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‘South versions save the day’: Fans respond to Ranbir-Alia’s Brahmastra song Kesariya

Fans were bothered by the inclusion of a Hindi-English phrase in the song — ‘love storiyan’ — and many pointed out that the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada versions of ‘Kesariya’ are better as they don’t contain any English words.

Written by : TNM Staff

The release of the romantic track ‘Kesariya’ from Bollywood actors Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt’s upcoming film Brahmastra has sparked an intense debate on social media. While many agreed that the song is a catchy number, other listeners expressed their displeasure with the inclusion of a Hindi-English phrase — ‘love storiyan’ — to rhyme with the word ‘tijoriyan’ in the song. This has sparked a meme fest on social media, with some saying that the addition of the English phrase ‘ruined’ the song for them, or comparing it to finding cardamom pods in biryani. 

A short version of the song was released in April ahead of actor Ranbir and Alia’s wedding. The full version of the song, which is set to tune by composer Pritam, was unveiled in five languages including Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada and Tamil. Fans were so bothered by the ‘love storiyan’ line that many of them uploaded cover versions in which they changed the lyrics to suit the song better. However, fans were quick to realise that the English line has only been included in the Hindi version of ‘Kesariya’, and pointed out that the song sounds much better in Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada. 

‘Kesariya’ — the Hindi version — is sung by Arjit Singh, while the Telugu, Kannada and Tamil versions are sung by Sid Sriram. The latter has also rendered his voice for the Malayalam version, which had Hesham Abdul Wahab as a co-singer. “A suggestion for everyone who is frustrated after listening to the kesariya full version. Listen to the telugu version by sid sriram...u might not understand it...but it is a painkiller for sure,” one of the tweets read. The song has been titled ‘Kesariya Rangu’, ‘Kumkumala’, ‘Kunkumamaake’, and ‘Theethiriyaai’ in Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil respectively. 

Starting with the Baahubali franchise, pan-India movies have been seeing major successes in the box office, especially with more filmmakers from across industries beginning to produce films with a national audience in mind. While Brahmastra was primarily shot in Hindi and the dubbed versions are set to release in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu, several south-Indian blockbusters like RRR, Pushpa, and KGF 2, among others, continue to see roaring success in north India as well. 

Read: Hypermasculinity, execution and marketing: How south cinema has cracked the Hindi market

While many fans took a dig at lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya, some came out in his support and praised him for his body of work. Amitabh is well-known for penning the lyrics for popular tracks like ‘Iktara’, ‘Monta Re’, ‘Mast Magan’, and ‘Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin’, among others. Extending their support to lyricist Amitabh, one user wrote, “My 2 cents on #LoveStoriyan :I think I would be willing to take all these jokes about Amitabh Bhattacharya in good spirit if he received even half as many tweets for his entire body of work in the last 14 years.” A section of fans also noted that the makers of the romantic track are being unnecessarily trolled. 

As per a report in The Indian Express, Ranbir Kapoor responded positively when he was asked at a recent press conference to share his thoughts about the track ‘Kesariya’ being trolled online. “No, it’s great! See, listen, we as filmmakers and artists create something and it is up to the audience to receive it how they do. We are very excited about the song and it’s got a lot of love. Today, memes and trolling is all part of life and it’s fine as long as people enjoy the song, Pritam’s music and Arijit Singh’s singing. I want them to enjoy my chemistry with Alia and that’s what the endeavor is.” the actor said. 

Helmed by Ayan Mukherji, Brahmastra, which is slated for theatrical release on September 9, stars actor Alia and Ranbir in the lead. While actors Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna Akkineni, Dimple Kapadia, Little Things fame Dhruv Sehgal, Saurav Gurjar and Mouni Roy, among others have been roped in for pivotal roles. Actors Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone will be appearing in cameo roles.

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