AR Rahman's Music Back To Add Flavor To Telugu cinema
With Ram Charan and Buchi Babu movie being planned as pan-India, A R Rahman is an apt choice and he is going to raise the bar on Telugu music,” points out Gopi Mohan.
Music maestro A. R. Rahman’s first song, Chikiri Chikiri, from Peddi has exploded onto the music charts and exceeded all expectations, becoming a massive chartbuster. The song has crossed 100 million views on YouTube and continues to surge in popularity. Ram Charan elevated the track further with his racy, stylish dance moves, which have also gone viral.
“This is just the beginning, and there’s a lot more to come,” says producer Ravi Shankar Yellamanchili. “The Ram Charan–A. R. Rahman's combination has clicked big time, and it is going to set new trends in music. The film, too, has immense potential,” he adds.
The song’s phenomenal success can be attributed to its catchy tune and wide appeal across languages. The Telugu version has secured 64 million views, followed by the Hindi version with 25 million. The Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam versions have also gained solid traction, clocking 5 million, 4 million, and 2 million views respectively. “It’s a rare achievement in just three weeks,” Ravi Shankar notes.
Chennai’s music wizard A. R. Rahman enjoys a massive global fanbase for his iconic compositions in Tamil, Hindi, English, Persian, and Mandarin. However, he hasn’t delivered as many memorable hits in Telugu cinema. “Rahman has begun on a fascinating note and is going to rock Tollywood,” says renowned writer Gopi Mohan, who points out that Rahman’s best-known Telugu songs often came from Tamil–Telugu bilinguals. “Though he composed music for a few straight Telugu films like Super Police, Gangmaster, and Komaram Puli, his songs in bilinguals such as Naani and Ye Maaya Chesave became a rage among Telugu music buffs,” he adds.
On Rahman’s limited involvement in Telugu films, Gopi Mohan explains, “Telugu filmmakers often work against tight deadlines and expect composers to finish quickly. But Rahman prefers working at his own pace with filmmakers who understand his process. Since he takes time to craft mellifluous numbers, he gradually reduced his Telugu projects.”