Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; November 17, 2017)

As Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s historic drama Padmavati closes in to its release, the singers of the magnum opus find themselves in a quandary. The filmmaker, we hear, has handed them the challenge of recording their songs in vernacular languages, as the film also prepares for a Telugu and Tamil release.

Pointing out that the singers have welcomed the development, a source from the music team tells mid-day, “While local singers are usually roped in for a film’s dubbed versions, Bhansali, is making the original set of singers record the songs in regional languages too.”

The development, the source says, will ensure consistency across the versions. Bhansali has also ordered his team to rewrite the lyrics in the languages, instead of merely translating the words of the Hindi version. “It’s a mammoth task. We have rewritten a different set of lyrics in the languages. The meaning however, is still the same. Since the music is crucial in this film, Bhansali found this treatment necessary.”

While work on the Telugu version wraps up today, the team will only begin translating lyrics in Tamil now. “It’s a beautiful feeling to be part of this soundtrack, which has an interesting confluence of different cultures. For the vernacular versions, Bhansali has added distinct elements of Carnatic music [usually associated with South Indian tunes] as well.”

Singers including Shivam Pathak, Divya Kumar and Shreya Ghoshal are involved in the process.