AR Rahman draws flak over 'distorted' rendition of legendary poet Kazi Narul's iconic Bengali song
Mumbai: A dispute has arisen over AR Rahman's rendition of the iconic Bengali song 'Karar oi louho kopat' (Iron bars of a jail) by the revered Bengali poet Kazi Nazrul Islam in the Bollywood war film 'Pippa', a report in the media said.
The poet's family has alleged that Rahman’s rendition has "distorted" the rhythm and melodies of the song, news agency PTI reported.
Kazi Anirban, Nazrul's grandson and a painter, has said that his mother agreed to the song's inclusion in the movie, but she did not give permission to change the tunes, the report said.
The unexpected alterations in rhythm and melodies in the rendition are truly surprising, he said, the report added.
Nazrul’s grandson Anirban Kazi called it “an insult to the good faith with which the recreation licence was given to the production house," reported the Times of India.
According to the Times of India, singer Kalyani Kazi, Nazrul’s daughter-in-law, had granted the licence of this literary work to Roy Kapur Productions Pvt Ltd in 2021 in lieu of Rs 2 lakh for a Hindi-language film, set during the 1971 Indo-Pak war. For ‘Pippa’, starring Ishaan Khatter and Mrunal Thakur, Rahman reinterpreted the song.
Image Courtesy: wikimedia.org
Kazi Nazrul Islam, commonly known as the 'rebel poet,' is the national poet of Bangladesh and is highly respected in West Bengal, India.
The song's lyrics made their debut in the 'Banglar Katha' magazine in 1922 and were subsequently featured in Kazi Nazrul Islam's poetry collection 'Bhangar Gaan.' The song was initially recorded in 1949 under a renowned label, followed by a subsequent recording in 1952 under a different record label.
Pippa stars Ishaan Khatter, Mrunal Thakur and Priyanshu Painyuli in lead roles. The film premiered on 10 November 2023 on Amazon Prime Video.
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