New Ramayana Song Draws Mixed Social Media Reactions Over AR Rahman Music

The makers of the upcoming film Ramayana released a new track titled Ravana Tandav on Dussehra, starring Yash in the role of Ravana. The one-minute-and-55-second video shows Ravana cutting his palm with a dagger, applying a Tripundra tilak, and performing aarti and the Tandav in front of a large idol of Lord Shiva. While viewers praised Yash's intense presence and the Tandav choreography, AR Rahman's music received wide criticism online for sounding dull.

Reactions And Cast

The Hindi version of the song features lyrics by Dr Kumar Vishwas, music by AR Rahman, and vocals by Vishal Dadlani. Social media users expressed sharp disappointment with the score, with some calling Rahman a bad choice and others demanding his replacement in the sequel, suggesting composers like Ajay-Atul instead. Despite the music backlash, fans lauded Yash's performance and the visual tone.

Project Details

Directed by Nitesh Tiwari and backed by producers Namit Malhotra and Yash, the epic film is based on Valmiki's Sanskrit epic and features a star-studded cast including Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Sunny Deol as Lord Hanuman, and Ravi Dubey as Lakshman. Other key actors in the movie include Arun Govil, Rakul Preet Singh, Lara Dutta, and Vivek Oberoi. Notably, German composer Hans Zimmer is also collaborating on the project for his Indian cinema debut.

Context

Musical expectations run exceptionally high for major multi-part epics in Indian cinema, where a soundtrack often plays a central role in pre-release hype. Fans frequently voice strong opinions on social media regarding creative choices made for high-profile cinematic adaptations of traditional epics.