Does Tamannaah Bhatia's Chhathi Maiya song get Chhath right, or is it too Bollywood?

The newly released Chhathi Maiya song from Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia's upcoming film The Vvaan: Force of the Forrest brings Chhath Puja to the centre of its story. But how closely does the song follow the traditions of the festival? We spoke to people from Bihar and Jharkhand who perform the big puja to find out.

Chhath Puja is not simply a festival of colour and celebration. Spread across four days, it is marked by fasting, discipline, devotion and prayers to the Sun. On the third and fourth days, devotees gather at water bodies, including rivers and ponds, to offer arghya to the setting and rising Sun. In recent years, particularly after the pandemic, many families have also created arrangements such as temporary rubber pools on terraces when visiting a water-body is not possible.

Against this backdrop, Chhathi Maiya attempts to recreate the atmosphere of a Chhath ghat on a cinematic scale. The song, composed and sung by Vishal Mishra, has a devotional quality, while its chorus is reminiscent of traditional Chhath songs that have long been played in homes and at ghats during the festival.

But when the song is viewed from a traditional perspective, there are some details that stand out.The soop, the saree and the offerings

One of the most recognisable elements in the song is the bamboo soop (winnowing basket) carried by Tamannaah and the other women. Traditionally, these soops are part of the offerings prepared for Chhath and are arranged together before devotees head towards a water-body, usually just ahead of sunset.

There is also a difference in the way the soop is shown being handled in the song.

Speaking about the depiction, Anubhuti Singh, who hails from Bihar and has participated in the festival, said, "The music video in itself does not do a credible job of how the puja is performed traditionally. The soops that the women are shown carrying in the clip are not held by them during the ritual initially, but are handed to them as they go in water, waiting for the sun to rise. Additionally, the saree worn by the lead actor is more reminiscent of a Karva Chauth than a Chhath Puja. Far too red in my opinion. Unlike, say, a Karva Chauth, Chhath Puja has very little to do with marriage, a husband or a wife. It is done sometimes for wish fulfilment, to offer prayers, gratitude and to pay respect to our roots and to mother nature at large, which is why the Sun holds such a significance in the puja."

"The track is Bollywood-ised, but that was expected. However, once the chorus begins, that is when one is reminded of the soulful Chhath geet which used to play on music systems and radios when we were growing up," she added.

The use of red also appears to be more of a cinematic choice than a strict representation of how women dress for Chhath. The traditional seedha pallu saree, with the pallu worn over the head, is a familiar choice during the festival. While red can certainly be worn, presenting a large group of women dressed uniformly in red gives the sequence a more choreographed Bollywood appearance. Tamannaah in a still from the song.

Anshu Chandel, a media professional from Muzaffarpur in Bihar, whose grandmother observes Chhath, also added that the makers might have taken creative liberty to show them all in red. However, the scenes at the Chhath ghats are different. "Usually women opt for seedha palla. The soop in the video had more or less things but gagar nimbu was missing, which is a must."

The offerings shown in the soop also reveal another small difference. Tamannaah's soop contains a peeled coconut. Traditionally, however, coconuts offered during Chhath are generally kept with their outer husk intact.

One detail that could have strengthened the authenticity is gagar nimbu, also known as pomelo. It is a common part of Chhath offerings in Bihar and eastern India, but it is missing from the song. Another detail that feels out of place is the presence of only women. Men are present but hardly visible, even though men also observe the fast.What does the song get right?

Despite these liberties, the song captures several important aspects of Chhath.

At its heart, Chhath is centred on devotion, purity, discipline and gratitude. Unlike many Hindu festivals involving idol worship, Chhath is dedicated to the Sun God and Chhathi Maiya. Devotees observe a strict fast and offer prayers at sunset and sunrise, often standing in water.

The song conveys this spiritual commitment, with lyrics by Kaushal Kishore focussing on surrender, faith and seeking blessings. The ghat, soop, devotees standing near the water and the offering of arghya also establish the festival's visual identity.

The chorus perhaps comes closest to the sound and emotion of traditional Chhath geet, evoking memories of songs traditionally heard during the festival.

However, the overall presentation remains heavily choreographed. People from Bihar and Jharkhand we spoke to felt the ghat sequences were designed more for cinema than as an accurate representation of a real Chhath gathering.

The biggest difference between the cinematic portrayal and the actual festival is its emphasis. Chhath is deeply personal, but also a community-driven ritual rooted in discipline and nature.

Observed over four days, the festival involves bathing, fasting and preparing offerings before devotees gather at water bodies for the evening and morning arghya. The atmosphere at a Chhath ghat is generally less about spectacle and more about devotion and collective prayer.

That makes the red sarees, perfectly arranged groups and choreographed movements in Chhathi Maiya feel more cinematic than traditional. A still from The Vvaan song.

At the same time, it is important to recognise what the song is trying to do. The Vvaan brings a festival closely linked to Bihar and eastern India to a mainstream Hindi film. Music composer Vishal Mishra has also said that the song aims to introduce Bhojpuri music and the culture of Bihar and Purvanchal to a wider audience.

In a statement shared prior to the song's release, Vishal Mishra said, "Some time ago, I had said that Bhojpuri should get back the respect it deserves. After Chhathi Maiya Bulaye, today is another step in that same journey. Our Bhojpuri is not just a language, it is the soil, culture, traditions, folk and identity of Bihar and Purvanchal. Now, in Hindi cinema, in our own Bhojpuri, our song Chhathi Maiya, dedicated to Chhathi Maiya, is coming. This is our language, our soil, our pride."

The song, therefore, works better as a Bollywood interpretation of Chhath than as a completely accurate recreation of the festival.

It gets the larger picture right but falters where cinematic aesthetics take precedence over traditional accuracy. For audiences unfamiliar with Chhath, it offers an accessible introduction to one of Bihar's most important festivals. For those who have grown up observing it, however, some details may feel distinctly Bollywood-ised.- EndsPublished By: shweta keshriPublished On: Sep 12, 2026 08:00 IST