All about Shoorveer, the Maharana Pratap song at centre of Mirzapur controversy

As Mirzapur: The Movie, featuring actors Ali Fazal, Pankaj Tripathi and Divyendu draws audiences in its opening weekend, its makers have drawn criticism from Rajasthani musician Rapperiya Baalam. Baalam alleged that his song Shoorveer was used in a sequence depicting gangsters without securing his permission or providing on-screen credit.In a video posted on Instagram, Baalam said he never imagined he would have to make such a post."Aaj to dil dukhaya hai (You have hurt me)," he said, adding that many people may ask why he is upset when his song has been featured in a film like Mirzapur. "The team never took my permission to use the song. This song was dedicated to Maharana Pratap Singh, and you’re using it to glorify villains? Is this okay?" he said.Baalam further said that if the Mirzapur team had approached him after liking the song, he would have given them "ten such alternatives." "But to use it without permission, I do not know who you took the rights from. I am hurt because I feel like you’ve insulted Rajasthan and Maharana Pratap ji. It’s not something I can digest," the musician added, highlighting that the warrior king had faced a lot for the country.The controversy also drew reactions online, with several social media users criticising the makers for using a song associated with the 16th-century Mewar warrior king in a gangster setting. Maharana Pratap ruled the Kingdom of Mewar, in north-western India’s present-day state of Rajasthan, from 1572 until his death in 1597. He is historically prominent for leading the Rajput military resistance against the expansionist campaigns of Mughal Emperor Akbar, most notably at the Battle of Haldighati in 1576.An Instagram page named Folk Music of Rajasthan backed the musician and wrote, "History is meant to be respected, not mixed with crime dramas for cheap entertainment value. As a Rajasthani i want to say please Do not mock the sacrifices of our heroes. Stop misrepresenting Rajasthani culture. #respecthistory #maharanapratap #shoorveer #saverajasthaniculture (sic)."The page also added, "The song 'Shoorveer' was written to celebrate the legacy and dignity of warriors. Turning around and inserting it into a gangster drama without the artist’s knowledge is bad enough but denying Rapperiya Baalam his rightful credits while everyone else gets theirs? That’s where the industry fails its independent creators. Mainstream platforms need to stop diluting regional history and bypassing legal courtesy."Numerous others also said the makers of Mirzapur should have approached Baalam before using the song. A user wrote, "Is it this hard to just give credits to the original makers, and to have some sense about what actually the thing was intended to deliver (sic)!!" Another user wrote, "Bhai ye to galat kara (This is really wrong) (sic)."A user also commented, "I enjoyed the whole movie until this song came up..for a minute my mind also could not process why this song was used in such a violent scenario (sic)."Mirzapur: The Movie is directed by Gurmeet Singh and written by Puneet Krishna. It is produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar under Excel Entertainment, and stars Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Divyenndu, Jitendra Kumar and Ravi Kishan.Based on the 2018 Prime Video series Mirzapur, the film credits John Stewart Eduri for the score, while Ray, Junaid Kumar, Anand Bhaskar and Dhanda Nyoliwala are credited for the music.According to Sacnilk, Mirzapur: The Movie earned Rs 7 crore on Day 3 internationally, taking its worldwide collection to Rs 132.35 crore in just three days.The film theatrically released on September 4, 2026.- EndsPublished By: Anurag BohraPublished On: Sep 7, 2026 15:41 IST