Why Assam artists feel the need to celebrate 'Zindagi' in 2020

The year 2020 will go down in history as one that tested the strength and resolve of humanity. Across the globe, there are those who have lost hope, been tossed from place to place by circumstances and are everything in life would go back to normal. For times like this, music shows up. No wonder some artists in Assam have partnered to bring hope to hearts and homes with the beautiful, uplifting, and soul-serenading Zindagi.

Zindagi is a Hindi song of positivity and hope, bringing light to the darkest of hearts at a time when the world needs it most.

Life is full of ups and downs. A never-ending rollercoaster of challenges. We must play the cards we are dealt with and strife to win. But sometimes, all we need is a hand (or maybe even a voice) to help us understand that everything will be alright. We often have to go through these challenging times with nothing but the strength of our mind and heart. This message was expertly crafted in Zindagi. The song preaches hope by describing the process in which elements in nature undergo hurdles before attaining beauty.

Zindagi gives a soothing and calming feeling to the hearts of troubled listeners with its inviting melody. The vocals of this song are by talented singer Pratiksha Gogoi. Many other familiar faces came together to produce this masterpiece – Chinmoy Sarma on electric guitar, Tarun Kalita on sarod, Himangshu Borah on bass, and Sandipan Baruah on drums. The song was composed by Mrinmoy Kalita, while Rakesh Roshan handled the songwriting. A lot of effort went into this song. Music arranger and producer Sudarshan Borkotoky partnered with Ibson Lal Baruah who assisted with mixing and mastering. The direction of the video for this song was done by Abinash Bhuyan, with Darathie Bharadwaj starring in it.

Such a powerful message usually accompanies an equally detailed and enthralling video. The video for this song can be described as captivating, soothing and pleasant all at once. The aerial shots captured by Rupam Sharma and cinematography by Arunabh Dutta and Raktim Dwarah do deserve a special mention.

Director Abinash Bhuyan says the uniqueness of the song made him prepare the theme accordingly with an abstract concept. “The song is about a journey of breaking all barriers of the mind to liberate oneself. I had to make sure the audience takes all the positivity in the first half of the song. As I knew Darathie from her work before and I have worked with her, so we closed on her as a cast”.

Continuing, he says, “This has been a great journey. At the very core, I wanted to take my audience on a journey; a pleasant mind tour with complementing visuals. I thank all of my video team members Arunabh, Raktim, Himangshu, Bhaskar for their tremendous contribution.”

Singer Pratiksha Gogoi showed her vocal proficiency once again on this track. Ever since her debut, a lot has happened for the singer. She recounts the journey since then. “Two years back, I had no dreams of making such a huge song. But when we started this planning, I could only be thankful that Zindagi came to be my very first Hindi single as a vocalist. From January 2019 till the day of its release and even now, this song has been one of the best experiences of my life. The hard work that every other person showed has now pushed me to do something good, yet again. The encouragement, belief and hope that this journey has given me will stay with me till eternity.”

As for the composition, Mrinmoy has this to say: “It happened that Pratiksha came to me with the prospect of creating a song together. I composed a couple of tunes and sent it to her. We did a few voice tests and ended up with a mutual favourite. I then went to Delhi to move forward with the project. It took me a week or two, and I returned to Guwahati and met Sudarshan for further development of the project. The whole project took two years. It will be a lifetime experience. This song created beautiful stories which I will keep safe in my heart.”

As for his inspiration during composition, Mrinmoy says much of it came from the people around him and the conversations he creates with these people.

Sudarshan Borkotoky, who assisted in production and arrangement of the song described the entire process as one that touched deep on his imagination. He says his whole imagination revolved around the simplicity of life and that no matter what, there is always something that happens whether an incident or something we see, that makes us feel better. And that, he says, is the power of positivity. “So I tried to keep it simple in the beginning emphasising majorly on the composition and the lyrics of the song,” he adds.

This message of hope comes timely, at a point when the world is desperately searching for something to hold on to; something to believe in and something that says we can all forge ahead. Hopefully, there is a ray of sunshine at the end of every dark tunnel we face, and that is what Zindagi is about.