AR Rahman on Ramayana music criticism: ‘If you want to satisfy everyone, go sell ice cream’

AR Rahman on Ramayana (Pics/X)

With Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Ramayana just days away from its theatrical release, the film's music has become a talking point among audiences. While some songs have received appreciation, others have sparked debate on social media. Amid the mixed response, composer A.R. Rahman has now shared his perspective on the reactions.

AR Rahman addresses Ramayana songs' mixed response

In a conversation with The Indian Express, Rahman opened up about the mixed reaction to Ramayana's songs and the process of curating music for such a large film. "I am my first critic. It is not that I just love everything I do. We don't decide something in a day. We live with it for months sometimes. There's a thought process," he said.

Using an interesting food analogy, Rahman compared certain compositions to pickle, suggesting that some tunes only get better with time. "Sometimes you need to take anthropology into consideration. Sometimes, you let something be, like pickle: for certain tunes, the older it is, the better it becomes," he added.

The composer also acknowledged that one eventually has to learn not to be affected by every comment. Quoting Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, he said, "If you want to satisfy everyone, go sell ice cream."

About Mangal Rang criticism

The song "Mangal Rang" from Nitesh Tiwari's upcoming film Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, composed by A.R. Rahman and sung by Arijit Singh and Shreya Ghoshal, has faced significant backlash and debate on social media. Many social media users criticised the track for sounding like a Sufi qawwali rather than a traditional Hindu devotional song.

Talking to Hindustan Times, A.R. 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."

Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, Ramayana features Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama and Sai Pallavi as Maa Sita, alongside Ravi Dubey, Yash, Sunny Deol, Rakul Preet Singh and Lara Dutta in key roles. The film is scheduled to release worldwide in theatres on November 5.