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With the release of the new song ‘Mangal Rang’ from Indian cinema’s most awaited and grand mythological film ‘Ramayanam’, a new cultural controversy has started in the internet world. The makers of the film officially presented this song to the audience on 25 October. Composed by Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman, who is known as the magician of music, this song has been decorated with the melodious voices of the country’s two veteran playback singers Arijit Singh and Shreya Ghoshal. Visually, this song has been composed keeping in mind the supernatural love of Maryada Purushottam Lord Shri Ram and Mother Sita, their sacred union and the sacred spiritual journey after marriage. However, while a limited audience liked the jugalbandi of the two singers, the majority of the audience on social media platforms have expressed strong objection to the musical structure of the song.
Listeners and netizens allege that the tune that has been woven with the scenes of such a huge religious and cultural epic seems to be completely inspired by the Sufi and Qawwali styles. Within minutes of its release, clips of the song started going viral on microblogging platform ‘X’ and music lovers expressed deep disappointment over AR Rahman’s experiment. The audience believes that the traditional devotion, classical melody and cultural seriousness that should have been there in the adaptation of eternal history and holy book like Ramayana, has been forcibly imposed in place of Bollywood’s worn-out Sufi-pop formula.
As soon as the song became public, the displeasure of the fans started coming out openly. Many users directly questioned music director AR Rahman’s musical understanding and his research towards this project. A dissatisfied user wrote in his post that the makers picked up the template of the Sufi song ‘Kun Faya Kun’ from their superhit film Rockstar, fitted it into ‘Mangal Rang’ with slight changes and presented it as the devotional music of Ramayana. People say that this usage is not only deviated from the context, but is also a major compromise with the basic spirit of a historical epic.
While giving a very sharp reaction, another user wrote that inserting Sufi Qawwali beats and clapping patterns in Maharishi Valmiki’s Ramayana is the biggest proof of the cultural disorientation of modern Bollywood. The user further said that despite the huge budget of crores of rupees, the makers seem to lack minimal cultural understanding and research. He wrote that the centers of our sacred history and faith should not be judged like the usual romantic-comedy films released in theaters on any ordinary Friday. The basic feeling of the scene and the spiritual flow of devotion is completely shattered by such music.
A large section of music lovers on social media are also angry as to why such western and Sufi mixed tunes were chosen despite the rich heritage of Indian classical music and ancient instruments. The background music (BGM) heard in the teaser of the film was appreciated, but the weak impact of the main songs has disappointed the audience. One user wrote in his detailed review that he found only the background score to be impressive in the tracks released so far, while the rest of the songs are of very average level. Especially the vibe of ‘Mangal Rang’ is very weak and suffers from modernity.
Users strongly say that compositions based on pure Sanskrit shlokas, traditional chaupai and Indian classical ragas for the marriage or events of Lord Ram and Sita would have proved much more effective, impactful and a hundred times better. The rich confluence of classical music of South and North India could have given this film an immortal music, but instead the choice of pop-qawwali beats has left cinema lovers in a dilemma. People are raising the question whether the creators have ignored the basic dignity of the subject in the name of cinematic creative freedom.
Many veteran faces of the Indian film industry are going to be seen in this ambitious three-dimensional cinematic saga ‘Ramayanam’ being made under the direction of Nitish Tiwari. Playing the lead role in the film, Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor will be seen on screen as Lord Shri Ram, while popular South Indian cinema actress Sai Pallavi is bringing alive the role of Mata Sita. Apart from this, big actors like television star Ravi Dubey, pan-India superstar Yash, veteran actor Sunny Deol, actress Rakul Preet Singh and Lara Dutta will be seen in important mythological characters.
This much talked about film is all set to release simultaneously in multiple languages in theaters across the world on 5th November. Although there is huge curiosity among the audience about the grand scale of the film and the star cast, this latest controversy arising over the song ‘Mangal Rang’ has become a big challenge for the makers just before the release. Now it will be quite interesting to see whether film director Nitish Tiwari or composer AR Rahman himself issues any official clarification on this controversy, or whether the audience in theaters on November 5 remains positive towards this grand presentation.