AS NITESH TIWARI’S much-awaited epic film Ramayana is all set to hit theatres on November 5, 2026, and it has found itself embroiled in a brand-new controversy. On October 25, 2026, a new song from the film, titled ‘Mangal Rang,’ was released, and it has been making the rounds on the internet for all the wrong reasons. While some praised the song, others shared mixed reactions, claiming that its beats are inspired by qawwali.

The music for the film is composed by critically acclaimed, Oscar-winning music directors AR Rahman and Hans Zimmer. As soon as ‘Mangal Rang’ was released, netizens slammed Rahman for using qawwali-inspired beats in Ramayana. Qawwali is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional music traditionally performed at Sufi shrines, also known as dargahs. Composed by AR Rahman, ‘Mangal Rang’ is sung by Arijit Singh and Shreya Ghoshal, with lyrics penned by Dr Kumar Vishwas.

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Several social media users slammed the newly released song and even drew comparisons with the Tamil track ‘Enna Solla Pogirai’ from Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000), whose music was also composed by Rahman.

Netizens Slam Qawwali-Inspired Ramayana Movie Song

“Qawwali in Ramayana, AR Rahman never fails to disappoint,” wrote one user on X. Several listeners started comparing ‘Mangal Rang’ to other songs composed by Rahman, such as ‘Kun Faya Kun’ from Rockstar (2011). Users expressed their disappointment over the new song from Ramayana, suggesting that the music composer was not the right choice for the highly anticipated project, which is yet to hit the big screens.

A user wrote, “AR Rahman was the worst choice as music director for this movie. This sounds more like a Qawwali. Heavily inspired by his prior work in Rockstar and Jodhaa Akbar. Very ‘Kun Faya Kun’ vibes.” The user further slammed the music composer, who was previously criticized for his work on the 2025 drama film Chhaava, which was based on the story of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj of the Maratha Empire.

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“Seems like he barely put in any effort and just copied a Qawwali to teach ‘secularism’ to Hindus,” wrote another user on X. “AR Rahman really put Qawwali in Ramayana, and that too, copied from a Tamil movie,” alleged another user. A third user on X wrote, “I hope this song and music video are just for the promotion of the movie.”

Many users praised the new song from Ramayana and alleged that the hate against the music composer was an orchestrated attempt to malign his image. While one X user wrote, “LOL, this must be by AR Rahman; he's just too predictable and mediocre,” others called him “overrated.”

The song ‘Mangal Rang’ attempts to portray the sacred marriage of Lord Rama and Sita on screen, along with Sita’s swayamvar and visuals of their welcome in Ayodhya after their marriage. Three songs from the Nitish Tiwari-film have been released so far, with ‘Mangal Rang’ being the third.

Ramayana, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi, Yash, and Ravi Dubey, is a highly anticipated film reportedly made on a budget of Rs 4,000 crore, which follows the life story of Lord Rama. Produced by Yash and Namit Malhotra, Ramayana will be released in two parts, with the first part, titled Rise of a Legend, hitting theatres worldwide on November 5, 2026. According to reports, the second part of the franchise will likely be released on Diwali in 2027.

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(Edited by Harsh Pandey)

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