Arzeen’s new music video puts romance and robots together

Arzeen is having a moment, again.

Months after his folk-tinged number Kalakala swept across social media and made him a name that Bangladeshi music listeners could not ignore, the Los Angeles-based Bangladeshi singer-songwriter is back with something different.

His new release, Bhalobasha Dibi Kina Bol, is a melodic romantic track that has been finding its way onto streaming charts, TikTok feeds and Instagram reels with quiet persistence.

The song was released on audio platforms first. It found an audience almost immediately. On major streaming platforms, listeners were streaming it heavily before the music video had even arrived.

"We even thought about whether the video should come out immediately," he said. "The expectations around the song had already become quite high."

He held back for a while to release the video. The video followed nearly four weeks later. By then, the anticipation had only grown.

Words rooted in the soil

The lyrics of Bhalobasha Dibi Kina Bol draw from a tradition that runs deep in Bangla poetry. Nature becomes the language of longing. If you are a flower, I am the garden. If you are moonlight, I am honey. If you are a cloud, I am water.

Each image unfolds into the next, building towards a single, earnest question: "Morey Bhalobasha Dibi Kina Bol" — tell me, will you love me?

The writing sits comfortably alongside Arzeen's previous work. He has always favoured simplicity over ornamentation — the lines do not reach for complexity. That restraint is precisely what gives them weight.

The song is melodic rather than folk-driven, which marks a deliberate shift. Arzeen is clear that he works from different emotional places. "Many people know me for my folk-influenced songs," he said, "but some songs may feel closer to folk, while others may move in slightly different directions."

A robot in love

The music video introduces something that Bangladeshi productions rarely attempt. Arzeen plays a robotic character. He is dressed and styled to suggest a robotic human. The girl who controls him — played by actress Humaira Snigdha — holds the remote. He moves at her command.

It is not an entirely new idea. Science fiction and international pop productions have explored the robot-in-love premise for decades. But placing that concept within a Bangladeshi visual and emotional context gives it a freshness that audiences have responded to.

Photo: Video grab

The director, Ahsabul Yamin, said the concept appealed to him precisely because of its strangeness. "Personally, I tend to like slightly unconventional or strange ideas," he said. "When I heard the concept, especially the idea of a robot being part of the story, I felt it was quite interesting."

The idea originated with Arzeen himself. He came to the table with the song and a written outline for the video. The production team then shaped and expanded it. Yamin spoke warmly about the collaboration. "Working with him was a very good experience," he said.

The video has since driven a second wave of engagement. Short-form content creators have used the song in their own reels. Cover versions have appeared across platforms. "Once a song is released, it no longer belongs entirely to the artist," Arzeen said. "The audience becomes part of a new kind of storytelling that is completely out of the artist's control."

Arzeen is currently working on several new songs and preparing for upcoming live shows. He is also continuing a project with US-based musicians that centres on minimal instrumentation — just two or three instruments per track. A full collection of songs is expected soon.

His previous collaborations have already reached a range of listeners. His playback numbers for Bangla cinema were received warmly.

For now, his attention remains with the new release. "The reaction from listeners has been very encouraging," he said. "When people connect with the song itself, before anything else, that feels very special."