RCB anthem riles local fans

The song contains only a smattering of Kannada while the majority of the lyrics is in Hindi

April 10, 2021 08:12 am | Updated 12:28 pm IST

A video grab of the RCB anthem for IPL 2021.

A video grab of the RCB anthem for IPL 2021.

For the second consecutive season, IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) faced the ire of Kannadigas upon the release of their team anthem. Fans were upset that the song contains only a smattering of Kannada while the majority of the lyrics is in Hindi.

The video is identical to the one used last year, save for a few scenes which feature new players.

The Bengaluru franchise had received similar criticism last year as well.

Many Twitter users expressed their disappointment with hashtags #StopHindiImposition and #ServeInMyLanguage. Another user, ‘@archie2992’, posted, “This is ridiculous, @RCBTweets. Other than for 2 lines in Kannada, this anthem is in Hindi and English primarily. There is something called regional pride, one that your management has heavily neglected and almost damaged over the years. This is not okay.”

Some fans defended the use of Hindi in the team song given that RCB is led by superstar cricketer Virat Kohli, who commands a following worldwide.

RCB’s approach to building a strong local fan base is in contrast to most other IPL sides, which compose anthems in their regional languages. RCB is owned by United Spirits Limited (USL), a subsidiary of British multinational Diageo.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.