Raftaar on the Mantoiyat controversy: Only wanted a hard-hitting song

Raftaar

Mantoiyat by Raftaar created a massive buzz and was loved by the audience when it came out in Nawazuddin Siddiqui's film Manto. The song soon went viral and Raftaar, too, couldn't believe the impact it had on everyone who heard it.

The song, however, was caught up in a controversy that Raftaar didn't expect. He was accused of copying the song from a Korean artist. In a recent chat with Neha Dhupia on her audio chat show No Filter Neha, Raftaar opened up about the issue. He said, "See, I was given this song 'Mantoiyat'. The lyrics were good, everything was good. We didn't want a song which is a hit, we wanted a song which was hard-hitting. And I could deliver it."

It all started when Raftaar went for the video shoot of the song. Raftaar explained, "So the video shoot, whoever was shooting, had designed a set which looks like one of these 'Keep-Up' band videos. See, I have no idea because I don't watch 'Keep Up' because it is not my kind of music. It is not my genre of music. So, I had no idea what video they are referring to. Then, the video released and everyone said that you have copied from BTS. But, what I am sad about is the fact that the real message of the song is somehow not coming out just because of this small stupid s''t."

In a recent chat with mid-day, Raftaar spoke about the factors that come into play when it comes to rap. He said, "Great artistes have a unique vision and a potential to be excellent. They are born with it and not doctored into it. A good rapper is one who is comfortable rendering a variety of sounds in different production styles. That comfort points to mastery of many necessary skills. But, I'd like to add that in music, [beauty] is in the eye of the beholder. That makes it harder to define what truly makes a rapper great. We have to consider the consensus by fans."

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