Kabir Suman alleges ‘insult’, makers clarify their stand

On Thursday, Kabir Suman fired a salvo from his social media account. In his long open letter to director Aniket Chattopadhyay, the veteran musician alleged that he was being insulted and not given his dues, despite completing the entire score of Aniket’s recent release, Shankar Mudi and the music of his forthcoming film, Hobuchandra Raja Gobuchandra Mantri, which is produced by actor-MP Dev.
The composer asked why Aniket and Dev had commented, ‘Kabir Suman ke handle kora kothin’ at a press con. He went on to write that he had come across a video on YouTube where it was said that a role was offered to him in Hobuchandra Raja Gobuchandra Mantri, whereas the makers themselves admitted that no one barring him could lip-sync to the kheyals used in the film. Even though he didn’t charge an extra penny for the role, he agreed to do it on request. He also added that Dev, who is a sitting MP and contesting the forthcoming Lok Sabha election, did not grace the recording studio despite being the producer of the film. Kabir Suman summed up the post by demanding an apology from the two.
When CT got in touch with him, Kabir Suman elaborated, “The first song of Habuchandra Raja Gobuchandra Mantri was recorded by a group of kids, the senior-most being in Class V. Neither the director nor the production house offered even a piece of chocolate to them. No media was called. No recognition was given. If an artiste from Mumbai had come, they would be running after him.” Pointing out that Bengal has a strong heritage of amicable relationship between the composer and director, he further added, “This tradition is not built by some Dev Adhikari. It was built by the stalwarts like Pramathesh Barua, Ajay Kar and others. Now, these people are conducting press cons in luxury hotels and passing comments on me. Amake ‘handle’ kora naki shokto. After their comments, young reporters are calling me for my reaction. I am a senior musician. I don’t deserve this. I feel humiliated. A simple ‘sorry’ would have sorted things out. I was miffed and said I would not attend the premiere of Shankar Mudi. The producer cordially said sorry and I went. But here, there is no sorry. I think it comes from arrogance. This is distasteful. All I have to say is, I am neither weak, nor helpless. I will fight back with all my means.”
Aniket, on his part, clarified that it all started on February 18 at the press con of Hobuchandra Raja Gobuchandra Mantri, where he mentioned that Dev had once asked him, ‘Handle korte parbe toh?’ in the context of Kabir Suman’s presence in the film. Said the director, “That’s how we express our concerns about working with every big artiste. Today, if I again work with Soumitra Chatterjee or if the prospect of directing Amitabh Bachchan comes up, that’s what will again cross my mind: Handle korte parbo toh? When I said that, I really didn’t realise that he felt bad. On February 27, at the press con of Shankar Mudi, the same subject came up as an answer to a scribe’s question. I, in fact, said that my experience was completely different and that it was a great scope to learn from such a renowned artiste.” Soon after the press con, Aniket learnt that Kabir Suman wasn’t happy with what was being told. “I sent him a text saying sorry if I had unknowingly hurt him. To this, he wrote back saying, he didn’t want to work with us. He even mentioned, ‘taka paisa ditey hobena’. I tried to pacify him. He made it to the premiere of Shankar Mudi and I thought he was not that miffed anymore. I was not there, as I got busy with the shoot of Hobuchandra Raja Gobuchandra Mantri. During the shoot, I sent him clips of the song sequences. He told me, ‘E shob katha chharo, takata mitiye dao’. By that time, he had made it clear that he didn’t want to take responsibility of the background score or play the cameo that he had agreed to. At that time, I was shooting. Dev was also busy with the shoot of Password. Before I returned, a big interview of his was out in a magazine where he said he felt insulted by our comments. I spoke to Dev and we took a decision to clear his dues at the earliest. A composer’s dues are usually not cleared before a film’s shoot as there can be more music requirements, but even then, we have decided to send him his remuneration.” About meeting him in person, the director said he would leave that on time. “If someone is angry, he must be given time. Time is the best healer.” Dev, too, is hopeful of an amicable solution. “We are extremely sorry if Kabir Suman felt hurt by any of our comments. We have great regards for him as an artiste as there was no question of insulting him ever. We are very hopeful that the differences will be resolved soon,” he said.
THE PAYMENT NORM IN BENGAL
n According to Piya Sengupta, president of Eastern India Motion Pictures Association (EIMPA), the daily technicians are paid after completion of the day’s shooting schedule. If their payment is not cleared, they can complain within 15 days. For the daily artistes, payments are made on a daily basis. “A day’s payment can be held back and cleared after dubbing,” she said. The rest of the team, which enters into a contract with the production house, must be paid within six months of the shoot. “This includes the art director, music composer, actors and the rest of the team. Most of the time, they are paid in three instalments,” she said.
General secretary of Artists’ Forum Arindam Ganguly said actors enter into a contract with the production house and are paid in instalments. “Payments are usually cleared ahead of dubbing. If someone doesn’t get his remuneration, he/she can write to EIMPA. The latter can then take it up with the production house,” he said.
The other controversies

In 1995, author Shankarlal Bhattacharya made it to a Kabir Suman concert. He was sitting with his daughter in the front row and Suman passed certain comments, which left the young lady in tears. But the incident didn’t blow out of proportion as Shankarlal showed restraint all through. Even after the incident, they met and worked together without any unease between them. In 2002 or 2003, the both worked on a Rabindrasangeet album and faced no problems. “On the contrary, I found him extremely helpful and cooperative,” said Shankarlal.

Between Kabir Suman and Anjan Dutt, it was a mutual admiration club till Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona raked up an ugly controversy over the National Film Awards in 2012. Neel Dutt, the young composer and son of Anjan, bagged the award for Best Music Direction at the 59th National Film Awards for Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona. While the music was considered pathbreaking in many ways, the soundtrack featured Suman’s very popular composition, Gaanwala. When Ranjana went on to win three awards — Special Jury Award (Director: Anjan Dutt) and Best Feature Film in Bengali, apart from Best Music Direction — Suman couldn’t help but feel left out. Their disagreement, reported extensively in the media, turned into a public spat and the frost set in. They didn’t speak for long after that. When CT got in touch with Anjan, he refused to comment.

It all started in 2015 when Kabir Suman was bestowed with Banga Bibhushan by the state government. Some argued that Srijato, in protest of government’s role during 2014’s #HokKolorob movement, refused recognition. At this time, some of his poems — written in the backdrop of blogger assasinations in Bangladesh — further ignited the debate and Suman posted a fiery comment on one of his peoms. Curiously, one of Srijato’s poems, Tofat, was argued to be aimed at Suman. While Srijato denied such allegations, it evidently did not go down well with Kabir Suman. When CT got in touch with Srijato, he refused to comment.

In 2014, when movie lovers in Kolkata were celebrating the four National Awards win by Srijit Mukherji’s Jaatishwar, including one in Best Music Direction category by Kabir Suman, the composer said his dues were not cleared by the two production houses who made the film jointly. The composer, who was signed on for `5 lakh for this project, said he was not given `1.5 lakh even a day after the National Film Awards announcement. Since all payment requests had fallen on deaf ears, Kabir Suman said he would sit in a dharna outside the producer’s house. He didn’t have to do that, as his dues were eventually cleared. Srijit also shared Kabir Suman’s post on Facebook on Thursday and wrote, ‘Aniket da please gie ekbaar dyakha kawro. Bangla gaaner dohai. Please.’ When asked about what had happened after Jaatishwar, he said, “It’s all about respect, not payment.” Elaborating further, the filmmaker, who shares a close association with the veteran musician, told us, “Rana (Sarkar), the film’s producer was going through a financial crisis and there was a delay in payment. It was resolved once money came in. Both are different, as here he has spoken about insult more than money.” After Jaatishwar, Srijit had offered to pay from his pocket, but Kabir Suman refused it at that point in time.
Music directors open up on contracts and payments
Do music directors enter into contracts?
Anupam Roy: While contract is important, it’s not mandatory.
Indraadip Das Gupta: There have been cases when a contract has been signed after the film, but I have always worked under contract.
Prabuddha Banerjee: Yes, I always prefer to work under contract.
Is calling the media during recordings a must?
AR: Definitely not. In fact, if I am helming the music department, I never call the media to the studio. However, I have seen shutterbugs at many recordings.
ID: Even the directors and the producers don’t come to the studio when I am recording. I prefer to
work alone.
PB: Not at all. Whenever the production house calls the media, I request them to schedule the shoot after the recording, so that the work is not hampered.
When is the payment for a recording supposed to be made?
AR: Certain things are mentioned in the contract; however, the general rule is to clear the full payment before a film’s release. We get the money in instalments.
ID: My system is a bit different than others. I tell my producer that I would ask for the money whenever
I need it.
PB: It generally comes in instalments. For instance, I get an advance payment after signing a contract. I get another instalment when the recording begins. The last payment, however, is fixed and almost always cleared within a couple of weeks of getting the censor certificate.