In 2005 after the release of Ketan Mehta’s Mangal Pandey: The Uprising, A R Rahman swore off period films. He decided that Mangal Pandey: The Rising will be his last period film.
In an interview with this writer in 2005 Rahman created a furore by declaring, “I’ve done too many period films in Hindi — 1947: Earth, Zubeidaa, Lagaan, The Legend Of Bhagat Singh, Water, Bose: The Forgotten Hero, Kisna. I’ve worked hard on each of the themes but the end result hasn’t been worth it. The songs were either pushed into the background or not used at all. Or worse still, used badly. I feel very frustrated by this. But what can I do? Composing tunes is my job. How they are used is not up to me.”
Rahman was unhappy with the way Subhash Ghai used his track Hum hain iss pal yahan in Kisna. “Though it was a love ballad, it wasn’t sung by the lead pair (Vivek Oberoi and Isha Shervani). It was placed in the background. That killed the song’s impact.”
But the worst experience for Rahman was Shyam Benegal’s Bose: The Forgotten Hero.
“It’s become Bose: The Forgotten Music,” Rahman joked. “Sahara(the producers) had promised a grand launch for the music and a grand premiere for the film. But none of it happened. I had worked really hard on the music but it came to zero.I’m done with period films now. I think Mangal Pandey would be last film of that ilk.”
Rightfully proud of his compositions in Mangal Pandey : The Rising, Rahman reveals how he had been offered three films about freedom fighters including Roland Joffe’s The Invaders. “But I chose Mangal Pandey. Yeah, the fact that Aamir Khan was in it did influence my decision. Aamir and I gelled well during Lagaan. In fact, I’m really proud of my work in Lagaan and 1947-Earth, which also starred Aamir.”