Hear Paroma Dasgupta’s Chill Thumri Rendition ‘Dil Leke Mujhe Badnam’

Multilingual singer and composer Paroma Dasgupta harkens back to her growing up years with a guitar-aided version of the thumri “Dil Leke Mujhe Badnam,” one that her mother Manjushree Dasgupta used to perform often.

Intended as a marriage between the semi-classical form and “easy-listening, free-flowing western arrangements,” Dasgupta is aided by guitarist and producer Ankur Mukherjee. She says the song’s inception happened around 2014, during a jam between Mukherjee, herself and her sister, singer Pragya. While cleaning up old videos on her phone, Dasgupta came across the jam once again and headed into the studio to record with Mukherjee. “We tried to keep the singing very simple, and experiment with just the music arrangements to make it sound modern yet keep the essence of it intact,” she adds.

The song of yearning allows Dasgupta to dig into the refrain, stretching out her harmonies with soulful elan, underscored by Mukherjee’s subtle guitar solo detours. The singer considers Indian classical music to be a “treasure trove” and modern renditions such as “Dil Leke Mujhe Badnam” can attract more ears. She adds, “At least that’s a start. If people like your music, they will want to know more about what you’re playing, right?”

The single rounds out Dasgupta’s busy year – she is a jury member on singing show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, and teamed up with sister Pragya and producer Sandeep Chowta for The Dasgupta Sisters EP in April. The singer says a forthcoming project will “connect three different countries.” She adds, “A lot more music, of course, is on its way. But apart from that, Pragya and I are also working on a musical startup.”

Watch the lyric video for “Dil Leke Mujhe Badnam” below. Stream the song on Spotify, Apple Music and JioSaavn.