Wednesday marks the 60th birthday of the National Award-winning rock icon Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, popularly known as “Nagarbaul James” and “Guru,” and widely revered as one of the iconic rock singers in the subcontinent.
Throughout the years, James has cemented his undisputed legacy in the country’s music industry as the standout rockstar, courtesy of his spectacular performances.
Born in 1964 in Naogaon, James was brought up in the port city Chattogram due to his father Mojammel Haque's work, who later became the Chairman of the Dhaka Education Board. His family did not approve of his wish to become a musician, thus he left home in 1976 and started living in Aziz Boarding in Pahartali, Chattogram.
Without the approval of his family, James started his profound journey in music in his youth during the late 70's. He formed his band Feelings in 1977 as the vocalist and lead guitarist and released the band's first album “Station Road” in 1987. The band was later renamed 'Nagar Baul', a moniker that James has also adopted as the music artist.
As the iconic rock star turned 60 on Wednesday, his supporters in the music business and well-wishers worldwide showered him with a great deal of respect and love. They also took to social media to share photos and heartfelt posts about their celebrations and concert experiences.
Popular lyricist Latiful Islam Shibli, known for writing a handful of James’s popular tracks including “Jail theke Bolchhi”, “Ekjon Bibagi”, “Priyo Akashi” and more, wished the rockstar with a heartfelt caption on his Facebook profile. Besides Shibli, many other celebrated music stars and bands including singer Tanzir Tuhin, Zunayed Evan, lyricist Kabir Bakul, journalist-music artist Tanvir Tareq, actor-songwriter-poet Marzuk Russel, singer-lyricist Lutfor Hasan, bands including Shunno, Chirkutt and others have shared birthday greetings to the iconic rockstar.
James, alongside Nagar Baul’s contemporaries LRB and ARK (collectively known as the 'Big Three of Bangladeshi Rock' in the 90's), garnered immense popularity among fans all over the world with his versatile style in psychedelic rock. “Taray Taray Rotiye Debo” (written by legendary poet Shamsur Rahman as a poem), “Maa”, “Bangladesh”, “Pagla Hawaa”, “Dushtu Chheler Dol”, “Guru Ghor Banaila Ki Diya”, “Mirabai” etc. are some of James's iconic Bengali rock numbers that cemented his legacy as 'Guru' to his fans in all over the world.
He has also established his legacy as a solo artist and a successful playback singer in Dhallywood and also in Bollywood, where he debuted in 2006 as a playback singer in Anurag Basu's film “Gangstar”. His journey in Bollywood continued with three other films—“Woh Lamhe”(2006), “Life... in a Metro” (2007) and “Warning” (2013), and despite receiving numerous opportunities to flourish his career in Bollywood, he returned home and continued his musical journey as the artist of his motherland.
James received the Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer twice for the films “Desha: The Leader” (2014) and “Swatta” (2017). As a solo artist, he has released eight albums - ‘Anannya’ (1989), ‘Palabe Kothay’ (1995), ‘Dukhini Dukkho Korona’ (1997), ‘Thik Ache Bondhu’ (1999), ‘Ami Tomaderi Lok’ (2003), ‘Janata Express’ (2005), ‘Toofan’ (2006), and ‘Kaal Jamuna’ (2009) and many mixed albums with renowned lyricists, composers and music artists of Bangladesh.
James has also proven his versatility as a photographer and media entrepreneur in other mediums. He is the founder and Chairman of the board of renowned Bangladeshi production house Red Dot Entertainment.
The rockstar has recently completed a musical tour in London, UK alongside other Bangladeshi performers and bands, including ARK.