Updated October 2026: this article has been expanded into a full guide to Fossils and Rupam Islam, covering the band's history, line-up, albums, the best songs to start with and Rupam's film work. Gaurav Aradhye's original 2013 article is preserved in full further down the page.
Fossils are a Bengali rock band from Kolkata, formed in 1998 by the singer and songwriter Rupam Islam. They sing in Bangla, play loud guitar rock with big ballads in between, and are widely regarded as pioneers of Bangla rock. Twenty-eight years and seven numbered albums later, they still play packed venues in India and overseas, with a large following in Bangladesh and among Bengalis abroad. Rupam, born in Kolkata in 1974, is also a National Film Award winning playback singer.
If you only want somewhere to start: play Ekla Ghor, Hasnuhana and Aro Ekbar, then the debut album, Fossils.
How Fossils began
Rupam Islam grew up in a musical family in Kolkata. He released his first solo album, Tor Bhorshatey, in 1998, launching it at the Calcutta Book Fair, and formed Fossils with musician friends the same year. (Our original 2013 article below describes Tor Bhorshatey as the band's first album; it was in fact Rupam's solo record. It was later reissued by Saregama under the name of its best-loved song, Neel Rong Chhilo Bhishon Priyo.)
The band played its first stage show on 9 January 1999 at Nazrul Mancha in Kolkata, where Rupam announced the name. Early shows drew some hostility from audiences who were not used to hard rock sung in Bangla. The breakthrough came with a deal with Asha Audio and the self-titled debut album, Fossils, which the band dates to 2002. By the band's own account it became the most popular Bangla band in West Bengal within about four years of forming.
The line-up
Fossils have changed members many times. The current line-up is:
- Rupam Islam: lead vocals and guitar, and the band's songwriter.
- Deep Ghosh: guitar.
- Allan Temjen Ao: lead guitar, and producer of the band's 2026 album.
- Tanmoy Das: drums and backing vocals, a member since 2010.
- Prasenjit "Pom" Chakrabutty: bass.
The best-known former member is Chandramouli Biswas, who joined around 2000 as a guitarist, moved to bass and stayed until 2018. He died in January 2025.
Fossils albums in order
- Fossils (2002): the debut, released by Asha Audio. Lyrics about urban isolation, loss and longing, sung in a stylised Bengali that some critics accused of Anglicising the language.
- Fossils 2 (2004): louder and denser. It includes Harano Padak, which draws on the 2004 theft of Rabindranath Tagore's Nobel Prize medal, and Bicycle Chor.
- Mission F (2006): a themed album made for a Kolkata Police football tournament.
- Aupodartho (2007): a music video album.
- Fossils 3 (2009), Fossils 4 (2013) and Fossils 5 (2017): the middle period, with Fossils 4 also appearing on streaming services under the Bangla Rock label.
- Fossils 6 (2019): produced with Miti Adhikari and recorded at Working Class Zero in Kolkata.
- Fossils 7 (2026): released in February 2026 on Bangla Rock, produced by Allan Ao, with some of the band's longest songs.
The best Fossils songs to start with
- Ekla Ghor (Fossils, 2002): "lonely room", the debut album's biggest hit, and a bleak, inward song about loneliness. Rupam has acknowledged that its melody owes something to the Eagles' Hotel California.
Ekla Ghor - Fossils - Hasnuhana (Fossils, 2002): named after a night-scented flower, this is one of the band's signature songs and the most melodic of the early hits.
Hansnuhana - Rupam Islam, Fossils - Bishakto Manush (Fossils, 2002): "poisonous people", another song from the same debut album and a long-standing favourite among the band's early songs.
Bishakto Manush - Rupam Islam, Fossils - Aro Ekbar: "one more time", a six-and-a-half-minute song about longing for one more chance and one more moment, and one of the band's signature songs.
Aro Ekber - Fossils - Asha Audio - Bicycle Chor (Fossils 2, 2004): "bicycle thief", a song about displacement and moral emptiness in modern city life, inspired by the Luigi Bartolini novel that Vittorio De Sica turned into Bicycle Thieves.
Bicycle Chor - Rupam Islam, Fossils - Ghreena (Fossils 6, 2019): "hatred", a nearly eight-minute song with an official music video, and a good introduction to the band's later work.
Ghreena (Official Music Video) - Fossils 6 - Khudharto Mangsashi (Fossils 7, 2026): an eleven-minute track from the newest album, and a measure of how far the band has travelled from its early, shorter songs.
Khudharto Mangsashi - Fossils
Rupam Islam's solo and film work
Outside Fossils, Rupam has a long solo and playback career. His most important honour is the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer, which he won at the 57th National Film Awards for "Ei To Ami" from the Bengali film Mahanagar@Kolkata. He also composed and wrote the song, and the award was presented in New Delhi on 22 October 2010. He has also written several books, including Rupam on the Rocks (2009).
- Neel Rong Chhilo Bhishon Priyo (solo, from his debut era): the romantic title song of the Saregama reissue of his first album, and one of his best-known songs outside the band.
Neel Rang Bhison Priyo - Rupam Islam - Saregama Bengali - Jannat Jahan (Jannat, 2008): his Hindi film debut, composed by Pritam, which introduced his voice to audiences outside Bengal. If you like Pritam's rock-leaning songs, our piece on Arijit Singh and Pritam covers his later work.
Jannat Jahan - Jannat - Rupam Islam, Pritam - Sony Music India - Ei Srabon (Baishe Srabon, 2011): composed by Anupam Roy for Srijit Mukherji's thriller, and one of his most popular Bengali film songs.
Ei Srabon - Baishe Srabon - Rupam Islam - SVF - Kakababur Gaan (Mishawr Rawhoshyo, 2013): composed by Indraadip Dasgupta, an anthem for Kakababu, the adventurer hero of the film series.
Kakababur Gaan - Mishawr Rawhoshyo - Rupam Islam - SVF
Where to start with Fossils
Start with the debut album, Fossils, from beginning to end: it has Ekla Ghor, Hasnuhana and Bishakto Manush and explains why the band became so big so fast. Then jump to Fossils 2 for the heavier, more ambitious band, and finish with Fossils 7 to hear where they are now. If heavy guitars are not your thing, Rupam's solo songs and film work, starting with Neel Rong Chhilo Bhishon Priyo and Ei Srabon, are the gentler way in. Kolkata has many musical traditions; for a very different one, read our profile of the classical singer Kaushiki Chakraborty.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the lead singer of Fossils?
Rupam Islam. He founded the band in Kolkata in 1998, sings lead and writes almost all of its songs.
Did Rupam Islam win a National Award?
Yes. He won the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer at the 57th National Film Awards for "Ei To Ami" from the Bengali film Mahanagar@Kolkata. The award was presented in October 2010.
Which Fossils songs should I listen to first?
Ekla Ghor, Hasnuhana and Aro Ekbar are the three most loved songs and the easiest way in. Follow them with Bishakto Manush and Bicycle Chor for the harder side of the band.
What was Rupam Islam's first album?
His solo album Tor Bhorshatey, released in 1998. The first Fossils album, simply titled Fossils, followed on Asha Audio and is dated by the band to 2002.
Our Original Article (2013)
Gaurav Aradhye wrote this article in September 2013. It is preserved below as originally published.
I really love being with people who have an altogether different taste in music than me. My office colleague with whom I travel daily, to and fro to office, is one of such kind. He has lived in various cities in past and he himself has been with variety of such people who have too different tastes.
One day while we drove to office, he was telling me… while he was in Kolkata for almost six to seven months, he came across the bengali music and the music which Kolkata loves. Unfortunately this music has been shackled in Bengal itself, limited to the state and we, the outside people don’t even have a tinge of knowledge about how talented these musicians are. The Bengali people are mad behind this man called Rupam Islam.
Born in 1974, Rupam Islam formed his own Bengali Rock band named “Fossils” in 1998, and launched their first album “Tor Bhorshate” in the same year itself. Although there were many other Bengali rock bands present at that time in Bengal but Fossils proved themselves to be unique and they can be considered as a pioneer of the Bengali Rock Music!
The album Tor Bhorshate was such a hit, that it was re-releaased as Neel Rong Chhilo Bhishon Priyo in 2003 and, on popular demand, was again re-released in CD format by SaReGaMa ten years after first hitting the market.
Although rupam Islam is known for his Rock music, he was trained in Indian Classical Music in his childhood. Such is the power of classical music, that it can act as a base for any other genre of music!
As this is introductory post, I would not like to recommend you specific stuff to listen to, but I would like you to listen to some of the songs I have shared here so that you get the taste of him, and his music! I went on listening to his various songs from variety of his albums, from which I am sharing a few songs.
(Editor's note, October 2026: three SoundCloud players originally embedded here, "Chador", "Shaone Ba Bhadore" (live) and "Ghar Sajai", were unofficial fan uploads and have been removed. Official recordings of Fossils and Rupam Islam songs are embedded in the guide above.)
One post is really not enough to explore the man “Rupam Islam” ! Listen and let me know if you like him!
