300 songs of Konal alone

Singer Somnur Monir Konal never had to look back after "Channel i Shera Kontho", making her presence felt with her lively and mellifluous voice in films, singles and albums.  The singer recently received the National Award for her performance in "Bhalobashar Manush Tumi", in the Kazi Hayat directorial "Bir". We talk to the songbird about this milestone, her career, and more.

About achieving the national award she said, `I lost my father to Covid in 2020, and missed him very much at that moment. I dedicated this success to him, as he always inspired me to follow my passion for music. I shared the news with my mother, she was obviously happy, but an emptiness remained, as we were missing our rock.

However, as we started getting calls from friends, relatives, and loved ones from my village -- their elation made everything worthwhile, and our bittersweet moments turned into jubilation.

I would especially like to thank Shakib Khan, as he personally chose me to lend my voice to this beautiful romantic track’

`What do you have to say about the controversy?’ in this question she replied, “The disagreements or controversies revolve around the lyrics of the song. `Bhalobashar Manush Tumi' has not received the 'Best Song'; rather, I have received the award in the category of 'Best Singer' for my vocalisation. The two categories are completely different. I find the argument irrelevant, and thus, it does not concern me’.

About her recent busyness she said, ‘I have already recorded three upcoming playback numbers, directed by Emon Saha.  We recently finished shooting the music video for a single, composed by Bappa Mazumder. We shot the production in Old Dhaka, and I am really looking forward to its release.

Besides these, I have worked with renowned artistes like Emon Chowdhury, Mushfik Litu, and promising music directors like Avral Sahir, Akash Mahmud, over the past few months, and I am excited for the release of these songs. Since I returned from the USA in December last year, I have been busy with stage. I had to stop performing last month, but have resumed work in full swing since the first day of March’.

About looking forward to releasing another solo album she said, `I am not ready to go for a full-fledged solo album at this moment. I feel like my true place is in playback. I have been singing for movies since 2009, have voiced more than 300 songs since then’.