Kaaviya Thalaivan | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | 31 October 2014 | |||
Recorded | 2012—2014 [1] | |||
Venue | Panchathan Record Inn and AM Studios, Chennai [2] | |||
Length | 33:58 | |||
Language | Tamil | |||
Label | Sony Music India | |||
Producer | A. R. Rahman | |||
A. R. Rahman chronology | ||||
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Singles from Kaaviya Thalaivan | ||||
Kaaviya Thalaivan is the 2014 soundtrack album to the Tamil historical fiction film of the same name, written and directed by Vasanthabalan. A. R. Rahman has composed the original songs and score for the film. Being a period film, the music of film reflects the sounds during the 1920s pre-Independence Indian era. The album marks poet Vaali's last lyrical work for this A. R. Rahman musical film. Prior to recording the original songs, Rahman carried out a research for six months for the music. Majority of the tracks were recorded by nine months, beginning from October 2012. Every song in the film has an underlying concept that justifies the screenplay. Prior to the album release, three tracks "Vaanga Makka Vaanga", "Yaarumilla" and "Aye Mr. Minor!" were released as singles on 1 September, 1 October and 17 October. The original version of the album that released on 31 October 2014 was aired through Suryan FM. [5]
A. R. Rahman revealed that he backed out from the Hollywood fantasy film Seventh Son to compose for Kaaviya Thalaivan, [6] [7] because it gave him the scope to innovate with folk music like never before. [8] He had done six months research for the music of the film, [9] especially working on nuances of several ragas and folk music prior to recording actual compositions. From October 2012 to July 2013 Rahman finished composing 90% of the songs, prior to commencement of filming. The makers did not finish a schedule and waited for Rahman to give them another song. [2] Initially, the makers were skeptical about A. R. Rahman's agreement to the project. For an undisclosed song in the album, Rahman composed the lyrical tuning to six different iterations. [2] Rahman was well aware of singer Haricharan's strong foundation in classical music. Unlike usual recording routes, the composer and singer had an impromptu sort of jamming session. [10] Haricharan was diffident on the over-dramatizing lyrical works but agreed later. [10] As per The Hindu , he was quoted saying "It is a period movie about street theatre, I trained myself by listening to legendary singers such as S. G. Kittappa and M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar." [10] Haricharan has sung for ten tracks (inclusive of bit songs) in the album. The complete album was supposed to be written by Vaali but his untimely demise, he wrote the track "Alli Arjuna" for the soundtrack, his last poetic contribution to Tamil music. [10] For this conversational track, Haricharan sang for both the characters 'Krishna' and 'Arjuna' by bringing alterations in his voice. [10] As per the producer, S. Sashikanth, "Every song in this movie has a concept behind it. With "Yaarumilla" – that particular idea was based on the romance between Kitappa and KB Sundarambal. There were letters that Sundarambal had sent to Kitappa which are supposed to be on par with Shakespearan love letters! So the song's inspiration comes from that." [2]
In an interview with Deccan Chronicle Rahman was quoted saying, "Being a period film and the subject being about a dramatic trouple, I needed to go into the subject in some depth. Apparently, it was done for people to relate with the music of that era with immediate ease." [9] The film has 20 bit songs of varying lengths that partly form the score. At The Economic Times , Rahman noted, "The limitation was the throw (performing on stage needs high-pitched tunes with dynamism) at which the songs needed to be composed." In October 2013, singer Madhushree announced that she had performed a duet titled "Thamana" with S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, [11] however the track eventually did not feature in the soundtrack album. Seven original songs in each of the plays are featured in the film. All the compositions reflect the sound and musical preferences of the 1920s era. [12] Director Vasanthabalan selected old verses of Madurakavi Bhaskaradas so as to tune them for selected songs. [13] All the songs were recorded by early May 2014. [1] Vasanthabalan confirmed in early September 2014 that Rahman was working on the background score of the film in his studio in Los Angeles. [14]
The audio rights of the film were sold to Sony Music India in April 2014. [15] The first single track "Vaanga Makka Vaanga" was released on 1 September 2014. On 15 September 2014, preview clip of track "Sollividu Sollividu" (previously noted as "Karnamotcham") was released on Rahman's SoundCloud channel. [16] The second single "Yaarumilla" was released on 1 October 2014. The video preview clip of the making of the track, "Aye Mr. Minor" was released on YouTube on 8 October 2014, and the full song was released as the third single on 17 October 2014. [17] It was earlier reported that the album would launch on 24 September 2014, but sources confirmed that the album would release digitally on 31 October 2014.
An event for the digital release of the album was held at A. R. Rahman's studio was aired through Suryan FM 93.5 across Tamil Nadu on 31 October 2014. [18] [19] The highlight of the event was an audio – visual presentation of the experiences of five theater artistes. All five namely PC Kalaimani, Nellai Sriram, Anandan, Prasad Rajendran and Tamilarasan were felicitated by A.R. Rahman. [20]
The album received extremely positive reviews upon release. [21] K. Siddharth of Sify stated that Rahman was "at his creative best!" in the album and gave it a rating of 4 out of 5 stars. [22] Behindwoods chose "Vaanga Makka Vaanga", "Aye Mr. Minor!" and "Yaarumilla" as the picks of the album and rated the album 3.75 out of 5 stars, concluding, "Rahman brings back live instrumentation to its full glory !" [23] Vipin of Music Aloud concluded, "One of the year's most awaited soundtracks, and A R Rahman delivers in style. Big props to the singers (not just Haricharan) for a top class effort! Kaaviya Thalaivan. Go listen!", and gave a rating of 9 out of 10 for the album. [24] S. Saraswati of Rediff.com wrote "Music by AR Rahman anchors the film well. Every song takes you back to an era that glorified music and understood its nuances. They form an integral part of the film and give greater depth to the narrative. There are a multitude of songs, but every song is handled differently, ensuring a thoroughly enjoyable experience." [25] R. S. Prakash of Bangalore Mirror called Rahman's work "soothing and adds value" though he felt that it was not the best. [26] Avinash Gopalan of Oneindia Entertainment called the soundtrack and background score as the film's backbone. [27] Haricharan Pudipeddi felt that Rahman's work is one of the places where Kaaviya Thalaivan works. [28]
However, Baradwaj Rangan of The Hindu wrote "The film opens with a dedication to legends like S. G. Kittappa and K. B. Sundarambal, but a soundtrack filled with those kinds of voices would be booed off the screen today. The singers sound lighter, more contemporary, even while rendering bits like Kaayadha Kaanagathe, which was immortalised on screen by T. R. Mahalingam – again, a voice that would most likely make the audience collapse into giggles." [29]
Chart (2014) | Peak position |
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Top Indian Albums [30] | 1 |
Album | Region | Release Date | Format | Audio Label | Ref |
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Kaaviya Thalaivan(Singles Release) | Worldwide | 1 September 2014 | Digital Download | Sony Music India | [31] |
1 October 2014 | [32] | ||||
17 October 2014 | [33] | ||||
Kaaviya Thalaivan (Album Release) | 31 October 2014 | [34] | |||
India | 25 December 2014 | CD | [35] | ||
United States | Sony Music Entertainment | ||||
United Kingdom | [36] | ||||
Pradhi Nayagan (Malayalam Version) | Worldwide | 2 November 2014 | Digital Download | Sony Music India | [37] |
Premaalayam (Telugu Version) | 25 March 2016 | [38] |
The official track listing was released by Sony Music India on 29 October 2014. [39] [40] The soundtrack album for the original Tamil version was released on 31 October 2014.
No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Vaanga Makka Vaanga" | Na. Muthukumar | Haricharan, Dr. Narayanan | 03:36 |
2. | "Aye Mr. Minor!" | Pa. Vijay | Shashaa Tirupati, Haricharan | 04:43 |
3. | "Sandi Kuthirai" | Pa. Vijay | Haricharan | 03:56 |
4. | "Sollividu Sollividu" | Pa. Vijay | Mukesh Mohamed | 04:24 |
5. | "Yaarumilla" | Pa. Vijay | Shweta Mohan, Srinivas | 04:32 |
6. | "Thiruppugazh [c] " | Arunagirinathar | Vani Jayaram | 02:18 |
7. | "Alli Arjuna [a] " | Vaali | Haricharan, Bela Shende, Srimathumitha | 10:28 |
Total length: | 33:58 |
The soundtrack album for the dubbed Malayalam version, Pradhi Nayagan was released on 2 November 2014.
All lyrics are written by Rafeeq Ahammed
No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Vaa Changaadhi Vaa Vaa" | Haricharan, Dr. Narayanan | 03:36 |
2. | "Aye Kochu Kalla" | Parvathy Jayadevan, Haricharan | 04:43 |
3. | "Mandi Kuthira" | Haricharan | 03:56 |
4. | "Cholluga Nee" | Vishnu Raj | 04:24 |
5. | "Aarumilla" | Bela Shende, Srinivas | 04:32 |
6. | "Kaamasharakshigal" | Vani Jayaram | 02:18 |
7. | "Naadaga Gaanangal [b] " | Haricharan, K. S. Chithra | 10:28 |
Total length: | 33:58 |
The soundtrack album for the dubbed Telugu version Premaalayam was released on 25 March 2016.
All lyrics are written by Bhuvana Chandra
No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Randi Babu Randi" | Haricharan, Dr. Narayanan | 03:37 |
2. | "Hey Hey Mister" | Shashaa Tirupati, Haricharan | 04:42 |
3. | "Aye Kanya Gurram" | Haricharan | 03:58 |
4. | "Arjunuda" | Hemachandra | 04:22 |
5. | "Chalunaya" | Bela Shende, Srinivas | 04:30 |
6. | "Devagananvitha" | Vani Jayaram | 02:18 |
7. | "Vandhanam" | Haricharan, Shashaa Tirupati, Maalavika Sundar | 10:26 |
Total length: | 33:58 |
Malavika, Pooja A.V., Sharanya, Dr. Narayanan, Nivas
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist and philanthropist, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in international cinema. He is a winner of six National Film Awards, two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, fifteen Filmfare Awards and seventeen Filmfare Awards South. In 2010, the Indian government conferred him with the Padma Bhushan, the nation's third-highest civilian award.
Vedhika Kumar is an Indian actress and model who has established a career in the Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada films.
Vasanthabalan is an Indian Tamil film director and screenwriter. He has made critically acclaimed films including Veyil (2006), Angadi Theru (2010) and Kaaviya Thalaivan (2014).
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Kaaviya Thalaivan is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language historical drama film written and directed by Vasanthabalan and produced by S. Sashikanth and Varun Manian under their production companies YNOT Studios and Radiance Media Group. It stars Siddharth, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Vedhika and Anaika Soti while Nassar, Thambi Ramaiah, Ponvannan, Mansoor Ali Khan and others appear in supporting roles. Music composed by A. R. Rahman. Set in the early 20th century, the film is about the lives of two theatre artistes and the competition that exists between them in a small drama troupe.
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Lekar Hum Deewana Dil is the soundtrack album, composed by A. R. Rahman, to the 2014 Hindi film of the same name, directed by Arif Ali that stars Armaan Jain and Deeksha Seth in the lead roles. The film is jointly produced by Saif Ali Khan, Dinesh Vijan and Sunil Lulla under the banner of Eros International and Illuminati Films. The album features six tracks, and was digitally released on 13 June 2014 on Eros Music.
I is the soundtrack album to the 2015 Indian romantic thriller film of the same name written and directed by S. Shankar. A. R. Rahman composed the original songs and background score for the film. The album consists of seven tracks, which include a remix and a reprise. Songs in the film vary in genre like EDM, bhangra, opera, urban. The original version of the soundtrack has youth oriented voices. The original version of the album was released on 6 September 2014. The audio was launched at a grand function at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai on 12 September 2014, with Arnold Schwarzenegger as the chief guest.
Lingaa is the soundtrack album composed by A. R. Rahman, to the 2014 Indian Tamil film of the same name written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar. The soundtrack album consists of five tracks, out of which, four had lyrics by Vairamuthu while the fifth was written by his son Madhan Karky. According to Rahman, as the film is set in different time zones, the music composed works around these time.
"Pookkalae Sattru Oyivedungal" is a romantic Tamil song from the 2015 Tamil film, I. Composed by A. R. Rahman, the song is sung by Shreya Ghoshal and Haricharan, with lyrics penned by Madhan Karky. The music video of the track features actors Vikram and Amy Jackson. The song was re-dubbed in two other languages. The Hindi version of the song "Tu Chale", sung by Arijit Singh and Ghoshal is written by Irshad Kamil while the Telugu version of the song "Poolane Kunukeyamantaa" was sung by Haricharan and Ghoshal and the lyrics for the version is penned by Ananta Sriram. The music video of the song was shot in several locations of China.
O Kadhal Kanmani is the soundtrack album, composed by A. R. Rahman, to the 2015 Indian Tamil film of the same name written and directed by Mani Ratnam. The soundtrack album consists of nine tracks each in original Tamil and Telugu version of the albums with one track "Maula Wa Sallim" being common to both. Majority of the tracks for the original version were penned by Vairamuthu. The lyrics to the Telugu version were written by Sirivennela Sitaramasastri.The lyrics to its Hindi version songs in its Hindi remake OK Jaanu is by Gulzar The songs are fusion of contemporary music with carnatic music as well as pure classical Indian music based songs in the genres—carnatic and Hindustani. The original score was produced by ensemble Qutb-e-Kripa along with Rahman. The score utilises the songs and re-performed carnatic compositions of musicians Tyagaraja and Annamacharya.
Tamasha is the soundtrack album, composed by A. R. Rahman with song lyrics by Irshad Kamil, to the 2015 Hindi film of the same name, directed by Imtiaz Ali and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone in lead roles. The album features nine tracks, and was released on 16 October 2015 by T-Series. The songs cover genres like European dance, bhangra, opera, Hindustani classical and dubstep apart from experimental fusion of genres.
Alai Payuthey is the soundtrack album, composed by A. R. Rahman, to the 2000 Indian Tamil film of the same name. The soundtrack album consists of nine tracks from the original Tamil version of the album, whereas the Telugu version has seven tracks. The soundtrack of Alaipayuthey was unanimously hailed as a Mani Ratnam film soundtrack turning for rhythmic fusion using modern synthesizers. A film, initially planned with film score, eventually took place.
Kaatru Veliyidai is the soundtrack album, composed by A. R. Rahman, to the 2017 Indian Tamil romance film of the same name, written and directed by Mani Ratnam starring Karthi and Aditi Rao Hydari. The soundtrack album consists of six tracks each, in the original Tamil, and in the Telugu version of the album. Four of the tracks for the original version were penned by Vairamuthu, one by his son Madhan Karky, and one by Shellee. The lyrics to the Telugu version were written by Sirivennela Sitaramasastri. The album won Rahman the National Film Award for Best Music Direction in the "Songs" category at the 65th National Film Awards. The choreography for the songs were done by Brinda and the cinematography for the film by Ravi Varman.