25

The Daily Star is now 25 years old and to celebrate that, there was a massive function at the International Convention City Bashundhara at 6 PM yesterday, attended by the who's who of the entire nation. Such is the importance of The Daily Star that a separate program was held at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in honour of the President of Bangladesh yesterday morning.

As you may have seen this week, the main paper and all the subsequent feature sections have commemorated this amazing milestone in their own unique way, from their own unique point of view. So it would be unthinkable that Star Showbiz, the daily's newest section, would not contribute anything to this milestone.

But what can the world of Showbiz offer to The Daily Star to commemorate its anniversary you may ask. Well how about a song to commemorate the spirit and very ideal of The Daily Star? Well that's exactly what has happened. Kaushik Hossain Taposh, Managing Director and CEO of GaanBangla TV channel has written and devised a song titled “Laal Shobuj Er Gaan” sung with the help of 25 young artists representing a new generation of artists.

Artists performing.

Some titbits we can tell you about this song without giving out too many spoilers, it speaks of patriotism and doing what's right for the country. It talks of breaking down boundaries with the truth and in doing so, do what's necessary for the betterment of the nation, fitting in exactly with the motto of The Daily Star.
“Amra shomoy er slogan, addhar er barricade bhenge gai laal shobuj er gaan”
This line from the song pretty much sums up all you need to know about it, and now, to explain his reasoning for the concept of this song, here is small interview with the man himself.

Taposh & Autumnal Moon working on the song.

What made you decide to dedicate a song to The Daily Star for its 25th anniversary?
If you ask me, The Daily Star isn't just a renowned English daily. I see it as a voice for the nation and all its inhabitants, a mirror for the society if you will. I feel that its job is to wave the green and red flag high and proud. GaanBangla has a similar goal too. Our job is to wave our national pride with home-grown, soulful songs. The Daily Star does the same thing through the words in their news and other various nation based articles. To be able to do what you do for 25 years is a huge milestone and to commemorate that, the artists here who are a part of the GaanBangla family decided to make this song as a present to The Daily Star; kind of like a birthday present if you will.

How did you manage to arrange such a huge ensemble for this project? 
Well, the first thing we decided, based on the lyrics and the mantra of the current times, was to involve artists as many artists as possible from the new generation who would make waves in the near future. Also, the artists are from various genres like Classical, Pop, Rock, Fusion, Nazrul, etc. As for the number of artists itself, well we figured it would be an artistic way of commemorating 25 years of The Daily Star with 25 up and coming artists. Plus 25 artists on a stage also look cool!
What genre does this track fall into?
Well, technically, I have to say that this song, by definition, is a fusion, because this involves many different styles and is sung by artists hailing from different genres. But I will also say that this isn't like the usual fusions that are currently out there because it's inspirational or motivational. This song is all about the dialogue delivery, all about the message of patriotism.

Any future plans regarding this song?
Since this song speaks of the nation, which is the mantra for both The Daily Star and GaanBangla, it will be made into a music video reflecting that motive and be aired on GaanBangla channel every day for as long as GaanBangla stays on the air. It is a signature piece and so, you can rest assured that it will live on with GaanBangla.

By Intisab Shahriyar