Founder of Starmanch, Randeep Bhattacharya, on a quest for talent

Bengal's Talent hunt by StarManch!
Bengal’s love for festivals is aptly described in the famous saying “Bengalis have thirteen festivals in twelve months”. All of these numerous festivals have an integral relationship with music. This relationship between festivals and music has been explored in “StarManch”, an increasingly popular digital medium. Its popularity lies in the uniqueness of the concept, credited to the head of StarManch and a non-resident Bengali, Randeep Bhattacharya.Randeep wondered whether Bengali festivals and ceremonies have music too which are unique to them and these thoughts led him to the creation of StarManch.
The celebration of ceremonial and festive songs started this year with the Kolkata Book Fair which saw Anindya Chattopadhyay perform. This was closely followed by Bengali New Year (Poila Boisakh) where stalwarts like Lopamudra, Srikanto Acharya, Iman and Rupankar sang. Rabindrajayanti was the next festival to be celebrated, graced with Srijato’s verse “Sondhe-Paakhi” which was composed into a song by Joy Sarkar and performed by Jayati Chakraborty. Jayati Chakraborty also sang the Rathyatra song, preceded by Chadrabindoo’s celebration of Jamai Sashthi.
Randeep Bhattacharya also states that StarManch is also the country’s first karaoke app, a concept popular abroad but hitherto unexplored in India. The app is also a treasure trove for Rabindrasangeet karaoke with the largest Rabindra Sangeet Karaoke repository. Additionally, StarManch also recently held an online competition to seek out talented Rabindrasangeet singers.
This innovative venture has been mentored by Srikanta Acharya and Srabani Sen. Popular Bengali music director Joy Sarkar and Poet Srijato are part of the Starmanch advisory board.Sarkar states, “Randeep is a music enthusiast. Even while abroad, he keeps pursuing Bengali music in different ways. This is a result of such enthusiastic pursuits”.
StarManch is not simply a karaoke app, it is also a platform for both established and emerging musicians and singers to come together. Srijato says, “StarManch’s biggest ambition is to nurture newer and more innovative music practices in Bengal. Along with it, we bring the unique karaoke aspect to the arena of music.”
According to Anindya Chattopadhyay, Randeep had brought about a fresh breath of life to the Bengali original music scene and now it is embarking on newer, more journeys accompanied by Chandrabindoo as well, hoping for better days for original music in Bengal. Jayati Chakraborty says, “A venture that so innovatively captures the Bengali sentiment has not been done before. The uniqueness of this project is evident in the fact that Rabindrajayati has been celebrated not through Rabindrasangeet but by rendering music to a poem that celebrates Tagore's ideals”. Having also sung the Rathyatra songs, Jayati Chakraborty also believes Bengalis have not received Rath-yatra music this way before. Srijato too praised this venture, acknowledging that a non-resident Bengali working so much for Bengali music is commendable and stated that he can foresee a new, brighter future for Bengali music.
One hopes that this app provides a platform for musicians for the city, suburbs and even the remotest of places, nurturing new talents. Randeep also hopes for the same, stating that they want to work towards creating a musical eco-system in Bengal.