Trouble has come knocking before the team of Mirzapur: The Movie can celebrate its strong opening at the box office.

Rajasthan-based folk artiste Rapperiya Baalam is preparing to send a legal notice to Excel Entertainment over the use of his song Shoorveer, which he claimed has been used without his permission or credit in the Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, and Divyenndu-led crime drama.

According to Baalam, Shoorveer appears to have reached Gurmmeet Singh’s directorial feature through the distributor and the broader rights chain. “They have used the song through the distributor, the distribution rights and registrar, and True Music/Virtual Planet. But permission is [a crucial] thing. Nobody came to ask me. My voice and song have been used, and there is no credit. We already emailed Excel, we’ll send a legal notice as well,” he told mid-day.

The artiste’s larger concern is the manner in which Shoorveer — created originally by him along with Rajneesh Jaipuri and Honey Trouper — has been used on Divyenndu’s character Munna in Mirzapur: The Movie. “Shoorveer is a song about Maharana Pratap Singh’s valour, history, and the emotions attached to that legacy. Now you are using it in a situation involving Munna Bhaiyya. I have a major problem with that. To see it get used like this hurts me and I want it taken down from the film,” he asserted.

Baalam, who learnt about the song’s inclusion only when the film released on September 4, underlined that financial settlement is not what he is seeking. “I want my song out of the movie. I am not sitting here saying, ‘Give me money and everything is fine.’ This is not a money issue.”

mid-day reached out to Excel Entertainment, which remained unavailable for comment.

RRR (2022) has shown us that V Vijayendra Prasad has a knack for larger-than-life historical dramas. Now, the veteran writer has penned a script on Maharana Pratap, the 16th century king of Mewar. In his last discussion on the subject with mid-day, Prasad had said that Hrithik Roshan, Prabhas and Ranbir Kapoor were his choices to portray the king (‘Prabhas, Hrithik or Ranbir can play the part’, Jan 2, 2024). But the writer appears to have had a new thought. Having loved Vicky Kaushal’s performance as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj in Chhaava, he is keen that the actor lead his period piece.

“Vicky Kaushal was excellent in Chhaava. While Hrithik, Prabhas and Ranbir are very good for the role of Maharana Pratap, after Chhaava, Vicky is in the same league as them. He is perfect for the role of Maharana Pratap. He is tall and strong, and will be able to carry the weaponry well,” says the famed screenwriter. Legend has it that the Mewar king carried two swords that weighed about 25 kilos each. Through the drama, Prasad wants to highlight the king’s bravery and honesty.

He says, “Sometimes, our movies portray our warriors in a shabby way; they don’t show their glory but a good attempt has been made with Chhaava.”

In the yet-untitled period drama, Prasad will show how Maharana Pratap was the only Rajput king who did not bow down to the Mughals. It will be a fictional take with the story playing out in two timelines—the 16th century, and modern day where the king’s descendant is trying to clear the king’s name. 

About the plot, Prasad elaborates, “It will be a double role, with the actor playing Rana Pratap and his descendant. Akbar camped for two years to catch Rana Pratap but when he couldn’t, he took chests of money, gold, and jewels from Agra to give it to Rana Pratap but it never reached Delhi. The other royal dynasties felt that Rana Pratap had taken it all. Now it’s the job of Maharana Pratap’s descendants, a historian, to prove that he had never taken the money.”