Sidhu (musician)

Siddhartha Sankar "Sidhu" Ray is an Indian singer, lyricist, composer, playback writer, and actor from Kolkata, West Bengal. He is a producer of the Bangla Rock genre. Prior to pursuing his career in music, Ray left his dream profession of being a doctor and formed the band Cactus, of which he is the frontman.[1] The band offered a new genre in the Bengali music scene—a Bengali rock band. Songs like "Holud Paakhi" have become a household name. Ray also hosted quiz shows as a quiz master, presented in a musical game show, and a singer as a soloist in many Bengali films. Since then, he has gone on to compose, write lyrics, and sing for his band. In 2003, he and his band made their debut in Tollywood (Bengali cinema), composing songs for Nil Nirjane. They won the Mirchi Music Awards Bangla several times.[2]

Siddartha Ray
Ray performing live in Kolkata
Born
Kolkata
Other namesSidhu
Occupations
  • singer
  • lyricist
  • composer
  • poet
  • doctor
Years active1992–present

Music

Ray has been writing songs since his childhood days. His biggest break was the self-titled debut album of Cactus. Released in 1999 by HMV, it became a rage with a touch of blues and psychedelic rock. With numbers like Brishti, oooh Ma! and Icchamati, this album portrayed psychedelia in Bengali music for the first time. Halud pakhi, on the other hand, created a long-lasting sensation in the contemporary Bengali music scene with its nostalgic feel being perfectly accompanied by Shudhu Tumi Ele Na and Amra Bhishon Eka complementing the overall mood of the album.[3] They tasted some success when their first self-titled album was released in 1999 by HMV.

Apart from band music, ray has many singles under his name, among them songs like "Keno emon hoy", onno corridor from album "Letters from Siliguri", Mayabini, and Buro Radio are very famous.

As a playback artist, he has also sung for many films, among them "Esho Bondhu", from the film Uma.

Discography

Nil Nirjane (2001–2002)

In 2002, Cactus composed and performed the score for the Bengali movie Nil Nirjane.[4] A Hindi version of the song was used as the intro song for Love Story, a TV series in SAB TV.

It had Sidhartha Sankar "Sidhu" Ray on vocals, Sibaji "Baji" Paul on drums, Sanjay Bhattacharya on guitar, Kanishka (Pinky) Sarkar on keyboard, Shubayan Ganguly on bass, and Abhijit Barman (Pota) on vocals.

Rajar Raja[5] (2002–2004)

The band released its second album titled Rajar Raja in 2004. Different genres of music were experimented with within the album. Buddho Heshechhen and Lash Kata Ghore are examples of classic rock combining with folk rock in 'Bodhu re'. Songs like Udaaner Gaan, Krishti, Ude Jete Chay, and Kamalar Swami were added in.[6][7]

Line up: Sidhartha Sankar "Sidhu" Ray [vocals], Sibaji "Baji" Paul [drums], Sanjay Bhattacharya [guitar], Kanishka (Pinky) Sarkar [keyboard], Sandip Roy [bass], Abhijit Barman (Pota)[vocal]

Tuchho (2004–2008)

The band released its third album, Tuccho, in 2008. The band with this album moved ahead and has incorporated new sounds. Different genres of music were experimented with in the album. They were then featured in the Rock Street Journal's February 2009 issue. Tuccho contained the hits "Bhalo Theko" and "Rater Pari".

Line up: Sidhartha Sankar "Sidhu" Ray [vocals], Sibaji "Baji" Paul [drums], Allan Ao [guitar], Sudipto Banerjee [keyboard], Sandip Roy [bass], Sayak Bandyopadhay [vocals]

Blah Blah Blah[8] (2013)

Blah Blah Blah was their fourth album. Asha Audio produced the album, and it was published on 3 October 2013.

Line up: Sidhartha Sankar "Sidhu" Ray [vocals], Sibaji "Baji" Paul [drums], Ritaprabha "Ratul" Ray [guitar], Sudipto Banerjee [keyboard], Sandip Roy [bass], Dibyendu Mukherjee [vocal]

Tobuo Thik Acche (2017–2019)

In 2017, Abhijit Barman (Pota) left the band due to several opinionated arguments By then, the band had already started working on their next album Tobuo Thik Acche. They had to rework some of the tracks. Finally, the songs were published as music videos on their official YouTube channel from 2017 to 2019.

Line up: Siddhartha Sankar "Sidhu" Ray [vocals], Sibaji "Baji" Paul [drums], Ritaprabha "Ratul" Ray [guitar], Sudipto "Buti" Banerjee [keyboard], Mainak "Bumpy" Nag Chowdhury, Dibyendu Mukherjee [vocal]

Singles as singer-songwriter/composer
Year Title Role
Keno Emon Hoy Singer
Onno Corridor Singer/writer/composer

Filmography

As singer, lyricist, music director

Ray has worked as lyricist, music director & singer for the following films.

Year Title Role Songs Notes
2013 Nil Nirjane Composer Nil Nirjane, Noah, Telephone, Mon, Dukhho Medley (1st), Medley (2nd), Dhik Dina Dhaki Dina Along with his band 'Cactus'
Uma[9]
Circle
Ka Kha Ga Gha
Kusumitra Goppo[10]

Jingles and advertisements
  • Flipkart Big Billion Day – 2018 – Writer

Cactus Band

Current members
  • Sidhartha Sankar "Sidhu" Ray - Vocals[11]
  • Abhijit Barman Pata - Vocals
  • Boidurjo Chowdhury - Guitar
  • Samrat Mukherjee - Guitar
  • Sayantan Chatterjee - Keyboard
  • Prasanto Mahato - Bass
  • Arnab Tabla Dasgupta - Drums

Past members
  • Sanjay guitar
  • Sukanti guitar
  • Kanishka (Pinky) keyboard
  • Shubayan bass
  • Rajesh vox
  • Sayak vox
  • Indra keyboard
  • Allan guitar
  • Sandip Roy bass
  • Abhirup Biswas guitar
  • Subhajit Bhowmick bass
  • Saqi vocals
  • Shibaji Baji Paul drums
  • Sudipto Buti Banerjee keyboard

Journalism

Ray's writings have been featured in various online and print magazines as well as newspapers.

Director

Ray has written and directed one short film, HaaBaaB, in the year 2015.[12]

Acting
Year Title Language Role Remarks
2003 Nil Nirjane Bengali As himself
2014 Jaatishwar Bengali As himself
2017 Samantaral Bengali Sambit, the psychiatrist
2017 Khyapa 2 Bengali As himself Web Series
2019 Sweater[13] Bengali Mrityunjan Sen
2020 Pandab Goenda Bengali Soap opera
2021 Aguntuk Bengali
2021 Mukhosh Bengali Detective Web Series

References
  1. "Sidhu regroups Cactus: Pata in, Baji out – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  2. "Sidhu during the Mirchi Music Awards Bangla 2014, held in Kolkata". photogallery.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  3. "A rocking time was had by all". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. 18 January 2006. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012.
  4. Cactus on screen, 10 years after Nil Nirjane Archived 8 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine telegraphindia.com. Published 25 June 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2012
  5. Rajar Raja by Cactus, 1 January 2004, retrieved 26 January 2022
  6. "Band with the best". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. 2 October 2007. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012.
  7. "Rajar Raja". blog.onenall.com. 17 December 2008.
  8. Nil Nirjone by Cactus, 22 September 2013, retrieved 26 January 2022
  9. "'Uma' new song: Latest track 'Esho Bondhu' reunites two old friends Sidhu and Pota – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  10. "Kusumitar Goppo: Bangla woman footballer to come alive onscreen". Hindustan Times. 22 December 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  11. "Sidhu confirms lineup change in Cactus – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  12. "Sidhu's film screened at Nandan – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  13. Moulik, Shiladitya (29 March 2019), Sweater (Drama), PSS Entertainment, PSS Entertainments, Pramod Films, retrieved 26 January 2022
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.