Hyderabad: It has been a decade since Telangana separated from Andhra Pradesh, but regional sentiments and acrimonies are refusing to die down between the two Telugu states, with a new controversy erupting as the former gears up to celebrate its formation day on 2 June.
In a fresh row, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leaders are questioning Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy over his decision to pick an “Andhra origin” music composer, Oscar-winner M.M. Keeravani, to set Telangana’s state song ‘Jaya Jaya He Telangana’ to a new tune.
BRS leader and former IPS officer Praveen Kumar asked Reddy to “respect the emotions of Telangana people and encourage Telangana talent”, adding that the Congress leader should become the Andhra Pradesh CM “if he is so impressed with Andhra musicians”.
అందెశ్రీ తెలంగాణ రాష్ట్ర గీతం పై ఆంధ్రా' సంగీత దర్శకుడు ఎమ్ఎమ్ కీరవాణి పెత్తనం ఏంది భై ? గీత స్వరకల్పనకు మళ్లీ ఇప్పుడేం అవసరమొచ్చింది?? అయినా తెలంగాణ కవులపై ఆంధ్ర సంగీత దర్శకుల పెత్తనం ఇంకెంత కాలం? అదీ తెలంగాణ వచ్చి పదేళ్లయినంక??
ముఖ్యమంత్రి @revanth_anumula గారు,
కీరవాణి… pic.twitter.com/yMd2sRVrRl
— Dr.RS Praveen Kumar (@RSPraveenSwaero) May 27, 2024
Reddy plans to have the recomposed song released by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi. The CM was in Delhi Tuesday to invite her to the decennial fete in Hyderabad.
The song Jaya Jaya He Telangana was popular during Telangana’s statehood agitation. Written by an unlettered Telangana poet and lyricist Ande Ellanna, popularly known as Ande-Sri, it captured the zeitgeist of the movement.
Significantly, former CM K. Chandrashekar Rao’s government, which held power in the state for two terms after Telangana was granted statehood, has been accused of not giving the song its due during his tenure.
After sweeping to power last December, the Congress government in February decided to make the song Telangana’s state anthem, to be played at educational institutions and official ceremonies, among other places.
Keeravani is a popular music director and singer, especially in South India. A Padmashri recipient, Keeravani’s song ‘Naatu-Naatu’ from S.S. Rajamouli’s 2022 film RRR, won an Oscar and a Golden Globe, among other international awards.
The music director, who lives in Hyderabad and works predominantly in the Telugu film industry, hails from Kovvur near Rajamahendravaram, better known as Rajahmundry, in Andhra Pradesh. He is a cousin of popular director Rajamouli.
On his part, Keeravani declined to comment on the row but said he was working on the song with the writer Ande-Sri after discussions with the CM.
Reddy visited Keeravani’s studio in Hyderabad along with Ande-Sri Sunday.
“The outcome of our effort would be out on 2 June for everyone to see and listen to,” he told ThePrint.
The chief minister has denied having roped Keeravani in. Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Reddy said the task of recomposing the song had been given to the poet Ande-Sri and that the selection of the musician was not his responsibility.
Meanwhile, a senior Telangana official called Kumar’s outburst “small-minded.”
“For reasons best known to him, KCR as CM ignored Jaya Jaya He. Erudite in Telugu literature, maybe he thought something was amiss (about the song),” the official said.
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‘A historical mistake’
The song Jaya Jaya He Telangana recounts the historical, art, and cultural greatness of Telangana — describing everything from the valour of the Kakatiya rulers and tribal icon Komaram Bheem to the region’s rivers — and yearns for a peaceful and prosperous “swarashtra” (own state).
The CM’s Sunday meeting with Keeravani came a day after the Telangana Cine Musicians Association wrote an open letter to him saying that his decision to go with the music composer “would be a historical mistake”.
“It is unfortunate the stirring song was not adopted as the state anthem by the previous government. While it makes us happy, proud that you are bringing it back to life, handing the song to Keeravani for music composition, we regret to say, will be a historical mistake,” the letter said.
It also sought to remind Reddy that the Telangana agitation was a fight for its astitvam (existence) and job opportunities.
“You know it all; now, other states’ singers-composers involvement in our state anthem would be humiliating to Telangana artists,” the letter said.
Telangana Cine Musicians Association president Ballepalli Mohan said that theirs “is a suggestion and that in their small capacity, they cannot oppose a CM’s decision.”
“We have several talented composers from Telangana, including some young, brilliant, and in demand lot like Bheems Ceciroleo. Why not give them the chance?” Mohan, who’s also a music director, told ThePrint.
In his post on X, BRS leader Praveen Kumar said Reddy “must respect the emotions of Telangana people and encourage Telangana talent”.
“We had enough of rule by proxies and Andhra agents. Many generations vehemently fought against such exploitative rule and lost their lives,” Kumar, who switched to BRS from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and is the party’s candidate from Nagar Kurnool, said on X.
Remarking that Jaya Jaya He “is not Naatu-Naatu for Keervani to be involved”, Kumar also questioned the need to have the song recomposed and further said, “Tollywood and Telangana movement are different. Tollywood is for entertainment and, on the other hand, Telangana anthem is a common thread of emotion that brought all hearts of Telangana together during the movement. It’s not Hollywood that gave tunes to ‘Jana Gana Mana’ and ‘Vande Mataram’”.
While the song continued to enjoy public support even after the statehood agitation ended with the 2014 bifurcation, in March 2021, when questioned why it wasn’t played in the assembly, KCR, then chief minister, clarified that it wasn’t the official state anthem.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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