Ramayana: Music titans AR Rahman and Hans Zimmer team up for a musical odyssey

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The audience got a first glimpse of the film on July 3. If the vast and immersive strings and operatic vocals paired with bells, the drone of the tanpuras and a Hindi ditty layered on it all are anything to go by, then the soundtrack could be a sonic milestone.

A selfie posted by AR Rahman with Hans Zimmer — likely from Los Angeles, where both composers have residences as well as music studios — initiated a lot of anticipation among people. Interestingly, Zimmer’s presence in the film is expected to draw the West to the Indian epic tale that is largely unknown to them.

Rahman, who is familiar with Indian music as well as western, is likely to be a great conduit in bringing this collaboration together. “It’s a moment of disbelief… My aspiration is, with pride, how do we take our greatest culture, the greatest part of our history and share it with the world,” said producer Namit Malhotra at a promotional event for the movie on Thursday.

It will also be interesting to see how the two composers will bring their distinct and very individualistic sounds to the table. Blending it could be tricky, but it can become a world-class cinematic event if the two mavericks manage to get on the same page for the most expensive film India has ever made.