AR Rahman has responded to the mixed reactions to ‘Mangal Rang’, a song from Nitesh Tiwari’s upcoming film ‘Ramayana: Rise of a Legend’. The composer, who is collaborating with Hans Zimmer on the film’s music, said he is often his own harshest critic and believes that not every creative choice needs to please everyone. He also explained that compositions sometimes require time to evolve, with certain musical ideas being revisited over several months before they are finalised.‘Mangal Rang’ sparked a debate among listeners, with some questioning its qawwali-like musical treatment for a song associated with the mythological epic. Addressing the criticism in an interview with The Indian Express, Rahman clarified that he does not automatically approve of everything he creates.“I am my first critic. It is not that I just love everything I do,” he said.Explaining how certain compositions reveal their potential over time, the Oscar-winning composer drew an unusual comparison with the process of making pickle. “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 said.Rahman also pointed out that a composer cannot constantly make creative decisions based on public reactions. Explaining why it is important to remain confident in one’s artistic choices, he quoted Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and said, “If you want to satisfy everyone, go sell ice cream.”‘Mangal Rang’ features the film’s principal characters, played by Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi and Yash. While its musical arrangement became a talking point on social media, the composition incorporates several classical influences. Rahman used the shuddh notes of Bilawal, blending them with elements of Maand, a raga traditionally associated with bhajans and wedding music, as well as touches of Pahadi.The idea was to create a musical arrangement rooted in devotional and traditional sounds while exploring a distinct approach rather than simply following an established template. Despite the initial criticism, the song went on to secure the No. 1 position on YouTube’s trending music chart during the week of its release.Meanwhile, Rahman’s partnership with Hans Zimmer has emerged as another major highlight of the project. Zimmer, known for composing music for films such as ‘Interstellar’, ‘Inception’ and ‘Gladiator’, has joined Rahman for the ambitious adaptation. The music involves an extensive body of work, including songs, background score and multiple versions catering to different languages and markets.Speaking about Zimmer’s involvement, Rahman said the association could help the film reach a wider international audience. “His name coming in Ramayana would bring a whole set of new audience curiosity,” he said.The composer also offered an insight into the scale of the musical assignment, describing the extensive work and pressure involved in getting every detail right.“The film has a score and it has songs and it has probably like 10 movies worth of work, where there were five different languages and two different versions: the Hollywood version and the Indian version and also the kind of pressure the whole team had for every note, every tune.”He added that the attention given to every musical detail was a reflection of the enormous expectations surrounding the project. “That is when one understands that there’s so much at stake for them that they want to be really sure,” he added.Rahman also spoke about the encouraging experience of seeing audiences across different parts of the country respond to the film’s music.Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, ‘Ramayana: Rise of a Legend’ stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana.
