Music composer MM Keeravani, whose 'Naatu Naatu' song in film 'RRR' won the Golden Globe award and got an Oscar nomination, was chosen to compose Telangana's anthem.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Hyderabad: As Telangana is gearing up to celebrate 10 years of state formation, the bitterness between both Telugu states has once again come to the fore. The Revanth Reddy government has been planning grand celebrations to mark the tenth anniversary of Telangana formation and wanted to release the state's official song, Jaya Jaya He Telangana.
As soon as Congress assumed power after the last year's assembly polls, the government picked Jaya Jaya He Telangana, penned by poet Ande Sri, as the state's official song. Besides picking a state's official song, the Congress government also wanted to change the state's emblem and initials from TS to TG.
The Congress government has chosen Tollywood's popular music director, whose Naatu Naatu song from the RRR movie won an Oscar, to compose the song. However, there are objections to choosing Keeravani, whose family has roots in Andhra.
“Tollywood and the Telangana movement are different. Tollywood is for entertainment, and on the other hand, the Telangana Anthem is a common thread of emotion that brought all hearts of Telangana together during movement. It’s not Hollywood that gave the tune to Jana Gana Mana and Vandemataram. By the way, if you are so impressed with Andhra musicians, please go to AP and be the CM there. If you sit on the CM’s chair in Telangana, you must respect the emotions of Telangana people and encourage Telangana talent, sir. We had enough of rule by proxies and Andhra agents. Many generations vehemently fought against such exploitative rules and lost their lives. Feeling hurt, to say the least,” said former IPS officer RS Praveen Kumar, who had recently joined BRS on X.
However, chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday in New Delhi revealed that Keeravani was chosen to compose the music based on Ande Sri's recommendation. He also said that Telangana's new emblem and anthem would reflect the spirit of the state and its people. He confirmed that the new emblem would not include the Kakatiya arch but would symbolise the Sammakka-Sarakka and Nagoba fairs.
Last Sunday, Revanth Reddy, along with Ande Sri, visited a recording studio in the city and held discussions with Keeravani on the tunes. It is learnt that Keeravani provided three different tunes and left the choice to the government to pick the final tune.