The countdown is on for the release of the highly-anticipated Ponniyin Selvan: 2 hitting cinemas worldwide on April 28. Directed by ace filmmaker Mani Ratnam and featuring music composed by Academy Award winner A. R. Rahman, the upcoming film is the sequel to the 2022 blockbuster, Ponniyin Selvan: 1, which went on to earn over 500 crores at the global box office. With only a few more days for the release of PS: 2, both Mani Ratnam and A. R. Rahman sat down for an exclusive interview with National Award-winning film critic Baradwaj Rangan, the Editor-in-Chief of Galatta Plus, to talk about the film and the music, including the chart-topping hit song 'Aga Naga'.
Explaining how their past collaborations over 30 years now represent a high-standard and how the pressure is from themselves and not the people, A. R. Rahman stated, "We've done so much of stuff. If we ever do something which is repetitive, we feel bored. I feel bored to give it to him (Mani Ratnam), first of all. And, he's got this amazing capability of judging what tune is more interesting to hear." Citing the 'Aga Naga' song in Ponniyin Selvan: 2 as a reference, Rahman said, "We were doing a lot of tunes. I did a lot of classical raaga-based stuff. And, then he said, 'AR, put that love song mode you put in Nenjukkule and Moongil Thottam. So, I said okay. Then, that's definitely lacking in this movie. So, he needs that stuff. So, I went on to the piano. I had like 8-9 ideas. And, Harini came in and we just took a voice version of it. And, then we were hearing it and suddenly Aga Naga was there. I had another tune actually. And, he picked that up. Even before release, it became popular, it became viral too."
'Aga Naga' in Ponniyin Selvan: 2 is sung by Shakthisree Gopalan to the lyrics written by Ilango Krishnan and is picturized on Karthi and Trisha. A portion of the song was first teased in Ponniyin Selvan: 1 last year when the characters of Karthi's Vanthiyathevan and Trisha's Kundavai meet for the first time.
Watch Mani Ratnam and A. R. Rahman in conversation with Baradwaj Rangan below: