"Jiyo Utho Badho Jeeto" (; also known as "Oh Yaron Ye India Bula Liya") is a song by Indian musician

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967), also known by the initialism ARR, is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinem ...

. It was the official anthem for the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 201 ...

, which was held in

Delhi, India Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its right bank, Del ...

between 3 October and 14 October 2010. The highly anticipated song was released on 28 August for

digital download Digital download may refer to: *Downloading, the processing of copying data to a computer from an external source *Digital distribution, a method of downloading software or audio-visual media as opposed to buying it at a traditional point of sale * ...

, receiving notably mixed responses from the Organising Committee, critics and listeners alike. The music video of the song was released on 23 September, which featured only a shorter version of the song. The new version became the official anthem, since it received very positive responses. The title of the song is based on the motto of the games, "Come out and play". "Jiyo Utho Badho Jeeto" was first performed by Rahman at the song release function held at

Kingdom of Dreams Kingdom of Dreams was an entertainment complex located in the Indian city of Gurgaon. Owned by the Great Indian Nautanki Company (GINC), a joint venture between Apra Group and Wizcraft, and opened in 2010, the facility consisted of two auditor ...

Gurugram, Haryana Gurgaon (), officially named Gurugram (), is a satellite city of Delhi and administrative headquarters of Gurgaon district, located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest o ...

on 28 August 2010. The song was dedicated to

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

Background

was chosen to compose the theme song way back in 2009. The

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

Organising Committee officially signed on Rahman to compose the song in April 2010. Rahman asked 15 crores as remuneration, a very large sum. The Group of Ministers approved the song on 15 August 2010. Rahman would also be associated with the promotional events of the sporting event. About the selection of the song as the official anthem, Rahman said, "It’s definitely an honour composing this theme song. I hope people like it and it becomes the spirit of the whole Commonwealth Games."

Composition

The song was composed and performed by

. It is the second time Rahman has composed for a sports event, the previous one was in 2008 for

Champions League Twenty20 The Champions League Twenty20, also known as the CLT20, was an annual international Twenty20 cricket competition played between qualifying domestic teams from some major cricketing nations. The competition was mainly launched with an ambitiou ...

. The lyrics for the song, in Hindi with partly English words, were penned by Mehboob, who also penned Rahman's " Maa Tujhe Salaam". It took nearly six months for Rahman to complete the song. Rahman, who started the work in April, was still modifying the song on the day before the song release. Additional arrangements of the song was done by

Ranjit Barot Ranjit Barot is an Indian film score composer, music director and arranger, drummer, and singer based in Mumbai, India. He is a long-time associate of A. R. Rahman. John McLaughlin has described him as one of the "leading edges" in drumming. ...

, while the chant "Jiyo Utho Badho Jeeto" was by Mehboob Alam.

Release

The song release was preceded by a promotional event held at Delhi. Rahman unveiled the title of the song and sang the initial lines, ''Oh Yaron Ye India Bula Liya''. On being asked if it was in the style of "

Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" is a song by Colombian singer Shakira, featuring the South African band Freshlyground. Co-written by Shakira and John Hill (record producer), John Hill, it was released on 7 May 2010 by Epic Records as the Li ...

" (the theme song for

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

) Rahman answered that he was not trying to replicate

and that he wanted to go beyond what already exists. Rahman also stated that the song would be out within ten days. At this event, Rahman dedicated the song to

. The song was officially released on 28 August 2010. Organising Committee Chairman

Suresh Kalmadi Suresh Kalmadi (born 1 May 1944) is an Indian politician and senior sports administrator. He is a former member of the Indian National Congress. He was a member of parliament from Pune until May 2014. He is alleged to have been involved in cor ...

unveiled the song in the inaugural ''Swagatham'' ceremony held at

Gurgaon Gurgaon (), officially named Gurugram (), is a satellite city of Delhi and administrative headquarters of Gurgaon district, located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest ...

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

. The release function was also preceded by speeches by

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

Chief Minister

Sheila Dikshit Sheila Dikshit () (née Kapoor; 31 March 1938 – 20 July 2019) was an Indian politician. The longest-serving chief minister of Delhi, as well as the longest-serving female chief minister in Indian history, she served for a period of 15 year ...

and her

counterpart

Bhupinder Singh Hooda Bhupinder Singh Hooda (born 15 September 1947) is an Indian National Congress politician, who has served as the Chief Minister of Haryana from 2005 to 2014. He was the Leader of the Opposition in Haryana Legislative Assembly from 2019 to 2024 ...

. Rahman performed the song live at this event, which lasted for five minutes.

Reception

The original version of the song received notably mixed responses, with many listeners and critics claiming to be disappointed, having expected better results from Rahman. Rahman was openly and downright criticized by the Organising Committee's member, including board executive member

Vijay Kumar Malhotra Vijay Kumar Malhotra (born 3 December 1931) is an Indian politician and a sport administrator. He belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was born in the Lahore city of Punjab (British India), Punjab in British India which is now in Pakistan ...

and former sports minister Shahnawaz Hussain, who quoted that the song was nowhere near " Waka Waka", comparing it to

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977) is a Colombian singer-songwriter. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Music", she has had a Cultural impact of Shakira, significant impact on the ...

anthem, and that "no one in the Organising Committee likes it except perhaps

", whilst noted musicians from the industry also expressed their disappointment. Reports also suggested that the committee had asked Rahman to recompose the song. Later in an interview with

NDTV New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. It was founded in 1984 by economist Prannoy Roy and journalist Radhika Roy. NDTV began as a production house for news segments, ...

, Rahman apologized for the disappointment caused by his anthem, admitting that the track was "not up to the mark". He furthermore added, "I am sorry to have let anybody down; but I'm definitely proud of the composition". In a statement published in ''

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

'', Rahman thanked all those who gave him extremely positive and encouraging responses when the original song released. It still managed to set a new record within two hours of its release, mainly due to the high anticipation by fans. In that time-frame it became one of the most searched for songs on the Internet with more than 7,000 downloads. Following the criticism, a shorter and tweaked version of the song was released along with the video on 23 September. The shorter version, however, was met with positive responses and was cited to be peppier and more apt as a sporting anthem, hence replacing the original version as the official anthem. The music video, directed by

Bharat Bala Bharath Bala is an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Career Bharat Bala produced the acclaimed album ''Vande Mataram (album), Vande Mataram'' and the ''Jana Gana Mana Video.'' He heads BharatBal ...

featured Rahman himself.

Music video

A 2.08 minutes long music video was released on 23 September, and was directed and produced by

. Feroz Khan was the choreographer, Varun Bahl the designer and Vijayta Kumar the stylist. The music video featured

Milkha Singh Milkha Singh (20 November 1929 18 June 2021), also known as "The Flying Sikh", was an Indian track and field sprinter who was introduced to the sport while serving in the Indian Army. He is the only athlete to win gold at 400 metres at the A ...

Saina Nehwal Saina Nehwal (; born 17 March 1990) is an Indian badminton player. A former world no. 1, she has won 24 international titles, which includes ten Superseries titles. Although she reached the world's 2nd in 2009, it was only in 2015 that she was ...

and Samresh Jung.

Live performances

A. R. Rahman performed the track for the first time at the release function of the song on 28 August 2010 at the

amphitheatre in

Gurgaon, Haryana Gurgaon (), officially named Gurugram (), is a satellite city of Delhi and administrative headquarters of Gurgaon district, located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest o ...

. Rahman took 5 minutes to sing the song, which was live telecasted on

and several websites. The performance was preceded by colourful dances, including for the song '' Jai ho'' by Rahman. Rahman's rendering was accompanied by dance performances by

Hussain Kuwajerwala Hussain Kuwajerwala is an Indian television actor, host and model. After several modelling campaigns and commercials, Kuwajerwala landed a role in the popular soap opera ''Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi'' which was followed by a lead role in ...

, Gauhar Khan and Kashmira Irani, on the theme of Zangoora - The Gypsy Prince. Choreographed by renowned dance director Shiamak Dawar, the performance started with Hussain descending from the top of the stage clasped in an eagle's clutches. Rahman also performed the song live in the opening ceremony of the XIX commonwealth games 2010 New Delhi on 3 October.

References

{{authority control 2010 songs Indian songs Songs with music by A. R. Rahman Sports events official songs and anthems Songs in Hindi 2010 Commonwealth Games Songs with lyrics by Mehboob Kotwal