Antara
Mitra
-
Does
the
name
ring
a
bell?
Not
really.
And
no
one
-
whether
the
singer
or
the
audience
-
can
be
blamed
for
that.
After
all
she
is
one
of
those
newbie
singers
who
has
just
stepped
into
the
world
of
playback
singing
and
sung
two
numbers
that
are
out
and
out
different
from
each
other.
As
a
Bollywood
follower,
it
is
impossible
to
miss
the
track
'Bheegi
Bheegi'
from
the
film
Raajneeti
which
is
playing
on
music
channels
24X7.
The
voices
behind
this
song
picturised
on
Ranbir
Kapoor
and
Katrina
Kaif
are
Mohit
Chauhan
and,
as
you
would
have
guessed
by
now,
Antara
Mitra.
However,
what
is
difficult
to
guess
is
the
fact
that
she
is
the
same
girl
who
had
sung
'Kooke
Kooke'
[Life
Partner]
last
year.
Yes,
the
same
song
(picturised
on
Genelia
D'Souza)
where
the
brief
given
to
Antara
was
-
'Sing
it
so
bad
that
people
would
love
it'.
"That
was
the
most
unconventional
start
that
any
playback
singer
could
have
ever
vouched
for",
laughs
Antara
when
reminded
of
the
incident
that
paved
the
way
for
her
career
in
Bollywood,
"Dada
(as
she
fondly
calls
Pritam)
gave
me
those
two
lines
of
'Kooke'
and
asked
me
to
go
'besura'.
I
asked
that
'Dada,
are
you
really
serious?'.
Even
when
he
said
yes,
I
couldn't
believe
him.
He
explained
to
me
the
situation
but
it
required
quite
a
few
takes
before
I
could
really
go
completely
off
key.
I
was
scared
and
asked
'dada'
if
this
was
actually
the
right
start
for
a
newcomer.
He
assured
me
that
I
won't
regret
singing
the
song.
The
way
'Kooke'
turned
so
popular;
I
had
no
reasons
not
to
believe
in
'dada'
thereafter."
However,
the
situation
was
entirely
different
once
Pritam
offered
Antara
a
chance
to
sing
'Bheegi
Bheegi'.
"The
moment
I
heard
that
song,
I
told
'dada'
that
this
is
one
of
his
best
compositions
ever
created",
says
the
21
year
old
singer
who
hails
from
Kolkota
and
has
been
stationed
in
Mumbai
for
past
5
years,
"He
is
always
over
critical
about
his
compositions
and
was
still
not
too
sure
about
'Bheegi
Bheegi'.
However,
even
as
the
song
still
remained
to
be
mixed,
I
promised
'dada'
that
it
would
be
one
of
his
most
acclaimed
numbers."
As
things
stand
today,
Antara's
promise
has
turned
true
as
'Bheegi
Bheegi'
has
seen
instant
acclaim
coming
its
way.
Not
just
has
the
song
turned
out
to
be
quite
popular
in
quick
time,
it
has
also
enhanced
the
graph
of
Raajneeti
which
till
a
fortnight
ago
was
looking
like
an
out
and
out
political
drama
sans
any
song
and
dance
relief.
However,
the
presence
of
'Bheegi
Bheegi'
coupled
with
Antara's
wonderful
job
behind
the
mike
has
made
many
stand
up
and
notice
the
fresh
appeal
that
the
music
album
has
brought
to
fore
now.
"For
someone
who
has
been
mentored
exceedingly
well
by
'dada',
word
'thanks'
would
be
too
small
in
comparison",
says
Antara
who
was
one
of
the
Top-5
finalists
in
the
reality
show
Indian
Idol,
"Singers
don't
quite
get
a
second
chance
in
the
industry
but
Hindi
music
industry
seems
to
be
embracing
me
well.
Pritam
da
has
been
extremely
patient
with
me
and
his
'Bheegi
Bheegi'
is
something
that
I
would
cherish
forever."
Story first published: Thursday, May 20, 2010, 15:12 [IST]