Vande Mataram (album) effort. Both, Rahman's music and singing, were appreciated, and the lead track "Maa Tujhe Salaam", with its brilliant orchestration, is a befitting '90s ode to the motherland. Another highlight is Rahman's duet with Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, "Gurus of Peace"." Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars, describing it as "a vibrant, exciting album that has the potential to reach beyond the traditional world music fan." Initially there was some negative criticism against Rahman for using phrases of India's national song "Vande Mataram" in the title track; "Maa Tujhe Salaam". With
Vande Mataram (album) better. In May, at a Sony conference in Manila, where the bigger the name you can drop means the more attention you get, they got 20 minutes. When the songs from the album were played, pre-release, at the Sony Music conference in Manila, Sony Music executives representing various Sony Music sub-labels reportedly went berserk and clamoured for the international rights of the album. They played the song; pandemonium reigned. The head of Columbia records (a Sony label) said, "It's unbelievable, I want it." The head of Epic records (another Sony label) said, "I don't care, I want it." Says Subramaniam: