Ramayana Rahman-Zimmer collab: How exactly is music composed for films?

The Indian Express · Explained Desk · 2026-11-06 01:23 UTC

As Hans Zimmer and AR Rahman's work in Ramayana is released, here’s how film music is created, from the first conversation with a director to the final recording. Hollywood and Bollywood differ, but have overlaps.

Music in a film can establish the mood of a scene, convey a character’s emotions, build tension or make an ordinary moment memorable. But how does a composer decide what a film should sound like? And how does the process of creating a film score differ from composing songs for a movie?

The collaboration between German-born Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer and Indian composer AR Rahman for Nitesh Tiwari’s two-part Ramayana brings these questions into focus. The two are working on the film’s music and score, combining their different musical backgrounds for a production that has been conceived in multiple languages and versions.

How does composing for a film work?

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