James: The ‘Guru’ Who Gave Bangladesh a Voice of Its Own

From leaving home with a guitar to becoming one of South Asia’s most recognisable rock voices, Mahfuz Anam James has spent more than four decades turning personal rebellion into music loved by generations.

There are artists who become popular, and there are artists who become part of people’s lives.

In Bangladesh, Mahfuz Anam James is the latter.

Known simply as James, and affectionately called ‘Guru’ by generations of listeners, the singer, guitarist and songwriter has spent more than four decades shaping the sound of Bangladeshi rock. His raspy voice, long hair, guitar-driven performances and unmistakable stage presence have made him one of the country’s most recognisable musical figures.

James turns 62 on October 2, 2026.

But his birthday has never been particularly important to the man himself. In a recent conversation with journalists, James said he does not celebrate his birthday on a grand scale and prefers to spend the day with his family. For him, there is only one day on which a person is born; the rest, he suggests, are simply dates on the calendar.

That understated attitude perhaps explains something about James’s enduring appeal. While his fans have built a mythology around him, James has generally allowed the music to speak for itself.

The boy who left home for music

Faruq Mahfuz Anam James was born in Naogaon, Bangladesh, on October 2, 1964, but grew up in Chattogram, the port city that would eventually become central to his musical identity.

His attraction to music began early. As a teenager, he developed a passion for the guitar and Western rock, listening to artists and bands including The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. His interest, however, was not initially welcomed by his family.

Eventually, music became important enough for the young James to leave home.

He moved to Aziz Boarding in Pahartali, Chattogram, where an uncertain life as a young musician gradually began to take shape. What might have seemed like a reckless decision at the time would become one of the defining turns in the history of Bangladeshi rock.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, James became closely associated with the band Feelings, serving as its lead vocalist and guitarist. Sources differ on the precise year of the band’s formation, but its roots lie in Chattogram’s emerging band scene of that period.

The band’s first album, Station Road, arrived in 1987. It was followed by releases that would eventually transform James from a cult figure of the local rock scene into a mainstream star.

When rock became personal

The breakthrough came through records such as Jail Theke Bolchi, Nagar Baul and Lace Fita Lace. James’s music did not simply sound different; it felt different.

At a time when mainstream Bangladeshi music was dominated by other forms of popular song, his rough-edged vocals and rock arrangements offered young listeners a new musical language. Songs such as “Taray Taray Rotiye Debo,”Maa,” “Bangladesh,” “Pagla Hawaa” and “Dushtu Chheler Dol” eventually moved far beyond the boundaries of the rock audience.

His collaboration with celebrated Bangladeshi lyricists and composers also became an important part of that journey. Poet Shamsur Rahman, for example, wrote the lyrics for “Taray Taray Rotiye Debo”, one of the songs closely associated with James’s legacy.

Feelings was later renamed Nagar Baul, a name that became almost inseparable from James himself. The band’s evolution also reflected the changing landscape of Bangladeshi rock, while James continued to develop a parallel career as a solo artist.

His solo catalogue includes albums such as Ononna, Palabe Kothay, Dukhini Dukkho Korona, Thik Achhe Bondhu, Ami Tomader-I Lok, Janata Express, Toofan and Kal Jomuna.

Together, those releases helped establish a distinctive James sound- one that could be loud and rebellious, but also deeply emotional.

From Dhaka stages to Bollywood

James’s influence eventually crossed Bangladesh’s borders.

In 2006, he made his Bollywood playback debut with “Bheegi Bheegi” in Anurag Basu’s Gangster. The song became a major hit and introduced his voice to a much wider Indian audience. He subsequently sang for Woh Lamhe (2006), Life in a... Metro (2007) and Warning (2013).

The Bollywood chapter was significant not simply because a Bangladeshi rock singer entered India’s Hindi film industry, but because James did so without abandoning the vocal identity that had made him famous at home.

His career in Bangladesh’s film industry also brought major recognition. James won the Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for Desha: The Leader (2014) and again for Swatta (2017).

By then, the title ‘Guru’ had become more than a nickname. It was a term of affection used by listeners who had grown up with his music and, later, by younger audiences discovering it anew.

Four decades later, the guitar remains

What makes James’s story unusual is not simply longevity.

Bangladesh’s music industry has changed dramatically since the 1980s. Cassette culture gave way to CDs, then television music programmes, YouTube, streaming platforms and social media. Musical tastes changed with every generation.

James remained.

His songs continued to travel across generations, from concert stages to headphones and from urban centres to listeners far beyond Bangladesh.

And James himself appears comfortable with the idea that music must keep changing.

Speaking about culture and the changing forms of art on his 62nd birthday, he compared culture to a river: it continues to flow, and attempts to stop it only obstruct that natural movement. He also acknowledged the emergence of a new generation of talented musicians, saying that it is their time to make and release music.

He has not, however, ruled out making new music himself.

That is perhaps the most James-like contradiction of all. The musician who helped define an earlier era is willing to step aside and let younger artists have their moment, while still keeping the door open for another song of his own.

For James, music has never appeared to be only about fame or achievement. On his birthday this year, he put his philosophy simply: “I didn’t come to change society. I came to bring joy to society.”

That may be the simplest way to understand his four-decade journey.

He left home with a guitar.

He found a band, found his voice, crossed borders and watched generations grow up with his songs.

The boy from Chattogram became Bangladesh’s ‘Guru’- not because he claimed the title, but because listeners gave it to him.

And at 62, with the guitar still in his hands, James remains what he has been for much of his life: a musician allowing the songs to outlive the moment in which they were made.