Translation has always been an important device in propagating one’s own culture. Instead of using a different language as an interface between the audience and the movie makers, translating and releasing a film in a number of languages helps decrease barriers, making it more relatable and enjoyable for the viewers. In this way, it also leads to the film reaching a wider audience and opens up bigger markets to expand into.
S. Shankar‘s next film “Game Changer” is all ready to hit the big screens in December. With countless viewers looking forward to seeing Ram Charan as the leading hero for literally the 19th time, there are to be expected many wow factors . Quite interestingly, one particular song from the film has been making the rounds. It is none other than “Raa Macha Macha“, the character introduction song of Ram Nandan.
It seems as if director S. Shankar has left no stone unturned. With the intervention of renowned choreographer Ganesh Acharya, the song features sequences and performances from a 1000 folk dancers alongside hero Ram Charan. The visuals for “Raa Macha Macha” are nothing short of a spectacle.
Usually, character introduction songs require something that would immediately vouch for the attention of the audience and make them more curious about what to expect from the person they see on the screen. For the Tamil and Telegu speaking communities, it comes with little speculation that “Raa Macha Macha” will surely have the diasporic audience grooving to its beat. But it does the filmmaker little benefit to expect the same reaction from the greater population of Hindi speakers in India and abroad. The beautiful trick of translation does its part here! By adapting to the needs of the people, thus, the creation of “Dam Tu Dikhaja” carries a lot of significance.
There is no compromise on the vibrance of the song as singer Nakash Aziz has recorded the Tamil, Telegu and Hindi versions of the song. Though the beautiful composition by Thaman S remains untouched, the lyrics penned by Anantha Sriram make it a Telegu headbanger. To add to the fervour, the song’s Tamil version lyrics are penned by Vivek and the Hindi lyrics are penned by Kumaar. All we can say is that the collaboration of these different geniuses is sure to increase the appeal of the music!
And it looks like our predictions are vastly correct! Within almost 9 hours of the official release of all three versions of the song on the 30th of September, the official Telegu version of “Raa Macha Macha” has garnered over 10 million views, with the Hindi and Tamil versions following close behind!
As a cinematic marvel, it is almost the responsibility of the creator to make sure that his work of art is accessible to the people not well versed in his native tongue. So this act of translation also accounts for a sort of ‘preservation of art’ as without it, the film would gather less reception. We hope director S. Shankar is successful in his ardent endeavour.