that Chakraborty learnt was the harmonium at the age of eight.
Exercise and riyaaz are two things that she cannot live without. “If God has bestowed you with a talent, it is your duty to take care of it and nurture the talent, which is only possible through riyaaz. If you do not polish your craft, it means you are taking it for granted,” she elucidated.
The singer currently is busy working on her single, ‘Magan,’ which is in collaboration with Mujtaba Malik, a renowned singer based in Saudi Arabia. The track is a typical party number with an element of Punjabi music in it will release in August.