Articles & Interviews

The Writer and the Poet

Salil was a brilliant writer, a lyricist and a poet. Read this article to find out more about this facet of his genius.

Sangeetbaartaa Interview

This is an important and rare interview of Salilda from the early '80s... It is a must read for all Salil admirers. He explains his plans, analyses the current musical and political situation and talks about his dream and plans.

Orchestration in Indian Music

This is an English transcription of a masterly presentation originally given in Bengali. It is a long article and it deserves studying by all music lovers who are keen to understand Salil's philosphy of composition.

Tagore's Role in Indian Music

Salil's love and respect for Rabindranath Tagore is well known. In this article Salil discusses the importance of Rabindra Sangeet in Indian music. This article was published in Screen Magazine in 1961.

Role of Background Music

We all know that Salil must have been the only composer who composed the background music for all his films. In this article Salil tries to explain the challenges and the complexities in composing background music.

Interview by Dr. C. Rao

Dr. Rao, a great admirer of Salilda, interviewed him back in 1992. Originally this interview was published in Khaleej Times of Dubai where Dr. Rao lived before he moved back to Goa.

Sachin Shankar and Salil

Salil composed music for several ballets created and choreographed by Sachin Shankar, a renowned dancer and IPTA comrade.

Few Moments with Salil

An extensive interview from 1978. Salil talks at length about his early days, the Peasant Movement (Krishak Andolan), IPTA, his comrades, mentors, plays, and above all his songs. Probably the most important interview to date.

'Uttaran' LP Cover Article

Suman Chattyopadhaay, the well-known Bengalee singer who pioneerd the 'Jibon Mukhi Gaan', wrote this article at the back of the album 'Uttaran' released in the US in 1982.

A Phenomenon in Music

Before Suman Chattopadhaay became famous, he wrote under the pseudonym of Manab Mitra. This excellent and extensive article was published in the Sangeet Natak Academy Magazine.

Evolution in Modern Music

An article written by Salil himself for the Bengali magazine 'Sangeetika' back in 1959, discussing musical evolution.

Remembering Hemanta-Da

Salil's touching tribute to his friend and collaborator Hemanta Mukherjee, written in 1989 after the singer's passing.

The Runner will return no more

Read heartfelt memories and articles by legendary artists like Lata Mangeshkar, Suchitra Mitra, and Sandhya Sen.

Remembering Salil Chowdhury

A wonderful article explaining the origin of the song 'Thingal Malai' from the unreleased Tamil film 'Karumbu' and its connection to the Tamil epic 'Cilappathikaaram'.