Imtiaz Ali recalled the uncertainty that existed between him and AR Rahman regarding the song “Kun Faya Kun”, as they did not want to hurt anyone’s religious sentiments.
Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali, reflecting on the creation of the song “Kun Faaya Kun” from the film Rockstar, said that due to the religious tone of the song, composer AR Rahman did not immediately agree with the idea. Both Rahman and Imtiaz were wary of hurting religious sentiments, but after considering the concerns, they decided to go ahead with the song. In an interview, Imtiaz also recalled how his plans on the sets failed due to some restrictions at Nizamuddin Dargah in Delhi.
Speaking on Ranveer Allahabadia’s podcast, he said, “We were brainstorming about the song; we wanted something nice and traditional. Irshad suggested ‘Kun Faaya Kun’ to Rahman. Rahman was astonished by this idea and asked, ‘Really? Are you sure?’ I didn’t know what these words actually meant, but both Rehman and Irshad knew. ‘Kun Faya Kun’ is straight from the Quran. This sentiment is also mentioned in the Bible, and it reminded me of a line from the Rig Veda that I read in my childhood. Its basic meaning in the Bible is, ‘be, and it was’, or, as I remember it from the Vedas, ‘Then, there was not even emptiness’.
He further said, “I firmly believe that most religious texts are attempting to communicate similar ideas in different languages. Be it the Quran or the Bible, or the Rigveda, when it comes to the idea of creation, it’s usually. But Rahman didn’t want to offend anyone; we didn’t want to offend anyone, because whenever you talk about matters of faith, you have to be careful because our intention is not to hurt anyone. We asked around, discussed it and ultimately decided to move forward, but with sensitivity. We made sure to be careful not only with the songs, but also with the visuals, because we didn’t want to offend anyone.
But when the shooting was about to begin at Nizamuddin Dargah in New Delhi, Imtiaz was disappointed to learn that all his plans would have to be cancelled. “When we show up, we learned that all our plans had to rework. We couldn’t use trolleys all over the place; we couldn’t keep the camera higher than the dargah because these were the rules. After reaching the location our entire shot broke down. 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 film was recently rereleased in theaters and reportedly grossed Rs 1.1 crore. Imtiaz’s latest film is Netflix’s acclaimed Amar Singh Chamkila.
