Farhadul Islam
CEO of Blues Communications
Audience comfort and enjoyment have always been the focus of Blues Communications events. Time and again the company has sought out the most innovative ways to create an avant-garde experience for the entertainment-seeking audience of the country. Their upcoming concert, Shakti will be no exception.
Eponymously named after the band, Shakti has already garnered a hype for its stellar ensemble, which includes names like Tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain along with world-renowned artists, John McLaughlin, Shankar Mahadevan, Ganesh Rajagopalan, and V Selvaganesh. Planning for the concert began in 2012 as getting these world-class artistes together takes years of planning and work.
Speaking on the potential of such events, Farhadul believes the audience in Bangladesh is transitioning into a more mature one with a better understanding of intense, classical pieces. “An event here need not have a notable Bollywood celebrity present in order to be successful anymore,” says Farhadul. Performers from many cultural disciplines are being brought in from around the world, showing a change in the taste of entertainment. “Even though these genres may initially be for an elite crowd, someone has to set the trend” Farhadul explains.
Besides organizing the widely-attended Bengal Classical Music Festival for the last six years, Blues also organized a few plays, with Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak and one with Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar. They also organized a concert as a tribute to Pt. Ravi Shankar in Royal Albert Hall, London where artists like Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma, and L Subramaniam, along with Ravi Shankar’s daughter Anoushka Shankar performed. Two Bangladeshi singers of repute – Adity Mohsin and Luva Nahid Choudhury shared the stage with them. Sticking to their commitment to offering something outside the box, Blues earlier introduced a drive-in theatre evening, which is a popular concept in other countries, but not here. Big Rock Day was an international standard rock concert also organized by them with a plethora of Bangladeshi rocks bands coming together.
Farhadul Islam’s passion for his events is evident in the way he speaks about them. His choices when organizing events prove he is thinking more about giving the audience an enhanced experience than the financial benefits. Under his leadership, Blues Communications is able to put on a show of international standards and be a unique experience for audiences across the country.