Family of legendary Bengali poet protest ‘unbelievable’ use of revolutionary anthem in Bollywood movie

Academy Award-winning singer and composer AR Rahman has been facing a massive backlash from the people of Bangladesh for his rendition of a popular Bengali song for a Bollywood film.

The composer drew flak for "distorting" the "essence" of the revolutionary anthem "Karar Oi Louho Kopat" (which translates to the iron bars of prison) in his version of the song used in the Hindi film Pippa.

The protest was led by the descendants of Kazi Nazrul Islam – the national poet of Bangladesh – who wrote the poem in 1922. Nazrul had written the song in protest after the British arrested freedom fighter Chittaranjan Das and sent him to prison.

The poem calls on people to break down the iron gates of prison. Nazrul, also known as a revolutionary poet, was arrested by British colonizers in 1923 for sedition. The song got its iconic tune after it was recorded for the first time by singer Girin Chakraborty in 1949.

The kin of the legendary poet and Bengalis, both from Bangladesh and India's eastern state of West Bengal, have accused Rahman of messing with the symphony of the original song.

Makers of the film issued apologies on Tuesday following the backlash and clarified that the "intent was to pay homage to the cultural significance of the song while adhering to the terms set forth" in their agreement.

"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," Roy Kapur Films said in a statement.

The makers claimed that they approached the song by "faithfully following" both the letter and the spirit of the "license agreement for the lyrics" that was signed by Kalyani Kazi and witnessed by Anirban Kazi.

Kalyani Kazi, the daughter-in-law of the poet, died this year. Prior to her death, she had granted the license of this "literary work" to a Bollywood production house in 2021 in lieu of Rs 200,000 (£1,928 ), the Times of India reported.

According to the agreement, the rights were handed over to the production house to "use, adapt and recreate the 'literary work' as a part of musical composition" and to "edit, reformat and/ or shorten the literary work for the aforesaid purpose".

Anindita Kazi, the New Jersey-based daughter of Kalyani Kazi, alleged that she was never briefed about such an agreement.

"Now when the world is protesting this unbelievable distortion of an iconic song, I am getting to know all this," she told the Times of India.

"People are hurling invisible hate bombs at me for being party to this agreement and trading the rights of a song in lieu of money. I want to make it clear that I am not party to this. I strongly protest what Rahman has done."

Nazrul’s grandson Anirban Kazi said he had expressed his reservations about the recreation of the song and would continue to protest.

"I feel deeply ashamed. How can an artist of Rahman’s caliber distort such an iconic song that has inspired people across the globe and generations this way? It is a callous attempt," said Mistee Kazi, the Dhaka-based granddaughter of the poet.

Chandra Kumar Bose, the grandnephew of freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose, said: "This kind of distortion of a revolutionary song which inspired many freedom fighters including the 'Bose Brothers- Sarat & Subhas', is an act of sacrilege."

"Strong condemnation on behalf of Boses."

So far Rahman has not issued a statement.

Pippa directed by Raja Menon stars Ishaan Khatter, Mrunal Thakur and Priyanshu Painyuli in the lead roles.