Grammy and Academy Award winning musician AR Rahman will create the official song titled “Jai hind hind, jai India” for Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup, which is scheduled to be held at Kalinga Stadium here from November 28 to December 15, 2018. This was announced by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today.

While ace lyricist Gulzar will pen the song, Rahman is scheduled to perform it live at the Kalinga Stadium here during the opening ceremony of the mega sporting event on November 27. It will be Rahman’s first performance in the state.

Nothing says India more than our beloved sport hockey. And nothing is more exciting than the world’s biggest hockey tournament happening right here, on our turf,” Rahman said in a statement.

“It’s heartwarming to see the entire nation pledge their heartbeats for hockey. As an extension of pledging our heartbeats, Gulzar sahab and I have created the World Cup song. A song that will excite and inspire, as also get you on your feet,” added the music maestro.

Patnaik said: “We are delighted to have Rahman compose the song for the Odisha Hockey World Cup. It will be an honour to have him perform live in Bhubaneswar. He is the voice of India and now with this song, the voice of India is the voice of the world cup.

“We are also fortunate to have Gulzar sahab add his poetic magic to the composition. Coming together of these two legends will not only inspire the players but will also get the entire nation together to support this wonderful game unfolding in Odisha at the world cup.”

Rahman is also directing the song’s video, which will be shot across the hockey heartlands of India. The song is set to release at the Kalinga Stadium inauguration scheduled for early October.