Eminent Indian-Bengali actor-filmmaker-musician Anjan Dutt, widely revered and loved by the Bangladeshi listeners for his iconic and mesmerising Bengali songs, once again enamoured his admirers at the Dhaka Arena in Purbachal in the concert tiled 'Anjan Dutt Metropolis Volume-2'.

The concert, also featuring the acclaimed young music star Ahmed Hasan Sunny and popular youth band Kaaktaal, captivated the crowd on Saturday night, where the iconic singer-music composer showcased a majestic performance delivering some of his most popular songs, even while battling his back pain and physical discomfort.

The unique factor of the concert was the occasion itself, as the day was May 12, and it was especially significant because it was the birthday of "Mala," the fictional lead character in one of Anjan's most well-known songs of the same name. The 1993 release of the song "Mala" led to yearly birthday festivities by the artist and his admirers, and the concert was the occasion to celebrate the 31st birthday of the singer's mysterious beloved.

"You know why I chose Dhaka for the celebration? It always makes me feel happy and blessed that more than half of my fans are from Bangladesh. Last time while performing here, I promised that I would come back to celebrate Mala's birthday with you-and here I am, to fulfil my promise," Anjan Dutt explained.

Ahmed Hasan Sunny opened the show with a soulful rendition of hit songs like "Amra Hoyto," "Manush Keno Erokom," and "Shohorer Duita Gaan." He dedicated the opening song "Amare Uraiya Dio" to the late vocalist Ahsan Tanvir Pial of Odd Signature Band, who passed away in a car accident earlier that morning.

Entering the venue amid the roaring crowd, Anjan Dutt began his electrifying performances at 8:50 pm, with the song "Ei Pora Shohorey" from his latest film "Chaalchitra Ekhon," for which he received the Dhaka International Film Festival award this year.

Soon after that, sitting with his son and music director Neal Dutt and guitarist Amyt Dutt, collectively known as the D Trio, Anjan Dutt continued his mesmerising tracks one after another, including "Mary Ann," "Eta ki 2441139," "Chyapta Golap," "Ranjana," and more. After performing his melancholic number "Ami Brishti Dekhechhi," blended with a different jazz-styled fusion, he asked his listeners if they liked the version or not, and the conversation with the enamoured crowd continued throughout the entire show.

In between Anjan's performances, Neel Dutt also paid a rich musical tribute to the Odd Signature late vocalist Ahsan Tanvir Pial, with a soulful medley of some of the popular songs from Bangladesh and West Bengal.

Due to the rainy weather earlier in the day, the scheduled performance of another performing band, Kaaktaal, got misplaced; Anjan, however, mesmerised the crowd with his heartiest request to stay for the band's showstopping performances, and he expressed gratitude to the band for sacrificing their prescheduled slot for Anjan - a gesture that has been rarely followed in the country's concert scene.

The artist then celebrated his beloved character "Mala's" 31st birthday through a cake-cutting ceremony, and Kaaktaal then performed their popular tracks, including "Kichhu Nei." "Lashkata Ghore," and more, to conclude the show.

Many celebrities joined the concert to get enamoured with Anjan Dutt's music, including Afsana Mimi, Aupee Karim, Jon Kabir, and more, and some of the other concertgoers expressed their utmost pleasure to the UNB correspondent over the arrangement of the concert.

'Anjan Dutt Metropolis Volume-2' was organised by Assen, Xirconium, and Arclight Events, with Mutual Trust Bank as the title sponsor. Junior Chambers International (JCI) Bangladesh also partnered with the concert as a youth engagement and outreach partner.