“I am looking forward to doing more work as an actor” – Anwesshaa

Apart from carving a distinctive identity for herself as a singer, Anwesshaa has also been quite prolific as a composer and lyricist. After lending her voice to several popular songs across different languages and film industries, Anwesshaa started composing and writing songs that were released by her independently.

Soon enough, she found herself receiving offers to compose for films. Along with exploring herself as a composer, Anwesshaa wrote some songs for Hindi and Bengali films. Her work as a lyricist has not been restricted to her own compositions. She has written songs for other composers as well. Earlier this year, Anwesshaa wrote the songs ‘Le Chal Wahan’ and ‘Preet Mori Satrangi’ for JioHotstar’s ‘Hai Junoon!’, one of the prominent web shows to have released this year.

‘Le Chal Wahan’ has been composed by Akshay Menon. One can see two versions of the song listed on the album. While one of the versions has been sung by Shaan and Natalie Ram Di Luccio, the other version only features Shaan’s voice on it. You had earlier written the song ‘Tujhse Pyaar Hai’ for Akshay which was a part of the film ‘Main Ladega’. This song has been co-written by you and Taranginee Gupta.

Taranginee has written the English lyrics. I had written some English verses earlier. She improvised upon them and came up with some wonderful lines. Shaan da’s solo version only has the Hindi lyrics. Akshay has been one of my closest friends in the industry. I really enjoy working with him as we have similar musical sensibilities. Both of us like soft, melodious songs. When you share a comfort level with somebody, it becomes easier to work with them. In the past, Akshay had arranged some of the Bengali songs I had composed for films. We have worked with each other on several projects in different roles. I feel so happy to see him doing so well as a composer. When he was about to start his journey as a composer, he asked me if I would write for him. I immediately said a yes. He has been a wonderful friend. As a team, we work very well. I feel grateful about the fact that ‘Le Chal Wahan’ has been received well. It comes an important juncture in the series. It is Neil’s (Nitin Mukesh) entry song. If you pay close attention to the lyrics, you will realize that you can sing out these lines to your loved one and for your mother land as well.

The other song you written for the series is called ‘Preet Mori Satrangi’. The song represents the LGBTQ community and their emotions.

This was the first song I wrote for the series. Akshay had composed a beautiful tune. Once I got the brief, I started working on it. Through this song, we were supposed to talk about gender performativity and how everybody has the right to love. I wanted to convey the thought that it is perfectly normal for two individuals, regardless of their gender, to be in love with each other. I actually felt privileged to get the opportunity to write a song of this nature. Everybody approved of the first draft I had written. The overall process, therefore, was very smooth.

‘Jalte Diye’ from ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’ happens to be one of your biggest hits as a singer. Though the song was not picturized on Neil Nitin Mukesh, the film did feature him in a very important role. After years, you worked on a project featuring him.

Yes! I have always been a fan of Neil’s work and it is wonderful to be a part of projects which feature him as an actor. I met him at the music launch of the series and had a good conversation with him. I had met him for the first time years ago when I was a contestant on the music reality show ‘Amul Star Voice of India Chote Ustad’. He had come there to promote his then upcoming film ‘Lafangey Parindey’. It was wonderful meeting him after all these years. He is a thorough gentleman and an extremely warm person. He had some very positive things to say about ‘Le Chal Wahan’. Since he comes from a musical lineage, he has a lot of respect for musicians.

Apart from a few Hindi films, you have written lyrics for Bangla films as well.

I have done a few Bengali films as a composer. While working on those films, the directors themselves suggested that I should write the lyrics. They said so because they had heard my independent songs which were written by me. In the future, I would love to collaborate with other lyricists on my compositions as well.

How do you look at your journey as a lyricist?

I am thoroughly enjoying my journey as a lyricist. I was always a singer and had no plans to write songs myself. It feels amazing to get appreciation for my work as a lyricist. I never expected to get such so much appreciation as a writer. When something nice happens in an unexpected manner, you feel happy about it.

You also ventured into acting recently with the film ‘Humsaaz – The Musical’.

The film got a very encouraging response from the audience and I feel very happy about it. The film ran for several weeks in states like West Bengal, Maharashtra, Bihar and Jharkhand, among others. A lot of people made their debut with this film. It was a musical and I thought only hardcore music lovers will be interested in it. However, a large number of people came to watch it. I feel blessed to have got the opportunity to start my journey as an actor with this film. I am looking forward to doing more work as an actor.