Alli Poola Vennela: AR Rahman, Gautham Menon's musical ode to Bathukamma receives mixed responses

Songs, especially when they are meant to reflect the spirit of a festival unique to a particular region, work best when the composer and the director truly make an effort to understand the sensibilities, culture and ethos of its residents. Bringing names like Gautham Menon and AR Rahman to compose a single on Bathukamma may sound pompous on paper and guarantee widespread reach, but it's certainly a double-edged sword. Alli Poola Vennela, the single marking their collaboration, is a melodic delight and shot beautifully, though it's an inaccurate representation of the region, in terms of lyrics, dances and the energy of the festival.

It's only natural that Alli Poola Vennela while raking in huge numbers on YouTube, has still received mixed responses all around. While most viewers haven't dismissed the team's efforts completely, the disappointment is about the fact that they didn't pay adequate attention to detail. There are portions in the song that features Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam dances too and it's totally surprising that lyricist Mittapalli Surender (known for his Telangana folk numbers) barely conveys the spirit of the Telangana slang in the number. Replacing the conventional folk tune with a melody may have been AR Rahman's creative choice, but it's sad that the lyrics, visuals don't fall in place at all.

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Social media is abuzz with a debate on the various choices made by the Alli Poola Vennela team. While one section of the audience is fine with the few liberties taken by the director, happy that the beauty of Bathukamma would get a global facelift, another lot opines that the song is a sophisticated, sanitised look at the festival without understanding its essence. Rakshita Suresh, Haripriya, Deepthi Suresh, Aparna Harikumar, Padmaja have sung the number choreographed by Brinda. Mekha Rajan, Anagha, Angelina feature in the number which has additional vocals by Uthara Unnikrishnan as well. Siddharth Nuni is the cinematographer.

Also read: AR Rahman's new music video Allipoola Vennela to mark the celebrations of Bathukamma flower festival