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Director Nitish Tiwari’s film ‘Ramayana: The Rise of Legend’, one of the biggest and ambitious projects in the history of Indian cinema, has been in the headlines since the first day of its announcement. While on one hand there is huge enthusiasm among the audience about the film’s star cast, grand sets and VFX, on the other hand a new and big controversy has arisen on social media regarding its music. People are angry over the use of Sufi and Qawwali style by Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman in the recently released new song ‘Mangal Rang’ of the film. Netizens and many cultural organizations have strongly criticized it, calling it against the basic dignity and tradition of the Hindu epic, after which music composer AR Rahman has also broken his silence on this entire controversy.
The flavor of Qawwali in the song ‘Mangal Rang’ and anger on social media
In this much-awaited mythological film being made under the direction of Nitish Tiwari, Ranbir Kapoor is seen in the role of Lord Ram and Sai Pallavi is seen in the role of Mata Sita. When its new song ‘Mangal Rang’ was released as part of the promotion of the film, the audience was expecting that the sweetness of traditional Indian classical music, Veda-mantras or folk tunes would be seen in it. But as soon as the song was released, its music and chorus surprised people. Users on social media platform People said that it was not appropriate to use such music in an epic based on the sacred story of Lord Shri Ram and Mother Sita.
Strong reaction from the public: “Presenting Hindu history like this cannot be tolerated”
There was a flood of reactions after this song surfaced on social media. Many users expressed their displeasure and wrote that it is completely wrong to give a holy book and an epic the form of ‘Sufi-coding’ or Qawwali. Many people even wrote that AR Rahman has proved to be the wrong choice for this historical film. Critics argued that where Sanskrit words and traditional Indian instruments like Veena, Sitar, Mridang and Tabla should have been used freely, this kind of Western and Sufi mixture has hurt the original spirit. Some users even alleged that the musician has recycled this track on the lines of his old songs, which has dealt a huge blow to the expectations of the fans.
AR Rahman’s blunt answer to trolling and criticism
Amidst the continuous criticism and social media trolling, well-known musician AR Rahman has openly responded to this. During an interview, Rahman made it clear that he is not much affected by such negative and social media reactions. He said that his team had done so much and intense conceptual work during the making of the film that they no longer had the energy to pay attention to people’s reactions online. Rahman also said that an artist should always keep moving forward like a flowing river, he cannot remain tied to his old successes or old style. Taking a dig at his critics, he also said that many times people first criticize the song and later the same people accept their mistake and apologize, as was seen during the track ‘Raavan Tandav’ of the film.
The long debate of art, religion and creative freedom
This step of AR Rahman and the anger of the public has once again sparked a big debate in Indian cinema about the fine line between ‘creative freedom’ and ‘religious sentiments’. A section of supporters also believe that this collaboration between AR Rahman and Hollywood veteran composer Hans Zimmer is giving a new dimension to Indian culture at the global level, hence there should be some openness in musical experiments. On the other hand, a large section is adamant that any kind of western or non-traditional experiment with Sanatan culture and epics should not be accepted. However, the debate over the songs of this mega-budget film, which is going to be released in theaters on November 5, is not stopping.