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.
Anything would have worked with "Kesariya", But still they chose "Love Storiyan"#KesariyaSong #LoveStoriyan #AliaBhatt #RanbirKapoor #storiyan pic.twitter.com/XLaFHRvDcQ
— Bird Lounges (@birdlounges) July 18, 2022
Good Morning to everyone except those who like this #LoveStoriyan pic.twitter.com/XsLupxo3rq
— Mihir Jha (@MihirkJha) July 18, 2022
South versions save the day pic.twitter.com/aEnw1o3dwF
— Bollywood Memers (@BollywoodMemers) July 17, 2022
A suggestion for everyone who is frustrated after listening to the kesariya full version
— Nachiket (@hitwicket_22) July 18, 2022
Listen to the telugu version by sid sriram...u might nit understand it...but it is a painkiller for surehttps://t.co/5xb09qSoMY#KesariyaSong #Kesariya #Bramhastra #LoveStoriyan
Exactly... Why I prefer south version of #Kesariya it's more soothing ❤️#Kesariya #bhramastra #AliaBhatt pic.twitter.com/udnANTzrq3
— Rinky (@Rinky056) July 17, 2022
Honestly #Kesariya hindi song was disappointing. Especially the use of “love storiyan”. Very bad lyrics.
— Master Bay Son (@MasterBaySon) July 17, 2022
The south version #Kumkumala in Telugu is way better. Thank God they didn’t release the one with #RanbirKapoor & #AliaBhatt dancing on it. @BrahmastraFilm @ipritamofficial
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.
My 2 cents on #LoveStoriyan :
— B.H.Harsh (@film_waala) July 18, 2022
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.#Kesariya #Brahmastra
Great works have been penned by @OfficialAMITABH ; some radiating brilliant poetic ingenuity. He was probably the first popular lyricist to combine quirky phrases with traditional heavyweight lyrics.
— Arshiet Dhamnaskar (@arshiet) July 18, 2022
But now it just feels forced and annoying.#LoveStoriyan@BrahmastraFilm
I think #LoveStoriyan part is getting too much trolled. It's a beautiful song the way it is.#Kesariya
— Kaustav Kapil (@VatsuaK_LipaK) July 17, 2022
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.