Cactus reaches Bollywood One shouldn’t say Cactus have come of age just because they been given a chance to sing for a Hindi tele-soap. Doing so would reflect the same sick mindset which many of us have of not recognising a talent till it shows off its spirit on a bigger platform. A talent is always a talent, no matter whether it’s stuck in the arid city soil or performing at Kodak Theater.

Cactus was roped in to remake the Hindi version of their popular number, Ami shudhu cheyechi tomay, for a Hindi Soap by director Anurag Basu. Anurag was known to Cactus member Sidhu for long, and it was while staying in Mumbai that Anurag discovered his neighbourhood pal Sidhu was one of the lead singers of the group called Cactus!

Cactus composed music for a Bengali movie, Nil Nirjone, the audio CD of which was gifted to Anurag by Sidhu. Anurag liked the number Ami shudhu cheyechi tomay, which had become a runaway hit by then, and planned to use a remade version of that in any of his productions. Finally, he could make a slot for the song in the title track of his forthcoming television soap.

Cactus is one of the few Bengali groups that survived a rugged patch of struggle for existence. They are immensely popular among the younger generation and has maintained a good track record at music stores. No doubt, Anurag’s assignment is an important addition to their resume which made them step into the circle of national media coverage, but the reason why they have been hired is a very basic one: Excellence. And they showed it on the city soil first.

Sebabrata Banerjee