Nijeder Mawte Nijeder Gaan

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"Nijeder Mawte Nijeder Gaan"
Nijeder Mawte Nijeder Gaan thumbnail
Nijeder Mawte Nijeder Gaan thumbnail
Song by Citizens United
LanguageBengali
English titleOur song about our views
Released24 March 2021 (2021-03-24)
Length6:32
LabelAnupam Roy Creations
Composer(s)Subhadeep Guha
Lyricist(s)Anirban Bhattacharya
Music video
"Nijeder Mawte Nijeder Gaan" on YouTube

"Nijeder Mawte Nijeder Gaan" (Bengali: "নিজেদের মতে নিজেদের গান", transl. "Our song about our views"),[1] is a 2021 Indian Bengali-language socio-political song released on social media by a platform named Citizens United, on 24 March 2021, just 3 days before Phase-I of 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election held on 27 March 2021.[1][2][3]

The song is a plea by the artistes to the people of Bengal to vote wisely.[4][5] The message of the song is anti-BJP.[1] However it does not name the party explicitly.[6] The song also rebukes the 'ideology of hatred', highlighting the need to stop the 'fascist forces'. The song strongly criticises the RSS and the BJP-led governments at the Centre and the various states.[1][7]

Background[edit]

In 2020, amid the Citizenship Amendment Act protests, Anirban Bhattacharya penned a poem in support of the protesters. He recited the poem on various occasions over the course of the protests. He along with his friend, Subhadeep Guha wanted to record the poem as a song. Their plans were hindered by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in India and the resulting lockdowns. The song was finally recorded in early March 2021, just in time to release before the elections in the state.[3] According to Anirban, the song was his contribution to the CAA-NRC movement.[8]

Music video[edit]

Features[edit]

The music video was shot in various locations across Kolkata including the Chinese Kali Bari, College Street and Jadavpur University highlighting the inclusive social fabric of Kolkata and West Bengal. It features books on the Constitution of India, Raktakarabi by Rabindranath Tagore among several others.[1] It also extends support to the LGBTQ community, the farmer protestors and the individuals affected by CAA. Although, no Indian political party is mentioned by name, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is mentioned once. It contains visuals of Nazi Germany interspersed with those from present-day India and invokes the legacy of Nazi Minister of propaganda Joseph Goebbels.[9] At a point the Bengali song transitions into Faiz Ahmed Faiz's Hum Dekhenge.[6] The video ends with a screening of the preamble of the Indian constitution.

Cast[edit]

List of performers appearing in the video (in order of appearance):[‡ 1]

Song credits[edit]

Video credits[edit]

  • Directed by: Riddhi Sen, Rwitobroto Mukherjee
  • Screenplay: Riddhi Sen, Rwitobroto Mukherjee, Surangana Bandyopadhyay

Reception[edit]

The song received a lot of appreciation from social media users and received more than 1 lakh views within an hour of its upload on YouTube.[3][5][10]

The line "Ami onyo kothao jabona, ami ei deshe tei thakbo", meaning "I won't go anywhere else and would continue to live in this country" slamming the narratives of 'Urban Naxals', 'anti-nationals', and 'go to Pakistan' that protestors and dissenters of the government are frequently targeted with, received significant praise from viewers.[3][10]

In response to the song, then BJP MP Babul Supriyo and candidate for Legislative Assembly Rudranil Ghosh released a song titled "Didi tumi amader bhalobashona", meaning "Didi you don't love us" referring to chief minister Mamata Banerjee, popularly known as Didi. The music video also featured actress Rupa Bhattacharya.[11][‡ 2]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Days Ahead of Election, Bengali Artists Unite Against 'Ideology of Hatred' in Viral Song". The Wire. 2021-03-26. Archived from the original on 2021-03-26. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  2. ^ Kundu, Indrajit (2021-03-25). "'Hum dekhenge': Bengal's top artistes pen protest song against BJP ahead of poll". India Today. Archived from the original on 2021-03-26. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  3. ^ a b c d Chakrabarti, Paromita (2021-03-26). "In Bengal election season, artistes lend a tune to song written during CAA protests". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 2021-03-26. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  4. ^ Chaudhuri, Moumita; Sen, Paromita (2022-04-10). "Once Upon A Campaign". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2022-04-09. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  5. ^ a b "Ahead of Elections, Bengali Artistes Make a Plea to Vote Wisely". TheQuint. 2021-03-25. Archived from the original on 2021-03-25. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  6. ^ a b "Two Days Before West Bengal Elections, Bengali Artistes Drop Powerful, Anti-Hate Music Video". Film Companion. 2021-03-25. Archived from the original on 2021-03-26. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  7. ^ "'Vote wisely': Bengali artiste,s come together to send out a message ahead of polls". The New Indian Express. 2021-03-25. Archived from the original on 2021-03-25. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  8. ^ Bagchi, Tanisha; Mathew, Suresh (2021-04-03). "Why the Bengali Protest Song Is Timely: Parambrata & Other Actors". TheQuint. Archived from the original on 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  9. ^ Bose, Joydeep (2021-03-25). "Citizens United: Bengali artists unite for 'anti-fascist' tune ahead of assembly polls". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 2022-08-21. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  10. ^ a b "Poem penned amid CAA protests released ahead of Bengal polls". Deccan Herald. 2021-03-26. Archived from the original on 2022-04-23. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  11. ^ Majumder, Suparna (2021-04-07). "Bengal Polls: 'তুমি এই দেশেতেই থাকো', অনির্বাণদের সুরেলা জবাব দিয়ে প্রকাশ্যে বাবুল-রুদ্রনীলদের গান". sangbadpratidin (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 2021-04-13. Retrieved 2022-04-23.

Primary sources

In the text these references are preceded by a double dagger (‡):

  1. ^ নিজেদের মতে নিজেদের গান (Nijeder Mawte Nijeder Gaan) || CITIZENS UNITED || FULL SONG, archived from the original on 2022-04-14, retrieved 2022-04-23
  2. ^ দিদি তুমি আমাদের ভালোবাসনা Babul Supriyo BJP New Election song 2021 #babulsupriyo #rudranil #bjp, archived from the original on 2021-04-09, retrieved 2022-04-23
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