Varma twists national anthem for 'Rann'

New Delhi, May 6 (IANS) Twisting the Indian national anthem "Jana gana mana" to "Jana gana mana 'Rann' hai" won't be everyone's cup of tea. But filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, infamous for courting controversies with his movies, has gone ahead and done just that for his forthcoming project "Rann".

The lyrics of the title song go like this - "Jana gana mana Rann hai, is rann mein zakhmi hua hai, bharat ka bhaagya vidhaata, Punjab Sindh Gujarat Maratha..." Though the song hasn't been released yet, chances are that it would creat controversies. But Varma is unfazed as he says he hasn't shown it in bad light.

"I have not tinkered with the national anthem. Tinkering would be if I would have shown it in bad light. I haven't done anything of this sort. Through this song, we are talking about the disputes in the country but there were no intentions to ridicule anything," Varma told reporters Wednesday at a press conference in the capital where the first look of "Rann" was unveiled.

The filmmaker, who has made films like "Rangeela", "Satya", "Company" and "Sarkar", is confident that no authority would raise fingers at him for this.

"I think no one will have a problem with it. It's something I felt in my heart and it was my idea to place the song like this. It is based on the script of my film and I don't think there's any offence in it. Yet, if there is a problem, we will deal with that," he said.

Commenting on the same, megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who plays a pivotal role in the media-based film, said: "I am sure that before doing something, the producers have taken adequate legal actions. I have faith in them and I do believe that they have adhered to the requirements (of using the national anthem)."

"Rann" is an attempt by Varma to expose Indian media and apart from the Big B, it features actors like Paresh Rawal, Rajat Kapoor, Riteish Deshmukh, Manisha Koirala, Purab Kohli as well as Gul Panag.

Varma says his movie is based on 15 years of his experience in the Indian film industry and focuses on the "psychological aspect of the media business" rather than its "technical" side. Click the Movie button below for more info:
Rann