AR Rahman's Ramayana Music: What Is Known

AR Rahman is writing the music for Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana alongside Hans Zimmer, and the first song, Jai Jai Ram, is already out. With Part 1 due on Nov. 5, here is what is on record about the score and the singers, and what is not.

The two composers

India Today says the film's music brings together AR Rahman and Hans Zimmer, combining their distinct styles for the retelling. The Indian Express calls them Oscar-winning composers, and lists the film's visual effects as handled by DNEG. Neither outlet publishes a track-by-track breakdown of who composed what, and we have not guessed at one.

Jai Jai Ram

The Times of India reported on Sept. 15 that the first song, Jai Jai Ram, was composed by Rahman and sung by Arijit Singh and Shreya Ghoshal. It was released on Ganesh Chaturthi 2026 and introduced characters including Bharat, Shatrughan, Urmila, Mandavi and Shrutakirti, played by Adinath Kothare, Nitish Sharma, Sonia Balani, Riya Kapoor and Surbhi Das.

A call from Rahman

India Today reported on Oct. 16 that composer and singer GV Prakash Kumar, who is Rahman's maternal nephew, sang for the film after a phone call from his uncle. GV said, "The moment I came back from Ayodhya, I sang a song for Ramayana. It was surreal." He recalled, "I didn't know beforehand. While I was coming back from the airport, I got a call from AR Rahman asking me to come and sing."

GV said he lent his voice to Yash's Ravana and stressed that his contribution was only as a singer. He had been in Ayodhya to launch a song from Yami Gautam's Nayyi Navelli, Awadhiya Ke Raja. He also named Hans Zimmer as someone he would love to work with, and the report notes that Zimmer is involved in Ramayana's music.

The film around the music

India Today adds that the second trailer was unveiled in Bengaluru on Oct. 15, with Ranbir Kapoor as Rama, Yash's Ravana declaring himself ruler of the three realms and glimpses of Sai Pallavi as Sita. The Indian Express lists the film's makers as Namit Malhotra and Yash and gives the Nov. 5 release for Part 1 and Diwali 2027 for Part 2.

What stays unanswered

The sources do not say how many songs are in the film, which tracks Zimmer composed, or when the album will be released in full. That information will come from the makers. Until then, readers should treat claims about the score's shape as unsourced.

Why it matters

Pairing Rahman with a Hollywood film composer is a selling point, and the makers have used it in their promotion. How it works in the film can only be judged after release. That is our assessment and the sources do not offer a verdict.

What we could not confirm

We could not confirm the division of work between Rahman and Zimmer, the full track list or the album release date. We did not hear the song ourselves and relied on the Times of India's description. The India Today interview is with GV Prakash, and his account of the phone call is his own and has not been confirmed by Rahman's team. We found no on-record statement from Rahman or Zimmer in the sources we read.

Sources

*Cover photo: Desmond Herzfelder, Wikimedia Commons, *[*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A.R._Rahman_at_the_2025_Toronto_International_Film_Festival.jpg*](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A.R._Rahman_at_the_2025_Toronto_International_Film_Festival.jpg)* (CC BY 4.0).*