Ishaan Khatter and Mrunal Thakur starrer ‘Pippa’, which was released on Amazon Prime Video on November 10, faced backlash over AR Rahman's rendition of a popular patriotic song 'Karar oi louho kopat' by legendary Bengali poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.
Now, the makers have responded to the criticism and said that the new rendition of the song is a ‘sincere artistic interpretation’ that was made ‘only after securing the necessary adaptation rights’ from the estate of the late poet.
The statement read, ‘In light of the current discourse surrounding the song ‘Karar Oi Louho Kopat’ the producers, director, and music composer of the film Pippa wish to clarify that our rendition of the song is a sincere artistic interpretation, embarked upon only after securing the necessary adaptation rights from the estate of the Late Mr. Kazi Nazrul Islam.”
The statement further added, ‘We approached the making of this song by faithfully following both the letter and the spirit of the license agreement for the lyrics, as duly signed with the Late Mrs. Kalyani Kazi and witnessed by Mr. Anirban Kazi.’
The makers apologised for hurting sentiments in the statement and said, ‘Our intent was to pay homage to the cultural significance of the song while adhering to the terms set forth in our agreement, which permitted us to use the lyrics with a new composition. We understand the emotional attachment that audiences may have to the original composition, and while all art is inherently subjective if our interpretation has hurt sentiments or caused unintended distress, we offer our sincere apologies.’
‘Pippa’, directed by Raja Krishna Menon, is based on real-life events that took place during the 1971 India-Pakistan war, which led to the birth of Bangladesh.
Kazi Nazrul Islam's grandson, Kazi Anirban, had alleged that his mother had given consent for the song to be used in the movie but did not approve of any alterations to the song's tunes and rhythm.
Islam, popularly known as the 'rebel poet', was born in 1899 in present-day West Bengal's Paschim Bardhaman district. His songs, known as 'Nazrul geeti', are probably second in terms of popularity after those of Rabindranath Tagore in Bengal. He later became the national poet of Bangladesh. Islam died in 1976.
The music composer is yet to comment on the issue.