Dil kare khud se Saudebazian… The uptempo and catchy duet by Babul Supriyo and Prakriti Kakar released recently, not only has wonderful lyrics but also has a lilting effect on the listeners.

Talking about the song, Babul, the newly-inducted minister for information technology and electronics and tourism in Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet, says the song talks about compromising with self in love and that is what has appealed to him.

The new minister in the West Bengal cabinet has no qualms about admitting he too has made compromises in life and with songs. “I had to sing downright bad compositions with a smiling face, at times to make others happy,” he said.  Explaining his point further, he said, “Life is full of compromises. I too had to. We love to brag that whatever we do, do it out of love for it but we also lie at times. We also do a lot of things out of compulsion.”

Babul though issues a disclaimer that he has never compromised with double-meaning or indecent lyrics.

Talking about him singing a Punjabi number, Babul said that he did not have much scope to sing Punjabi numbers but he always liked the language. The ‘Sufiana’ element in Punjabi songs attracts him to it. Even though the dhol (drums) overshadows the melody many times, the melody makes the songs from Punjab so popular, he said.

Saudebazian is composed by Imran and has 10 songs. The project has been curated by Pritam.

“It is a catchy song with very meaningful lyrics. The song has been appreciated by a lot of my musician friends such as Jatin-Lalit, Rajesh Roshan, Mika and they are of the view that I sound younger than before, which is music to my ears,” he said. .

The busy politician never left his first love, singing. Even after being a central minister for more than five years, he was always singing and bringing out albums. “I have never left songs for anything. I have joined politics but songs are my first love. It is my engine for life, many bogies keep adding to it as I move ahead. Reaching the happiness station, taking along all the bogies is the objective for me,” he explains.

Babul, who has sung with the legends of the industry and now partnering with the younger lot, does not like comparing the eras. “You cannot compare. The singers sing with equal dedication and responsibility,” he said, adding, “The only difference I would admit is that previously to be a singer, singing in melody was a prerequisite. There could be no compromise on that front. Now, the voice quality matters, not the harmony. Due to the available software, anyone can be made to sound great. One can sketch a singer’s (or non-singer) voice to make it melodious. Today, you can be a popular and a famous singer but you may not be a singer at all,” he rued.

The Kaho na pyar hai.. singer is happy to sing alongside Prakriti and rates her as ‘a trained singer’. “She has sung very well,” he added.

Ask the singer about the drift in the music industry over the ages, Babul Said, “Bollywood music is more in vogue now. Bringing out a single song is difficult to sell. It is cruel. Why would a singer’s career depend on Bollywood only? But the circumstances have forced this change. Now, bringing out an album has become very costly. Earlier, people listened to songs. Now, it is more visual. Shooting at beautiful locales costs a lot.”

The Bengali singer, who has many Rabindra sangeet albums to his credit, said the Bengali music industry needs to promote local singers. “In Punjab the sheen of non-film songs has been kept intact. Unfortunately, in Bengal the glory of non-film songs has been lost. Earlier, we used to have popular non-film songs which outnumbered the popularity of film songs. Bengalis will have to promote non-film songs more,” he said.

Babul is happy that both his daughters have a liking for singing. Coming from a musical family, with singing in his genes, he sees his daughters’ love for music a natural progression. “They are singing on their own and it is not forced. My father, grandfather have all been music lovers in their own right and have a rich legacy. They have taught me. My aunts are excellent singers. We have a custom of having musical get-together at home,” he explained.