The Kangana Ranaut-starrer Manikarnika – The Queen of Jhansi, has been earning a great deal of attention from the critics and audiences alike. Though it has received mixed to positive reviews due to its fine portrayal of the life of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, it has been criticised for its lengthy narrative. However, its music has been appreciated, which were produced in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil. “Rajaji” is a romantic song that chronicles the love story and marriage of the Rani and her husband Gangadhar Rao.
“Rajaji” is sung by Pratibha Singh Baghel, Shankar Mahadevan and Ravi Mishra, who has made headlines with her participation in various singing reality shows, and winning several awards in her career. The lyrics were written by Prasoon Joshi and the music was composed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy. The song was released on 31 January 2019, under the official music channel Zee Music Company.
Coming to the lyrics, “Rajaji” is essentially a very simple love song with a minimal background score. The emotions are portrayed through common jewellery sounds, birds, sunlight and shadows. It’s almost as if the Rani has dedicated the song to her husband ‘Rajaji’ (played by Jisshu Sengupta), who was then the Maharaja of Jhansi. The music just as uncomplicated, which lets the beauty of the song shine through more clearly. One can hear the use of the flute, percussions and strings in the song, which adds to the overall simplicity of the song.
Being a romantic song, it depicts the happy marriage between the Rani and Gangadhar Rao right from their wedding ceremony. There are some beautiful scenes in the song such as the mother deer-fawn scene in the forest, the playful sword scene, the pearl necklace scene and the library scene. The scene where Rao has an ‘elevator’ built for Lakshmibai so that she can reach for her favourite poetry books high in the library is perfectly beautiful and is the sign of a caring husband. Though none of them ever openly express their quiet love to each other in the song, it is clear that the couple shares a deep romantic connection and enjoy spending time in each other’s company. In a world where love is bold, “Rajaji” takes us back to the time when love was quietly expressed but it was true nevertheless.
Manikarnika – The Queen of Jhansi stars Kangana Ranaut, Jisshu Sengupta, Atul Kulkarni, Vaibhav Tatwawaadi, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub and Ankita Lokhande in the primary roles. The movie was released on 25 January 2019, and Kangana was particularly appreciated for her natural yet powerful portrayal of Lakshmibai.
