Debosrie Antara opens up on finding her resolute stance

Her's is a story that is one with all– who have had to and are still working hard to make it in an industry that is elusive. Antara Roy Chowdhury, also known by her stage name Debosrie Antara, hence grew up harbouring a penchant for the ability of music, with the dream of one day becoming a singer. Her younger school-going self was even prepared to sacrifice her drift toward a more substantial career for the love of music.

However, today whenever she's asked about her profession, Antara enthusiastically introduces herself as a "corporate lady who is passionate about music and does some news presentations too."

The singer who recently featured in Habib Wahid's first released track of the year, "Mon Bojhena", has under her belt around six years' worth of musical training from Chhayanaut until she had to adjust to reality's check. The multidisciplinary Antara said, "I chose to pursue music as an extracurricular passion whilst studying BBA at North South University independently."

This was also a few years prior to the pandemic when Antara was resolutely trying to enter the music industry on her own. The songstress, who eventually went on to duet with Habib Wahid twice, faced instances of utter disappointment and hopelessness. "There was a time when I was replaced overnight for a project meant for me, notwithstanding my demo, rehearsals, and aspirations. It made me realise that I was not in a good place in the industry – so much so that I stopped reaching out to producers for a year," she explained.

That very year, the director of the aforementioned project, Apple Mahmud, reached out to her later and equipped her with an overall experience associated with music studios. The "Tumi Chara" singer learned manoeuvring voice control, providing BGM, and even delivering voice specific for radio. "I worked with him on five to six drama playbacks over a few years. He basically came into my life as the most trustworthy industry insider," Antara noted.

The short slogans or jingles that huge conglomerates require to promote themselves have been a means of her budding identity within the industry. Antara lent her voice exclusively to the jingles of the biggest brands like Robi, Lux, Apex, Rin, Unilever, and Sunsilk, to name a few.

Shortly after the pandemic, Antara approached Habib Wahid for work with the accumulation of all her experiences, which included one of her covers that was aired on Fuad Live in Dhaka.

"Habib Wahid really liked my voice, and called me in to assess it. He later worked on the base with me when I was offered my first duet with him in last year's song 'Premey Pora Mon'," She revealed.

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Speaking more about the overall experience of working with Habib since duetting on their second song, "Mon Bojhena", Antara said, "He is wise, extremely work-centric, and meticulous about his tunes. He has also been a significant guide for me."

In response to being inquired about what it takes to survive in the industry, Antara expressed, "The first thing is to never hold onto expectations in general, and if you're not someone who can technically build songs from scratch, then it won't do you well to only rely on singing as a profession."