'Never again', says Prince Mahmud on being a vocalist

Prince Mahmud is undoubtedly one of the giants of the Bangladeshi music industry. The renowned lyricist, composer and singer has been around the block for almost three decades. He started in the 90s, writing music for stalwarts of the industry such as Ayub Bacchu, Hasan and James. 

As a composer, he has produced endless and iconic works, and his penned songs have attained huge recognition. Mahmud's collaboration on James' 'Maa', Baba' on Bacchu's rendition of 'Bela Sheshe Firey Eshe' and on Hasan's 'Eto Koshto Keno Bhalobashay' are some examples of his musicianship which is engraved in the music scene of those eras. These songs are timeless classics. 

But Mahmud didn't limit himself to that period of time only. He is still significant today, thanks to his musical prowess. An example of this is the song 'Ishwar' from this year's Eid release 'Priyotoma' featuring Shakib Khan. 

Mahmud served as the composer of the track, which was voiced by Riyad. With over 25 million views on YouTube, it is safe to say that Mahmud's composition still resonates with listeners of today.

"I was informed that my song, Ishwar, has led some listeners to watch the movie Priyotoma. Some members of the music fraternity also formed a group to go to theaters and watch the film. Usually, they don't visit the theaters, but this is a significant achievement for me. Apart from this, I am always receiving love and affection from the audience. This serves as my inspiration," stated Mahmud.

Prince's connection to the song has a long history as well. Prince Mahmud's close friend Faruq Hussain served as the writer of the film "Priyotoma." Mahmud didn't know that the movie was based on Faruq's story, until he was offered to write music for it. That is when Mahmud's interest sparked further for composing music on a story that was by a friend of his.

"When director Himel decided to use the song in the film, that's when I started working on its composition. I usually compose the tune even before the lyrics. Later, I created the song based on Ali's lyrics. I always try to do something new. I have worked on this song from that perspective. Even before its use in the movie, everyone was excited about the song. After the movie's release, it finally reached everyone. I have worked on it in my own style," he said. 

Prince Mahmud is more accustomed to working on albums or single songs. However, he has also worked in films occasionally. Mahmud composed music for movies such as 'Third Person Singular Number' and 'Zero Degree', which were directed by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki and Animesh Aich respectively.

About working regularly in and with movies, Prince Mahmud said, "I will be working on one or two songs per year for films at most. There has been a discussion about working on a song for a new movie after Eid. Perhaps I will take up the project. We will have to wait till the producer announces anything official."

Prince Mahmud has a career spanning multiple decades. When asked about this long journey, Mahmud said, "I have connected with many people over the years, some of them have grown to be very dear to me. There have been many challenging times as well. But now, I want to say that since 1995, my songs have been released every Eid. This time there is no exception. This has been possible only because of my listeners.The coming year will mark three decades of my music career."

In the '80s, Prince Mahmud was the vocalist and the guitarist of a band called 'The Blues.'  At the beginning of the 1990s, he formed a band named "From West." He was also the vocalist in that band, but he didn't find his voice suitable for singing the specific genre. So he stepped back from being a vocalist.

"I didn't think my voice was suitable for singing at that time, so I stopped being a lead singer. I prefer not being a singer any more," concluded Mahmud.