#Title

Singing her way to

NATIONAL GLORY
DOWEL BISWAS
Talented singer Atiya Anisha became a household name in the Bangladeshi film and music industry with her crowd-favourite playback singles like Cholo Niralay from the movie Poran , Jadur Ayna from the web-film Antonagar , and more. Recently, she received the Best Singer Award in the female category for the song Ei Shohorer Pothe Pothe from the movie Payer Chhaap , at the Bangladesh National Film Awards. The talented songbird dropped by The Daily Star for a chat.
As a singer, you received the most prestigious award in the country for ‘Payer Chhaap’. How does it feel?
It’s the biggest achievement of my career. People are seeing me in a different light as a nationally-acclaimed singer. Also, I now have to fulfill even bigger expectations from now on and I feel this is working as motivation for me to do something bigger.
Tell us about your journey.
I have been practicing music from a very young age, but my professional musical career began in 2017 with the show Channel i Shera Kantho . I sang the folk song Behaya Mon at the platform, and it received massive applause from the audience and judges alike. That is my first ‘hit’ cover. After that, I got the opportunity to sing Chup Kotha in Mohammad Mostafa Kamal Raz’s directorial film Jodi Ekdin , in 2019. I never had to look back since then.
This year, you have been awarded with three prestigious awards in Bangladesh. What’s your take on that?
Obviously, I am filled with joy that I got the three most prestigious awards in Bangladesh this year; the Bangladesh National Film Award, Channel i Music Award, and the Meril-Prothom Alo Award. I will surely consider this year as a great one.
Tell us about your influences.
I love listening to Runa Laila, Samina Chowdhury, Mitali Mukherjee, Sabina Yasmin and all the other Bangladeshi legends, because I began with learning their songs when I started out. Samina ma’am’s Amar Dui Chokhe Dui Nodi is the first song that I learned.
Do you only want to be a playback singer, or do you want to explore other genres?
Since I started my career with playback singing, it obviously has a special place in my heart. Playback singing is an experimental teamwork, and I love it. However, I will surely explore other genres as well. I am also interested in acting.
What do you consider to be your biggest challenge right now?
Well, I feel that as I have received the National Film Award pretty early in my career, it has created a certain responsibility on my part to excel at every song that I sing. So that’s equally a blessing and a challenge.
PHOTOS:
SHEIKH MEHEDI MORSHED