Before Ramayana, Hans Zimmer Invited AR Rahman to work together 15 years ago, but...

Ranbir Kapoor's Ramayana: The Rise of Legend is set to hit theatres on November 5, ahead of the Diwali weekend. Ahead of its release, the film is already facing intense scrutiny over its songs, composed by Oscar-winner AR Rahman in collaboration with Hans Zimmer. It is one of the most talked-about collaborations to have ever taken place in Indian cinema. But did you know that Zimmer had actually invited Rahman to collaborate 14-15 years ago?

Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, produced by Namit Malhotra and Monster Mind Creations, the adaptation of the Hindu epic stars Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi and Yash as Ram, Sita and Ravana, respectively.

Did you know Hans Zimmer invited AR Rahman to work with him 10 years ago?

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Rahman, who generally works alone on a project, called this collaboration with Zimmer a smart move by the producer

‘’It is a great move by the producer,” Rahman said.

Not only this, but he also revealed that Zimmer had actually called him up to collaborate several years ago, shortly after his Oscar win for Slumdog Millionaire.

“He had actually invited me to work together 14–15 years ago, right after the Oscar, but back then I was in chill-out mode,” Rahman recalled.

However, the composer was taking a break from work at the time, and that's the reason he didn't accept the offer.

AR Rahman breaks silence on backlash over Ramayana songs: ‘No energy left to look at feedback!’

Amid growing online debate over the music of Tiwari's Ramayana, Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman has finally broken his silence.

In an interview with Hindustan Times, Rahman addressed the mixed reactions to his compositions, revealing that he prefers not to track feedback.

In an interview with Hindustan Times, the singer-composer said, “We do so much work, filtration, ideation, and iteration that there’s no energy left to look at feedback! We just put it out because it’s been tried and tested so much. My son keeps telling me, ‘This is what they said yesterday, now they’re apologising…’ I say fine, I’ve done my work sincerely and hope people celebrate it.”

Rahman's reaction came after Mangal Raat, sung by Arijit Singh and Shreya Ghoshal, drew mixed reactions from the netizens, who compared the song with a Qawalli. However, other netizens felt that the ‘’Jai Shri Ram'' song was rehashed from his 2000 track ‘’Thaniye Thananthaniye''.

Talking about the sheer scale of the project, Rahman admitted that this is new territory even for a global icon like him. "This is the most exciting project I’ve ever worked on. I've never done such a big movie ever in my life," gushed Rahman. With nearly 70 percent of the album already out, including the powerful track ‘Jai Jai Ram’, fans are already hooked, but Rahman promises that the best is yet to come as the film approaches its release. “It's a good time now, because we worked on this for almost three and a half years. And now, it's nice to see the response. ‘Jai Jai Ram’ is out, and almost 70 percent of the album is released. We have some surprises coming up next."