Sekhar Kammula clarifies on the Saranga Dariya folk song controversy

As the controversy surrounding the folk song Saranga Dariya from Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi starrer Love Story gets amplified, director Sekhar Kammula issued a note explaining his side of things.

The director wrote in the note that due credit will be given to singer

Komali

for bringing this traditional folk song to the forefront. He wrote, “The song was first sung by a singer called Sirisha on a TV show and it has stayed in my mind ever since. I loved the song so much, I wanted to put it in one of my films. When I saw that Love Story has the space for this number, I met Suddala Ashok Teja to develop the lyrics according to the story.”

He went on to write, “By the time we started shooting post lockdown, Sirisha had just delivered a baby. We decided not to disturb her. Singer Komali had popularised this song, but she was suffering from a sore throat and cold. Because we had announced a release date already, we brought Mangli on-board as we couldn’t wait.” He clarified that as promised, due credits will be given in the film. “We will credit her when the film releases and will invite her as promised to sing during the audio launch, if it happens. Remuneration will also be given,” he added.

While many wondered if Komali was going to get the credit for her work, why she wasn’t credited when the song was recently launched, the director seems to have put a lid on the controversy for now. Singer Komali had alleged that the makers had promised to credit her but didn’t. She had said, “It is unfortunate that rural folk artists are exploited and are going through such discrimination in

Tollywood

.”