राम सिया राम

"Ram Siya Ram" is the bhajan from Anurag Kashyap's Bandar (2026), composed and sung by Shivahari Varma with traditional lyrics, released on Saregama on May 21, 2026. In the context of Kashyap's darkly ironic film — about a morally compromised television personality — the presence of a Ram bhajan creates a deliberate counterpoint: the sacred invocation persists in a world of secular corruption. Varma, who also composed the film's score, brings a restraint to this 3:06 track that makes it stand apart from the more contemporary sounds of the soundtrack.

Shivahari Varma arranges this traditional invocation with classical restraint: harmonium and tabla in a simple keherwa rhythm, with dholak adding texture in the second half. There is no attempt to modernize or electrify the bhajan's format — its antique simplicity is precisely its power in the context of Bandar's contemporary moral drama. Varma's voice is gentle but carries the weight of a practiced devotional singer.

The lyrics of Ram Siya Ram are from the traditional devotional repertoire of North India — their provenance is communal and ancient, placing the song outside individual authorship. In Bandar's context, these millennia-old words become a commentary on everything the film's characters have lost touch with.

Shivahari Varma serves as both background score composer and soundtrack contributor for Bandar — his dual role means the bhajans integrate seamlessly with the film's score. Kashyap's interest in devotional music as an ironic device has precedent: in Gangs of Wasseypur, religious songs were used in similarly complex ways.

In the tradition of Anurag Kashyap films, Bandar's use of Ram bhajan alongside hip-hop and indie-pop will be noted by critics as an example of the director's eclectic approach to musical worldbuilding.