The musical journey of Ramayana has officially begun. On September 14, coinciding with Ganesh Chaturthi, the makers of Nitesh Tiwari’s Diwali 2026 epic released the film’s first song — Jai Jai Ram — composed by A.R. Rahman, written by Dr Kumar Vishwas, and sung by Arijit Singh and Shreya Ghoshal.

The devotional track brings together three of Indian music’s biggest names on a single composition, and it arrives with visuals of Ranbir Kapoor and Sai Pallavi as Ram and Sita, set against the grandeur of Ayodhya.

A Prayer Built to Grow Into a Cinematic Song

Rahman has spoken about the intention behind the composition — to keep the simple, repeated invocation of Shri Ram’s name at the centre, while letting the track expand from the intimacy of a prayer into something built for the big screen. The song works as a reinterpretation of the familiar devotional sentiment behind “Ram Siya Ram,” giving Ramayana its own distinct musical identity from the film’s opening notes.

Musically, the intention was to preserve the purity and intimacy of a prayer while allowing the composition to grow into a cinematic song. — A.R. RAHMAN, COMPOSER

Arijit Singh, Still Singing — Just Not “New” Assignments

The vocals on Jai Jai Ram have drawn particular attention because of who’s singing them. Arijit Singh announced in January that he would stop taking on new playback assignments, a decision that sent ripples through the industry and drew public reactions from composers like Vishal Bhardwaj.

Jai Jai Ram doesn’t contradict that announcement — Ramayana’s music was recorded well before the retirement news broke, part of the sizeable backlog of already-committed work Singh has said would keep releasing through 2026. If anything, the song is a reminder of exactly what listeners were worried about losing: fans online singled out his performance, with one listener writing about the emotional depth in his voice on the track.

Setting the Tone for Ramayana’s Musical World

With Ramayana: Part One still weeks away from release, Jai Jai Ram functions as more than a single song — it’s the first real signal of how the film’s soundscape will feel. A devotional core, delivered by voices audiences already trust with emotion, gives the marketing campaign a spiritual anchor well ahead of the trailer cycle ramping up further.

For a project as large in scale as Ramayana, opening the music with restraint — a prayer, not a spectacle — is itself a statement about what Rahman and the makers want the film to feel like.