AR Rahman was concerned about offending religious sentiments with Rocktar’s ‘Kun Faya Kun’, asked lyricist Irshad Kamil, ‘Are you sure?’

Imtiaz Ali recalled the uncertainty that he and AR Rahman had about the song "Kun Faya Kun," because they didn't want to offend anybody's religious sentiments.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | May 31, 2024 01:17 PM IST

3 min read

AR Rahman recently collaborated with Imtiaz Ali on Amar Singh Chamkila. (Image: Imtiaz Ali/Instagram)

Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali reflecting on the making of the song “Kun Faya Kun” from the film Rockstar, and said that because of the lyrics’ religious overtones, composer AR Rahman wasn’t immediately sold on the idea. Rahman and Imtiaz were both wary of offending religious sentiments, but after considering the concerns, they decided to go ahead with the song. In an interview, Imtiaz also recalled how their plans went for a toss on set, because of certain restrictions at Delhi’s Nizamuddin Dargah.

Appearing on Ranveer Allahbadia’s podcast, he said, “We were brainstorming about the lyrics; we wanted something nice and traditional. Irshad suggested ‘Kun Faya Kun’ to Rahman. Rahman was chakachaund (stunned) at the idea, and he asked, ‘Really? Are you sure?’ I didn’t know what the words exactly meant, but both Rahman and Irshad were aware. ‘Kun Faya Kun’ is directly from the Quran. The sentiment in also invoked in the Bible, and it reminded me of a line that I’d read as a child in the Rig Veda. It basically means, ‘Be, and it was’ in the Bible, or, as I remembered it from the Vedas, ‘Then, even nothingness was not’.”

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He continued, “I strongly believe that most religious text are trying to communicate the same ideas in different languages. Regardless of whether it’s the Quran or the Bible, or the Rig Veda, when it comes to the idea of creation, it’s usually… But Rahman didn’t want to offend anybody, we didn’t want to offend anybody, because whenever you talk about faith, you have to be careful because it isn’t our intention to hurt anybody. We asked around, discussed it, and finally decided to go ahead, but with sensitivity. We made sure to be careful not only with the song, but also with the visuals, because we didn’t want offend anyone.”

But when the shoot was scheduled to begin at the Nizamuddin Dargah in New Delhi, Imtiaz was disappointed to learn that all his plans would have to be discarded. “When we showed up, we learned that all our plans would have to be redrawn. We couldn’t use a trolley at the entire location, we couldn’t put the camera at a height greater than that of the Dargah because those were the rules. Our entire shot breakdown was discarded after we reached the location. We were at zero. And then we redesigned the sequence.”

Originally released in 2011, Rockstar became a critical and commercial success, and earned strong reviews for Rahman’s music and Ranbir Kapoor’s central performance. The movie was recently re-released in theatres, reportedly earning Rs 1.1 crore. Imtiaz’s latest film is Netflix’s acclaimed Amar Singh Chamkila.

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