Published 20:10 IST, February 23rd 2020
Maj Gaurav Arya praises ‘Teri Mitti’ lyricist, shares unseen video from Army camp
"Hello @manojmuntashir, the recent Filmfare awards were a disappointment. Teri Mitti should have won, hands down," wrote Major Gaurav Arya on Twitter.
Amid the ongoing controversy over Manoj Muntashir's song 'Teri Mitti' not winning an award recently, Major Gaurav Arya (Retd.) shared a heartwarming video from a remote Army camp that showed soldiers singing the soulful song.
Major Arya, Republic TV's consulting editor-strategic affairs, in an exclusive interaction said, "This song is about soldiers and what Manoj Muntashir has done... is sheer brilliance. Soldiers aren't good with words, but we think like this and he has exactly captured the true emotion."
The song 'Teri Mitti' is an emotional tribute to every soldier who sacrifices everything and lives for his motherland. Replying to Maj Gaurav Arya, Muntashir wrote, "Jinke liye likha tha, un tak pahuch gaya... What greater victory could I hope for? Thankyou @majorgauravarya for sharing this video. #TeriMitti lives on." [sic]
Further explaining and expressing what the song means, Major Gaurav Arya said, "The song calls out to the mother, wife, the motherland. It is an honour to die for the motherland. This is something that is a very basic soldierly emotion. Manoj has captured it very beautifully. I don't follow awards and I have given up on today's Hindi films and music. I am fond of old Hindi movies and old music. I have not seen the movie Kesari but the song is powerful, & not just because of the beautiful lyrics but because this is the 'real' emotion of soldiers."
This is beyond patriotism. Soldiers stay away from the family. In the army we say, 'If you die for the country, there is no greater honour than that.' It is only the soldier who has the honour to die for something bigger than himself — which is the country. And this song touches the chord."
Manoj Muntashir is one of the most popular lyricists in Bollywood. He has penned down the lyrics of many iconic songs like Galliyan (Ek Villian), Mere Rashke Qamar (Baadshaho) and has also bagged several awards for the same.
During the recent award show, rapper Divine and Ankur Tewari's song, Apna Time Aayega from Gully Boy bagged Best Lyrics award leaving Manoj Muntashir disappointed. His song, Teri Mitti from Kesari was also nominated for the same title. However, Teri Mitti lost to Apna Time Aayega from the Ranveer Singh starrer.
Soon after that, Manoj Muntashir posted a picture on his social media handle where he shared that he is boycotting the award shows.
Updated 20:10 IST, February 23rd 2020