Magic of Bathukamma – The New Indian Express

Express news service

HYDERABAD: A celebration of life. A celebration of conviviality. Flowers … music … dance. We couldn’t help but participate in the festivities. Bringing you a glimpse into the beauty of Bathukamma from our hearts, through our arts’ The holiday season in Telangana started with these same words that appear at the start of a special video song that captures the beauty of the biggest festival in the state.

As women prepare for Bhathukamma, music maestro AR Rahman and filmmaker Gautham Vasudev Menon have collaborated to create magic this year with a special issue, Allipoola Vennela. Produced by Telangana Jagruthi, the song was composed by Oscar winner AR Rahman, sung by Uthara Unnikrishnan, written by Mittapalli Surender and choreographed by National Award winner Brinda.

“I like the idea of ​​the festival; it is about women and beautiful flower arrangements. Bathukamma is such a colorful festival and I wanted to film it. I met Madam Kavitha and she also asked me if we could plan something together. I said we could work on a song. Then sir Rahman came in big and that’s how the song took shape, ”Menon said hours before releasing the song with former MP K Kavitha in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

The idea behind Allipoola Vennela was to keep it simple and real. Therefore, the makers did not bring in prominent faces to play it. “The personalities are from a certain region and we wanted the video song to stay natural. We didn’t want important names on it. The biggest name is Rahman sir and that’s all we wanted, ”Menon said.

Speaking about the collaboration with the music maestro, the filmmaker said, “He did stuff like that in Tamil, where he promoted the language and I performed the song. When we asked him to join us for this project, he didn’t hesitate. He played all the previous songs and said we would get down to business immediately. Since a lot of people and settings were used in the making of the video, a lot of planning was required. “We were also shooting in bad weather. It took us two days to complete it, ”Menon said.

Allipoola Vennela was shot in the heart of Telangana because the creators wanted every shot to remain authentic. There is also a bit of studio work. “My work has always been experimental and I hope people like Allipoola Vennela,” Menon said. Meanwhile, Rehman tweeted about the song, “A festival of life. A celebration of conviviality. I give you a glimpse of the beauty of Bathukamma through #AllipoolaVennela with Telangana Jagruthi.

To this, Kavitha replied, “The Bathukamma Festival of Colors, Melody and Friendliness is here! Here’s a preview of the special song for Bathukamma by @arrahman @menongautham and a dream team for all of my sisters. Meanwhile, the song drew criticism from a few netizens. Senior journalist and blogger Manchala Srinivasa Rao posted a link to his blog which stated: “So far Telangana has seen the domination of Andhra Pradesh and the mockery of TS’s self-respect and culture.

Now is the turn of the Tamils ​​and Malayalis to laugh at us. It is Rahman and Menon’s assault on our culture. Couldn’t Kavitha have found someone from Telangana to sing, compose and conduct this song? Couldn’t she find someone who could meaningfully represent the culture of Telangana? These people managed to sink the power of the state. Did Kavitha watch this before releasing it? Is this how Bathukamma is celebrated?

Another user wrote: “Pretty good AR Rahman, you have contributed enough to Indian music. But never play with our culture. Please leave us and show your smartness in Tamil. But not with us. “If Sankarabharanam Sankara Sastry had been alive today, he would have said how can you use classical elements in our folk music and culture. No one can understand the lyrics, they don’t reflect TS’s culture, language and Bathukamma, ”wrote another.