After the official entry of Kiran Rao’s Laapata Ladies at the 2025 Oscar nominations, two Indian songs stirred excitement among the netizens. Competing in the “Best Original Song” category are “Iti Maa” sung by Iman Chakraborty and “Ishq Walla Daqu” composed by Bickram Ghosh. “Iti Maa” is composed by Sayan Ganguly and is featured in Indira Mukherjee’s Bengali Film “Putul.” The song was released on Children’s Day as a heartfelt anthem dedicated to children from underprivileged sections. Chakraborty said, “Iti Maa has made it to the list of 79 songs as the only Bengali entry. This feels surreal.” She feels that the song might sound easy, but it is very unconventional as there is a chorus sung between the female lead and the children.
Iman Chakraborty rose to fame in 2016 with the “Tumi Jake Bhalobaso” song from the film Prakton. The National Award for Best Female Playback Singer went to her. Now, another honor is attached with her name after the announcement of the Oscars longlist on Tuesday. Till today, the singer believes in taking challenges and never saying “No” to anyone. She was pursued by her mother to start her singing career and whenever she bags a reward, she recalls her mother.
Ishq Walla Daqu is an excellent composition of Girish Malik’s Band of Maharajas. The song is a remarkable collaboration of Girish Malik and Bickram Ghosh. Ghosh said, “It is an honour that a Punjabi song of mine in ‘Band of Maharajas’ has been shortlisted, along with the film’s score. There is something that Girish (Malik) and I create together that resonates at the international level.”
All the artists agreed to the fact that the language barrier is not a problem, and it is no longer the English songs that are exclusively making it to the Oscars. The entry of Bengali songs proves the mastery of Bengali artists in competing with the finest in the world.
