'Lesbian bonding': Row in West Bengal over Tagore song in series Dabba Cartel
Times of India | 19 March 2025
KOLKATA: Controversy has flared in Bengal over use of a Tagore song in a scene suggesting lesbian bonding in web series Dabba Cartel.
The cultural clan is divided. While some musicians criticised the way Mama Chittey has been adapted as background music in the series, others supported its inclusion in the context of a scene depicting the characters' hallucinations.
Asked about the row, actor Jisshu Sengupta, who plays the male lead in Dabba Cartel, along with Shabana Azmi, told TOI: "I haven't watched the series and followed the controversy. But I am sure no one in the unit wants to disrespect Tagore."
Sound designer Hindole Chakraborty found nothing amiss. He had garnered acclaim for his remix of another Tagore song - Aloker ei jharna dhara -in Aditya Vikram Sengupta's Mayanagar. "I used a distorted version of Tagore song as a recurring motif to stress the decadence in society," he said. No one launched a tirade.
But Dabba Cartel has drawn fire from many quarters. "Why did the music director have to distort its tune to suit the context here? Last year, AR Rahman distorted Nazrul Islam's Karar oi louho kapat. Now, Tagore's original tune is distorted. I understand the song no longer falls under copyright but it has not gone down well with me," singer Rupankar Bagchi said.
Bagchi indicated that his objections were to the "distortion" and clarified he had "no reservations about it (song) being used in the context of homosexuality". In Dabba Cartel, the song is picturised on actors Anjali Anand and Nimisha Sajayan.
Composer Debojyoti Mishra has watched the musical sequence but not the entire series. "If the director asked me to alter Mama chitte in such a manner, I would have declined. I oppose restrictions on experimentation, but this is silly," Mishra said.
Sound designer Chakraborty said he had admired the visuals in Dabba Cartel. "Reacting to the use without placing it (song) in the film's context does injustice to (Dabba Cartel) music directors Gaurav Raina and Tarana Marwah's works. Tagore is remarkably contemporary. The song portrays celebration of love, friendship ... Intoxication is part of our lives. That, too, is a sentiment. Tagore remains a part of that celebration, too," Chakraborty explained.