"Teri Mitti" () is a patriotic
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
song, written by
Manoj Muntashir
Manoj Shukla (born 27 February 1976), better known by his stage name Manoj Shukla ‛Muntashir’, is an Indian lyricist, poet and screenwriter. He wrote several successful Hindi songs for films. These have included "Teri Mitti", "Galliyan", " T ...
, composed by
Arko Pravo Mukherjee, and sung by singer
B Praak
Pratik Bachan (born 7 February 1986), best known by his stage name B Praak (formerly Prakky B), is an Indian singer and music director associated with the Punjabi and Hindi music industry. He started his career as a music producer, and later ...
. It was released in March 2019 and featured on the
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...
of the 2019 Hindi film ''
Kesari'', starring
Akshay Kumar
Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian-born naturalised Canadian Quote: "(Former prime minister Stephen) Harper campaigned in 2011 alongside one of Modi's biggest celebrity backer ...
and
Parineeti Chopra
Parineeti Chopra (; born 22 October 1988) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. Chopra is a recipient of several accolades, including a Filmfare and a National Film Award. She has appeared in ''Forbes India'' Celebrity 10 ...
, who later sang the female version. The aim of the song was to reflect a dying soldier's last thoughts in the film's final scene.
Nominated for best lyrics at the
Filmfare Award
The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...
in February 2020, when the song lost to "Apna Time Aayega" from ''
Gully Boy
''Gully Boy'' is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language musical drama film directed by Zoya Akhtar, and written by Akhtar and Reema Kagti. The film was produced by Ritesh Sidhwani, Akhtar and Farhan Akhtar under the banners of Tiger Baby Films and Excel ...
'', Muntashir's disappointment was relayed in a
tweet, making headlines in the press in India that month.
On 24 April 2020, with an image of a doctor embracing a map of India, a
reprise
In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...
of the song was released as a tribute to healthcare workers, police and other essential workers during the
COVID-19 pandemic in India
The COVID-19 pandemic in India is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). As of , according to Indian government figures, India has the second-highest n ...
.
''Kesari'' (2019)
"Teri Mitti" is a patriotic Hindi song which features as a tribute to soldiers on the soundtrack of the 2019 film ''
Kesari'', based on the
Battle of Saragarhi
The Battle of Saragarhi was a last-stand battle fought before the Tirah Campaign between the British Raj and Afghan tribesmen. On 12 September 1897, an estimated 12,00024,000 Orakzai and Afridi tribesmen were seen near Gogra, at Samana Suk, a ...
, which took place in 1897. It was released on 15 March 2019, a week before the launch of the film.
The lyrics were written by
Manoj Muntashir
Manoj Shukla (born 27 February 1976), better known by his stage name Manoj Shukla ‛Muntashir’, is an Indian lyricist, poet and screenwriter. He wrote several successful Hindi songs for films. These have included "Teri Mitti", "Galliyan", " T ...
, the music composed by
Arko Pravo Mukherjee and it was sung by
B Praak
Pratik Bachan (born 7 February 1986), best known by his stage name B Praak (formerly Prakky B), is an Indian singer and music director associated with the Punjabi and Hindi music industry. He started his career as a music producer, and later ...
.
According to Mukherjee, also referred to as Arko, they studied the film's scenes prior to first composing the music.
[ Subsequently, Muntashir explained how he filled the composition with words.] He later recalled that the aim was to reflect a dying soldier's last thoughts. In writing the lyrics he said in the same dialogue that he kept in mind a reference to Kaifi Azmi
Kaifi Azmi (born Athar Husain Rizvi; 14 January 1919 – 10 May 2002) was an Indian Urdu poet. He is remembered as the one who brought Urdu literature to Indian motion pictures. Together with Pirzada Qasim, Jaun Elia and others he participate ...
's words in " Kar chale hum fida", the sentiments of which Anurag Singh, ''Kesari's'' director, intended to re-create. The song plays at the end of the film, in the scene of the final battle.[ Mukherjee, having previously been responsible for romantic songs, said it was the "most emotional" song he had composed.] Following its release, he reported that "Twitter, Instagram were flooded for all three of us. Even Karan Johar was teary-eyed after listening to the song.” The song played high on Indian charts during early 2019. By 22 July 2019, the song video crossed the 100-million views mark on YouTube.
In February 2020, the song made headlines in the press in India when following its nomination for the 2020 Filmfare Award
The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...
for best lyrics, the song instead lost to "Apna Time Aayega" from ''Gully Boy
''Gully Boy'' is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language musical drama film directed by Zoya Akhtar, and written by Akhtar and Reema Kagti. The film was produced by Ritesh Sidhwani, Akhtar and Farhan Akhtar under the banners of Tiger Baby Films and Excel ...
''. When Muntashir subsequently tweeted his disappointment at the decision, which he said made both himself and millions of Indians cry, he gained support from fans and other lyricists including Neelesh Mishra
Neelesh Misra (born 4 May 1973) is an Indian journalist, author, radio storyteller, scriptwriter and lyricist. He is most known for his radio show, Yaadon Ka IdiotBox with Neelesh Misra on BIG FM 92.7. He is co-founder-editor of Gaon Connecti ...
and Neha Bhasin
Neha Bhasin (born 18 November 1982) is an Indian singer and songwriter. She is known for her playback work in Bollywood, Tollywood, Kollywood and independent songs in the genre of Indian pop and punjabi folk music. Bhasin has received seven Fi ...
. The message he tweeted contained a verse from the song itself and a pledge not to attend future award ceremonies;
Dear Awards, even if I try all my life...I won't be able to write a better line than 'Tu Kahti Thee Tera Chaand Hoon Main Aur Chaand Humesha Rahta Hai'. You failed to honor the words which made millions of Indians cry and care for their motherland. It would be a great disrespect to my art if I still continue caring for you. So here I bid you a final good bye. I officially announce- I won't attend any award show till I breathe my last. Alvida.
In response, Major Gaurav Arya stated that the lyrics reflected the thoughts and feelings of soldiers. Following the awards, a surge of Indians were reported to have been searching for "Teri Mitti" on Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
.
On 22 March 2021, at 67th National film awards, Praak won best male playback singer award for this song.
Female version (2019)
After the film's lead actress Parineeti Chopra
Parineeti Chopra (; born 22 October 1988) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. Chopra is a recipient of several accolades, including a Filmfare and a National Film Award. She has appeared in ''Forbes India'' Celebrity 10 ...
was discovered to be constantly humming the theme tune to the film during its promotions, a proposal from music supervisor Azeem Dayani led to the making of "Teri Mitti" in her voice. Accompanied by a video consisting of clips from the film, it took a total of four hours, according to Chopra. This female version was released on 17 April 2019, and was the second of her recordings, the first being Maana Ke Hum Yaar Nahin from the film '' Meri Pyaari Bindu''.
Reprise (2020)
On 23 April 2020, Kumar announced that the original song had inspired a reprise
In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...
version, in light of recent incidents towards healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in India
The COVID-19 pandemic in India is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). As of , according to Indian government figures, India has the second-highest n ...
and lockdown
A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely.
The term is used for a prison ...
in India. The new version, Mukherjee later confirmed, was Kumar's planned tribute to doctors and healthcare workers.[ On the same day, filmmaker Karan Johar, who produced the film, released a teaser to the song, attaching a message that read: "they are fighting to keep us safe and for that, we are forever grateful. A tribute from our hearts to theirs."]
The tribute-version was produced with the collaboration of Johar's Dharma Productions
Dharma Productions Pvt. Ltd., commonly known and doing business as Dharma Productions, is an Indian film production and distribution company established by Yash Johar in 1979. It was taken over in 2004, after his death, by his son, Karan Joh ...
and Zee Studios
Zee Studios is a film production and distribution studio established in 2012, as a subsidiary of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited. Known to include a library of productions under its predecessor banners Zee Motion Pictures and Zee Limelig ...
. Muntashir, Mukherjee and Praak returned to write the lyrics, compose the music and perform the song, respectively, and Kumar contributed with a performance in the video. On 24 April, the video was shared by Kumar on Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, with the caption ", #TeriMitti Tribute – an ode to our heroes in white, out now." Different from the original version in ''Kesari'', the lyrics continue on with "Sarhad pe jo wardi khaki thi, ab uska rang safed hua.", translating to "the uniform at borders that was khaki
The color khaki (, ) is a light shade of tan with a slight yellowish tinge.
Khaki has been used by many armies around the world for uniforms and equipment, particularly in arid or desert regions, where it provides camouflage relative to sandy ...
, is white now".[ The video features images and videos of events captured during the pandemic. After showing footage of attacks on medical staff, the last clip depicts Kumar with the final saying.]
Upon its release, actor Hrithik Roshan
Hrithik Roshan (; born 10 January 1974) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. He has portrayed a variety of characters and is known for his dancing skills. One of the highest-paid actors in India, he has won many awards, including six ...
responded by describing it as "heartfelt". With an image of a doctor embracing a map of India, India.com described it as "magic hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
will leave you teary eyed." On 28 April 2020, the video of the tribute version reached eight million views on YouTube. One police officer in Delhi reacted by reproducing his own version. On 28 April, ''India Today
''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new o ...
'' reported that his video "went viral" and was shared several hundred times shortly after being posted on Facebook. On 29 April, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a border patrol organization of India deployed along its borders with Tibet Autonomous Region. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces, established in 1962 in the aftermath of the Sino-India ...
recreated their own Teri Mitti-tribute version. With several lines substituted by their officers, their accompanying video included clips of ration distributions to difficult-to-reach areas and women stitching masks.
References
External links
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* {{YouTube, QiBeywmJoRY, Teri Mitti; reprise version (2020)
2020 songs
Hindi songs
2019 songs
Songs written for films
Hindi film songs
Songs written by Arko Pravo Mukherjee
Songs with lyrics by Manoj Muntashir