09 May,2009 12:43 PM IST | | Agencies/MiD DAY Correspondent
Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, infamous for courting controversies with his movies, has gone ahead and done just that for his forthcoming project. Ramu has tampered with the Indian national anthem in his forthcoming Amitabh Bachchan-Sudeep starrer Rann. It is most likely that the song will be banned by the Censor Board of Film Certification.u00a0 The lyrics of the title song go like this - 'Jana gana mana Rann hai, is rann mein zakhmi hua hai, bharat ka bhaagya vidhaata, Punjab Sindh Gujarat Maratha..." Though the song hasn't been released yet, chances are that it would create controversies. But Varma is unfazed as he says he hasn't shown it in bad light.
"I have not tinkered with the national anthem. Tinkering would be if I would have shown it in bad light. I haven't done anything of this sort. Through this song, we are talking about the disputes in the country but there were no intentions to ridicule anything," Varma told reporters a couple of days ago at a press conference in the capital where the first look of 'Rann' was unveiled.
"I think no one will have a problem with it. It's something I felt in my heart and it was my idea to place the song like this. It is based on the script of my film and I don't think there's any offence in it. Yet, if there is a problem, we will deal with that," he said.
Commenting on the same, megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who plays a pivotal role in the media-based film, said: "I am sure that before doing something, the producers have taken adequate legal actions. I have faith in them and I do believe that they have adhered to the requirements (of using the national anthem)."
"Rann" is an attempt by Varma to expose Indian media and apart from the Big B, it features actors like Sudeep, Paresh Rawal, Rajat Kapoor, Riteish Deshmukh, Manisha Koirala, Purab Kohli as well as Gul Panag. Varma says his movie is based on 15 years of his experience in the Indian film industry and focuses on the "psychological aspect of the media business" rather than its "technical" side.
Lyricist defends the song
Sarim Momin, the lyricist of the controversial 'parody' of the national anthem defends the song.
When I was writing this song, I wanted to capture the emotions of a situation in the film where we Indians are asked to wake up. To wake up and that we are surrendering the very freedom that we fought for. And that we are dividing the country when we should actually stand up united for its progress.
Now, if we had used lines like "Jaag jao Bhaarat ko bachaao' or 'Humari jaan Hindustaan', maximum reaction would have been a yawn or a raise of an eyebrow. But it wouldn't have made people sit up and think about the current state.
The Election Commission started many campaigns this year to urge Indians to come out and vote yet the turnout was only around 50 per cent. And it's not like we don't care. It's just that we don't care enough to make an effort to even elect the best men to decide the future and fate of our country.
We are comfortably numb and almost sleepy to what is happening to us. So how do we wake up a person who is asleep? Do we sing lullabies to him or shrug him and shake him out of his sleep?
And since the film Rann is about the battle that all of us fight within ourselves, the words were meant to express this. There is a battle in the minds of all people and literally they translated into 'Jana gann mana rann hai'.
And yes, there is a reference to our national anthem but this song is not our national anthem nor is it demeaning or insulting it in any way. While the national anthem speaks about India and victory, this song talks about the need to achieve that victory by keeping India united today.
Kindly go through the lyrics once and decide for yourself if there is any insult to India andkindly be honest.
If anyone thinks that it is a crime to ask Indians to stand up and help India be the glorious country that it was, then I have only one thing to say, 'Bharat ko bachale vidhaata'.
u00a0
