Manoj Muntashir criticized for his own religious hymn after criticizing songs from the film 'Ramayana'

Ahead of the release of the film 'Ramayana' by Ranbir Kapoor, scheduled for November 5th, discussions are active not only about the scale of the filming, the star cast, and visual effects, but also about the musical accompaniment. However, this time the discussion is not just about the talent of composer A.R. Rahman, who has won an 'Oscar' award, but about criticism of his new works.

As tracks from the film appear, debates intensify regarding innovation and creative experiments in the music. Claims arise about the presence of Sufi motifs in religious scenes, questions about melodies in the Qawwali style, and accusations of repeating Rahman's old themes.

The essence of this disagreement goes beyond evaluating individual songs. The central question is whether Rahman can create music for such an epic as 'Ramayana' that simultaneously matches the cultural experiences of the story and raises his own creative bar to a new level. More is expected from him, given his past work in films such as 'Rose', 'Dil Se', 'Rockstar', and 'Slumdog Millionaire'.

The release of the song 'Mangal Rang' on October 25th, dedicated to the events of Rama and Sita's courtship, marriage, and Sita's arrival in Ayodhya, was supposed to demonstrate how Rahman's music would connect the grandeur of these moments with his religious and cultural feelings. Nevertheless, the song became the subject of heated debate on social media. Users questioned why Sufi sounds and Qawwali elements predominate in such a sacred narrative as the wedding of Rama and Sita, rather than the traditional atmosphere of Bhakti music.

This discussion also involves Rahman's older compositions, including 'Kun Faya Kun' from 'Rockstar' and songs from the Tamil film 'Kandukondain Kandukondain'. Some social media users began drawing parallels between the new track and the famous song from 'Rockstar', known for its Sufi flavor. Critics interpreted this as an attempt by the composer to reuse his successful previous musical template.

Thus, the issue is not merely whether the song 'Mangal Rang' is liked. Questions are raised about the musician's creativity itself, who previously created unique musical worlds. Now it is being questioned whether there is anything new in the music for 'Ramayana', or if only the shadow of his past hits can be heard. There are also suspicions that the composer cannot create a completely new musical identity for such a grand project.

These accusations are significant for Rahman's reputation, as 'Kun Faya Kun' is one of the landmark works in his career. When a new composition is compared to this old hit, the debate goes beyond simple similarity. The question arises about the artist's ability to move beyond his established style and create a new musical world for every new story.

Another point of comparison is the Tamil film 'Kandukondain Kandukondain', whose songs, such as 'Enna Solla Pogirai', are often compared to 'Mangal Rang'. Viral videos on social media show a comparison of these two compositions. Notably, this Tamil track was also written by A.R. Rahman. Some users, analyzing the melody and harmonic combination, claim that 'Mangal Rang' contains a reference to Rahman's old Tamil track, which exacerbated the debate. The question has now become broader: is Rahman presenting his old works in a new guise?

The song 'Mangal Rang' is not the first instance of criticism directed at the music of 'Ramayana'. Previously, the track 'Ravana Tandav', created for the character of Ravana, was also criticized. Audience expectations for a powerful dance number seem to have been unmet, leading to a wave of disappointment after the song's release.

Following the increased criticism, Rahman commented on the music creation process and the social media feedback. He emphasized that creating any music requires significant effort and mental work during the conception stage. Receiving such reactions after such a long process leaves him no energy for explanations.

Rahman firmly stated that he worked with utmost honesty and hopes the public will appreciate his music without prejudice. He also noted that he cannot constantly rely on the success formulas of his previous films, such as 'Rockstar' or 'Slumdog Millionaire'. It is crucial for an artist to move forward.

Scandals in social media happen unexpectedly in the world of cinema sometimes. Recently, the famous composer Manoj Muntashir has once again been in the public eye due to a social media post that raised many questions among users.

The situation arose after the new track 'Mangal Rang' from Nitesh Tiwari's upcoming film 'Ramayana' was released. On the same day, Manoj shared the song 'Tu Hey Shital Dhara' from Prabhas' film 'Adipurush'. This provoked comparisons between the two films on social media, and users began asking Manoj questions about the timing of this post.

Manoj Muntashir published the song 'Tu Hey Shital Dhara' from 'Adipurush' on social media X on October 25th. Notably, at the same time, the new song 'Mangal Rang' from Nitesh Tiwari's film 'Ramayana' was presented. This fact became the reason for the start of discussions and criticism of Manoj's post by users.

One user sarcastically noted that Manoj Muntashir is quite cunning. According to this user, Manoj decided to share the 'Adipurush' song precisely when the 'Ramayana' song was being criticized on social media regarding its text and composition.

Another user reminded Manoj of his past work, writing in a comment: 'Can someone remind Manoj Muntashir that he wrote the dialogues for 'Adipurush'?'

Nevertheless, not everyone is criticizing the music of 'Adipurush'. Some users acknowledged that the film's songs were good and possessed emotional depth, but they emphasized that the controversial dialogues of the film cannot be ignored. One user called Manoj a good author, composer, and devoted follower of God, but questioned his manner of publication, expressing hope that his words would not offend the composer.

It is worth noting that the film 'Adipurush', released in 2023, faced serious criticism for its dialogues, visual effects, and the way the characters of Rama were portrayed. Prabhas played Lord Rama, Kriti Senan played Sita, and Saif Ali Khan played Ravana. After the escalation of disputes over the dialogues, the filmmakers made changes to some lines. Later, Manoj Muntashir apologized to people for the pain caused by some lines.

The issue was not limited to one song. Manoj Muntashir also shared another song from 'Adipurush' dedicated to the celebration of Lord Rama and Mother Sita's wedding. He accompanied the post with the caption: 'Auspicious wedding of Lord Shri Rama and Mother Sita. Listen to this song too, and then write in the comments what you think. You are welcome.'

However, even this post caused dissatisfaction among some users. One of them wrote: 'I apologize, but this looks very disgusting, sir.' Another user wondered why Manoj starts sharing 'Adipurush' songs every time a major track from 'Ramayana' is released. This user mentioned Manoj's previous apologies and asked if it was just a coincidence or if there was some special message behind it.

At the same time, the same user agreed that the 'Adipurush' songs were emotional and memorable, noting that praising the film's music and criticizing its dialogues are two different issues.

Some users on social media also mentioned Manoj's previous post. According to them, on September 14, 2026, when the track 'Jai Jai Ram' from 'Ramayana' was released, Manoj published the song 'Ram Siya Ram' from 'Adipurush' on his X account the next day.

Now, the songs from the new films 'Ramayana' and 'Adipurush' are being discussed in parallel. Some question the timing of Manoj's publications, while others compare the music and scandals of both films. For now, the discussion surrounding Manoj Muntashir's posts continues on social media, but there is no information about his response to these questions. Therefore, it is difficult to say whether the timing of these song releases was accidental or if there was a specific reason behind it.