Music makes me whole: Maqsud Jamil Mintu
Although he started his musical career as an instrumentalist, Maqsud Jamil Mintu's insatiable passion for music quickly established him as a successful composer and music director. Despite being born into a family of journalists, he had no interest in the profession.
His grandfather Abul Kalam Shamsuddin, the editor of the Daily Azad at the time, encouraged him to pursue a career in music. His father Mahfuz Ullah, a journalist, a poet,and an Ekushey Padak medallist, gave him a lot of support as well. He entered the cultural scene from his school days.
The first instrument he learned to play was the harmonium, quickly gaining a reputation as a proficient harmonium player. He soon started playing the harmonium frequently at musical events in the old Dhaka. Sheikh Ishtiaq and Happy Akhand, two famous musicians, who were also his school friends, gave him the encouragement he needed to establish himself.
Later, Maqsud gave up the harmonium to focus on mastering the guitar in 1978. In 1979, he started working as a guitarist for BTV. He contributed to the guitar score for the 1982 film 'Megh Bijli Badal' under the direction of Ahmed Imtiaz Bulbul.
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Maqsud wrote his first song for a major motion picture, 'Agun Jwalo', which was directed by Matin Rahman. However, he did much of his work as a composer and music director, for Humayun Ahmed's films.
Maqsud has seen success in the audio album industry in addition to movies. The tracks in Sheikh Ishtiaq's 1986 solo album 'Nandita' were composed and tuned by him. Following that, Maqsud also received praise for his work on solo albums by Baby Naznin and Subir Nandi. He has been a music director for TV dramas since 1988. So far, he has worked on more than 500 dramas.
Notable among these are Selim Al Deen's 'Gronthikgon Kohe', Abdullah Al Mamun's 'Shirsha Bindu' and Mohammad Barkatullah's 'Kothao Keu Nei', and Humayun Ahmed's 'Aj Robibar'. The last film he worked on was 'Ghetuputra Kamala', directed by Humayun Ahmed.
Following Humayun Ahmed's death, he took a break from films for a decade. Only at the end of last year did he return to films. He composed music for three songs of the government-funded movie 'Gang Kumari', directed by Fazlul Kabir Tuhin.
"Movie songs have a different appeal. So I picked it up again. I tried to keep all three songs simple and melodious. I don't know how the audience will take it," Maqsud said.
He won the National Film Award in 1999 as composer of the song 'Ekta Chilo Sonar Kanya' in the movie 'Sraban Megher Din E', directed by Humayun Ahmed.
He recently served as a member of the Jury Board of National Film Awards 2021.
"I have gotten everything I expected from the music industry at this stage of my life. Music makes me whole. I have nothing more to ask for. Still, I will work as long as I am able to." he said, regarding his journey with the music industry.
Sheikh Ishtiaq's 'Neelanjana', 'Amar Moner Phuldani', 'Ekdin Ghum Bhenge Dekhi', 'Nondita Tomar Kotha', Baby Nazneen's 'Elomelo Batashe Uriyechi Sharir Anchal', Tapan Chowdhury's 'Kainda Ase Bhaber Manush', Shuvro Dev's 'Kono Ek Sondhyay', Sabina Yasmin's 'Amar Bhaga Ghorer Bhaga Chala' and 'Barshar Prothom Din', Bari Siddiqui's 'Ogo Bhabhijan', Andrew Kishore's 'Gorur Garir Dui Chaka', Mumtaz's 'Dhol Baaje Dotara Baje', composed by Maqsud has rooted him deep in the hearts of Bengali music lovers.
'O Amar Ural Pongkhire' and 'Ekta Chilo Sonar Kanya', written by Humayun Ahmed and sung by Subir Nandi, were the last popular songs from Maqsud.
