Anjan Dutta is a popular artist of the 1990s Bengali music scene defined by anyodharar gaan (alternative songs). He passed his childhood in St Paul's School, Darjeeling, a Himalayan township of West Bengal. He holds an MA degree in English literature from the University of Calcutta, in India. Anjan started his career as an actor in Bengali cinema. His first film was Chalachitro directed by Mrinal Sen, where he won the prize for the best newcomer actor, at the Venice Film Festival. But later on, his career diverted towards the world of music. Anjan Dutta's style of music is different from the others in the sense that it has simple tunes, one that is reminiscent of western hits. His lyrics are simple in nature. Anjan's music is somewhat influenced by blues and country music. He is the first Bengali artist to depend more on the saxophone. Anjan Dutta is also a co-director of several Bengali and Hindi language movies. He has admitted that he is a fan of Bob Dylan and his Bengali contemporary Suman Chatterjee. Recently, he has acted in Aparna Sen's film, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer. In a nutshell, Anjan Dutta may be regarded as one of the best serious actors in the Indian parallel cinema movement, that has seen the likes of Mrinal Sen's much-esteemed film "Bhuvan Som". Anjan Dutta has been regarded by some as being the 'angry young man' of serious cinema in contemporary India.
Anjan Dutta's music has been covered by a number of Bengali artists throughout the last decade. More recently, his music has been performed at the 2003 North American Bengali Conference in Long Beach, CA in person. His music has been performed at South Asian culture shows in North America as well.
Anjan Dutta's music has been covered by a number of Bengali artists throughout the last decade. More recently, his music has been performed at the 2003 North American Bengali Conference in Long Beach, CA in person. His music has been performed at South Asian culture shows in North America as well.
