Nitesh Tiwari’s magnum opus Ramayana has been creating a lot of buzz. The excitement among the fans is visible through the advance booking trends, as well as the reactions to the posters, songs and other assets of the film. Amid this, the film’s latest track, Mangal Rang, has not impressed some users who have criticised the song. Oscar-winning singer-composer AR Rahman has addressed the trolling and mixed public response to the songs of the film.
AR Rahman on criticism
Talking to Hindustan Times, AR Rahman opened up about working on Ramayana, saying, “After the first 10 years, people said, ‘Oh, you should do what you did in those first 10 years.’ But I can’t stay on old glory like Rockstar or Slumdog Millionaire. You can’t stagnate yourself — you have to be like a flowing river. Now Ramayana has come, and these songs are in five different languages. It’s an epic story almost every Indian knows. It’s such a great honour to do those songs and be part of that celebration with India and the world.”
Notably, Ramayana’s latest song, Mangal Rang, has sparked a fresh debate online due to its alleged qawwali influences, which fans believe does not suit the epic’s traditional setting. Earlier, Yash’s Ravana Tandav song has also sparked a debate on social media.
Talking of the criticism, the composer says he had no energy to check the feedback but was aware of the chatter. “We do so much work, filtration, ideation, and iteration that there’s no energy left to look at feedback! We just put it out because it’s been tried and tested so much. My son keeps telling me, ‘This is what they said yesterday, now they’re apologising…’ I say fine, I’ve done my work sincerely and hope people celebrate it,” he said.
AR Rahman on working with Hans Zimmer
AR Rahman, who usually prefers working solo, also opened up about collaborating with legendary German composer Hans Zimmer on Ramayana. He says, “Usually I prefer solo work because I’m bad at being precious about my work. I’d just say, ‘You do everything, and I’ll watch!’ But in this case, him coming onto the project is such a blessing because it changes the narrative. If someone in New Zealand or Europe sees Hans Zimmer’s name, they will watch. If they just see Indian names, they might think it’s just another Indian movie, but they’ll be curious to see what he has done collaborating on this. It’s a great move by the producer.”
The composer also revealed that Zimmer had earlier invited him to collaborate 14–15 years ago following his Oscar win for Slumdog Millionaire; however, he passed the offer at the time since he was in “chill-out mode.”