Janani from RRR: Why MM Keeravaani, the lyricist, also needs to be celebrated more?

MM Keeravaani, the composer, is deservingly earning all the laurels for his terrific, soulful composition, Janani, the song from SS Rajamouli's magnum opus RRR, that was launched in multiple languages today. The number, comprising a series of impactful reaction shots from the film, glimpsing the emotional turmoil of its pivotal characters, is a beautiful, important reminder of all the sacrifices behind the freedom that we enjoy as a nation now. The arresting visuals of KK Senthil Kumar, the intense expressions, the singing and the slick edits come together to leave a spellbinding impact.

Beyond the composition, visuals and the actors in the song, it's important to recognise the contribution of its lyricist of Janani - MM Keeravaani himself. The composer took to lyric writing with director Krish's last release, Konda Polam, where he penned three songs - Obulamma, Kadhalu Kadhaluga and Shwaasalo. The veteran's work was nothing less than what you expect even of an accomplished lyricist. His command over the language, his understanding of rhythm, poetic value and thematic relevance in the songs truly stood out and left us wanting for more.

While Konda Polam's commercial failure didn't help Keeravaani get his due as a lyricist, one couldn't have asked for a bigger or a better project than RRR for the world to know about his flair for lyric writing. The lines in Janani like, 'Nee paadha dhuli thilakam tho, Haalam prakashamavani', 'Aa neeli neeli gaganam..Satha vispulinga mayamai..Aa havana ganga dhvanule..Harinaasha garjanamulai' are full of exemplary visual imagery, lyrical flavour, that give much-needed depth to the visuals. It just shows his great taste with his word choice, minimalism and the stellar impact he can create within a few lines.

Janani is sung by MM Keeravaani in addition to a huge lineup of chorus singers comprising Ramya Behara, Sri Soumya Varanasi, Nayana Nair, Harika Narayan, Sahithi Chaganti, Snigdha Sharma, Gomathi Iyer, Aditi Bhavaraju, ML Gayatri, Hemachandra, Saicharan, Lokeshwar, and PVNS Rohit.

One wonders where was MM Keeravaani,the lyricist, all through his career? Better late than never, they say. It'll be interesting to see if the veteran would write lyrics for the songs of other composers too in the times to come. Jr NTR, Olivia Morris, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, Ram Charan, Shriya Saran play crucial roles in RRR, whose story is penned by V Vijayendra Prasad. The film is releasing in five languages - Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam - on January 7, 2022.