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Mersal | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | 20 August 2017 | |||
Recorded | 2017 | |||
Studio | Panchathan Record Inn and AM Studios, Chennai A. R. Studios, Mumbai Abbey Road Studios, London | |||
Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
Length | 19:06 | |||
Language | Tamil | |||
Label | Sony Music India | |||
Producer | A. R. Rahman | |||
A. R. Rahman chronology | ||||
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Singles from Mersal | ||||
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Mersal is the soundtrack of the 2017 Tamil action film of the same name directed by Atlee, which stars Vijay in a triple role with Nithya Menen, Kajal Aggarwal and Samantha as the female leads. The film, which marked the 100th production of Thenandal Studio Limited, has a soundtrack album features four tracks composed by A. R. Rahman, in his first collaboration with Atlee and his third collaboration with Vijay after composing for Udhaya (2004) and Azhagiya Tamizh Magan (2007), whilst Vivek penned the lyrics for all the songs in the film's soundtrack, also in his first association with Rahman.
Being one of the most anticipated soundtracks in Tamil cinema, the album was released at a promotional music launch event held at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on 20 August 2017, by Sony Music India with the songs being made available for streaming via internet on the day of its launch. The soundtrack was a critical and commercial success, it was the first Tamil album to have more than 100 million streams between all music platforms. It fetched a number of accolades and nominations at various ceremonies.
Since Atlee's norm collaborator G. V. Prakash Kumar, who worked with him on Raja Rani and Theri, became busy with his acting commitments, the director had plans to rope a different composer for this film, with S. Thaman being speculated for the project. [1] However A. R. Rahman was announced as the composer in late-January 2017. [2] Rahman started composing for the film's soundtrack after completing the re-recording of Mani Ratnam's Kaatru Veliyidai in March. [3] In June 2017, G. V. Prakash Kumar was reported to record an energetic number in the film; [4] it was the first song Prakash had recorded for Rahman after 18 years, since Mudhalvan (1999). [5] [6] In late-July 2017, Kailash Kher recorded the song "Aalaporaan Tamizhan", [7] since Rahman felt that "nobody could reach the pitch apart from the singer". [3] The song was also co-recorded by Sathya Prakash, Deepak and Pooja Vaidyanath. [8] The same month, Shreya Ghoshal recorded a melodic number for the film. [9] [10] By September 2017, Rahman started re-recording works for the film's music and score. [11] [12]
As a part of the promotions, [13] the song "Aalaporaan Thamizhan" was released as a single on 10 August 2017, and eventually topped the charts online. [14] The song portrayed the pride of Tamil heritage all across the world. [15] [16] Manoj Kumar R. of The Indian Express said that the song "will indeed be the new Tamil anthem of sorts among the young population that led the pro-Jallikattu protests". [15] Hindustan Times wrote "In typical AR Rahman style, it moves from a beats-intensive tempo to soft-lilting melodious moments in a seamless fashion". [17] Later, the second single "Neethanae" was unveiled on 17 August 2017; a melodic number sung by Shreya Ghoshal and Rahman. [18] [19] Other songs in the tracklist are: "Maacho" sung by Sid Sriram and Shweta Mohan, and "Mersal Arasan" which was recorded by G. V. Prakash Kumar, Naresh Iyer, Sharanya Srinivas, T. G. Vishwaprasad. The album did not feature any song recorded by actor Vijay, marking the first time he hadn't sang for an album since Nanban. There were reports being surfaced that Vijay will record a reprised version of one of the film's tracks which did not happen. [20]
The soundtrack album was highly anticipated by film buffs as it marked the decade-long collaboration between Vijay and Rahman as well as their first release in their silver-jubilee years. [21] In July 2017, Hema Rukmani of Thenandal Studio Limited announced that the film's audio launch would be held on 20 August 2017, [22] [23] [24] with Sony Music acquiring the rights of the music album for a ₹3.5 crore; [25] the highest ever for a Tamil film in that time. [25] [lower-alpha 1] Since the film marked Thenandal's 100th production, the producers opted for a grand event at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai, with The Indian Express highlighted it as the "biggest Kollywood event of the year". [21] The event witnessed the attendance of prominent celebrities from the Tamil film industry along with the film's cast and crew, [27] including Dhanush, Sundar. C, amongst others were attended at the event, which was hosted by R. Parthiban. [28] [29] A. R. Rahman and his musical team performed the album live on stage. [30] [31] The audio launch event was aired live on Sun TV, [32] despite being reported that three television channels will stream the launch live. [33] The audio event was streamed live on the official YouTube channel of the music label, and also via Facebook and Twitter through the accounts of the production house. [34] The album was made available for streaming through internet for digital download on the same day of the launch. [28]
The album opened to rave reviews from critics upon release. V. Lakshmi from The Times of India rated three-and-a-half out of five stars, stating that "Rahman has been on an experimental mode in his last few albums, and he continues experimenting in 'Mersal' as well, especially with tunes and indigenous instruments. While the lengthy numbers may not be attractive in its first listen, the songs will be a perfect pick in the playlist, while being played on loop." She felt that the album was "grand" especially in terms of "soundscape and orchestration". [35] Writing for Firstpost , Mridula Ramadugu felt that the soundtrack is "a mix of Vijay's commercial expectations with Rahman's trademark music" and a "mixed bag of tunes and noteworthy lyrics (by Vivek), with few catchy and few forgettable tracks". [36] Ashameera Aiyappan of The Indian Express called the album as "a mix of mass and class". [37] Behindwoods gave the album a rating of 3.25 out of five stars saying, "AR Rahman weaves out a mass based classy album fitting in all the elements required for Vijay's screen presence". [38]
Archana Nathan of Scroll.in called that "The score by Rahman tries to accommodate the requirements of a mass entertainer". She further added that "whether it comes to highly energetic tracks such as 'Aalaporaan Thamizhan' or 'Mersal Arasan', Rahman accentuates the effusive lyrics by beating the drums heavily at the turn of each phrase". [39] Writing for BollywoodLife.com , Karthika Raveendran stated that "with an album like this, the music maestro (AR Rahman) hasn't lost his sheen, magic or his ability to surprise even after 25 years". [40] Indiaglitz gave the album a rating of 3.25 out of five, calling the album "a mixture of mass and class", further saying the tracks as "innovative". [41] In contrast, Critic Ramesh Kannan from Moviecrow rated the album three out of five, stating that "AR Rahman delivers a mass album to satiate Vijay fans but the soundtrack is far-off from the composer's best." [42] Vipin Nair of Music Aloud called the album as "short and unremarkable" assigning a score of two-and-a-half out of five. [43] Karthik Srinivasan of Milliblog stated the album as "Rahman's weakest in ages". [44]
Upon its release in August 2017, the first single "Aalaporan Thamizhan" topped the charts in iTunes, [45] [46] and became the most searched songs of India in Google, according to Google Trends. [46] The music video for "Aalaporan Thamizhan" crossed 100 million views and became the most viewed song in Vijay's career, [47] until it was surpassed by "Vaathi Coming", another song from the Vijay-starrer Master (2021). [48] The album crossed 100 million streams within ten-days of its release, setting a streaming record for a Tamil album. [49] [50] In September 2018, the album was streamed for 350 million times on all music platforms. [51] [52]
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All tracks are written by Vivek
No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Aalaporaan Thamizhan" | Kailash Kher, D. Sathyaprakash, Deepak Blue, Pooja Vaidyanath | 5:48 |
2. | "Neethanae" | Shreya Ghoshal, A. R. Rahman | 4:29 |
3. | "Maacho" | Sid Sriram, Shweta Mohan | 4:35 |
4. | "Mersal Arasan" | G.V. Prakash Kumar, Naresh Iyer, Sharanya Srinivas, T. G. Vishwaprasad | 4:16 |
Total length: | 19:09 |
Award [lower-alpha 2] | Date of ceremony [lower-alpha 3] | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
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Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards | 10 January 2018 | Best Music Director | A. R. Rahman [lower-alpha 4] | Won | [59] [60] |
Best Playback Singer — Female | Shreya Ghoshal for "Neethane" [lower-alpha 5] | Won | |||
Edison Awards | 26 February 2018 | Best Male Playback Singer | Sathyaprakash for "Aalaporaan Thamizhan" | Won | [61] |
Best Lyricist | Vivek | Won | |||
Best Choreographer | Shobi | Won | |||
Filmfare Awards South | 16 June 2018 | Best Music Director – Tamil | A. R. Rahman | Won | [62] [63] |
Best Male Playback Singer – Tamil | A. R. Rahman for "Neethane" | Nominated | |||
Sid Sriram for "Macho" | Nominated | ||||
Best Female Playback Singer – Tamil | Shreya Ghoshal for "Neethane" | Nominated | |||
Shweta Mohan for "Macho" | Nominated | ||||
Best Lyricist – Tamil | Vivek for "Aalaporaan Thamizhan" | Nominated | |||
Vivek for "Neethane" | Nominated | ||||
South Indian International Movie Awards | 14 – 15 September 2018 | Best Music Director | A. R. Rahman [lower-alpha 4] | Won | [64] [65] |
Best Lyricist | Vivek for "Aalaporaan Thamizhan" | Won | |||
Best Male Playback Singer | A. R. Rahman for "Neethane" | Nominated | |||
Sid Sriram for "Macho" | Won | ||||
Best Female Playback Singer | Shreya Ghoshal for "Neethane" | Nominated | |||
Techofes Awards | 19 February 2018 | Best Male Playback Singer | Sathyaprakash for "Aalaporaan Thamizhan" | Won | [66] |
Best Female Playback Singer | Pooja Vaidyanath for "Aalaporaan Thamizhan" | Won | |||
Best Lyricist | Vivek | Won | |||
Best Choreographer | Shobi | Won | |||
Vijay Awards | 3 June 2018 | Best Male Playback Singer | A. R. Rahman for "Neethane" | Nominated | [67] |
Best Female Playback Singer | Shreya Ghoshal for "Neethane" | Nominated | |||
Best Lyricist | Vivek for "Aalaporaan Thamizhan" | Nominated | |||
Favourite Song | "Aalaporaan Thamizhan" | Won |
The success of the soundtrack prompted its contributor Vivek, to become a leading lyricist in a short span of time after his debut work in 36 Vayadhinile . [68]
G. V. Prakash Kumar is an Indian music composer, Playback singer, actor, and film producer known for his work in Tamil and Telugu films. His first film was S Pictures' Veyil (2006) and he gained fame in Tamil films by the early 2010s. He made his debut in acting on 2015 through Darling. He has won one National Award and three Filmfare Awards in his film career.
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.
Kaththi is the soundtrack album composed by Anirudh Ravichander, for the 2014 Tamil film of the same name. The film, directed by A. R. Murugadoss and produced by Lyca Productions, stars Vijay in dual roles, with Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Tota Roy Chowdhury and Sathish. This film marks the first collaboration of Anirudh with Vijay and A. R. Murugadoss. He composed the film's theme music before signing the project, and started recording the album in late-2013 which was continued till September 2014.
Arun Kumar, known professionally as Atlee, is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter best known for his work in Tamil films. He initially worked as an assistant director under S. Shankar in the films Enthiran (2010) and Nanban (2012). He made his directorial debut with the film Raja Rani (2013), produced by Fox Star Studios, for which he was awarded Best Debut Director by the Vijay Award and the Tamil Nadu State award for best dialogue writer. He is one of the highest-paid directors in India.
Theri is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Atlee and produced by Kalaipuli S. Thanu under the banner V Creations. Inspired from Mani Ratnam's film Chatriyan, the film stars Vijay, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Amy Jackson, Nainika, Radhika Sarathkumar, Rajendran and Mahendran. The music was composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar, with cinematography handled by George C. Williams and editing by Ruben. In the film, a former cop is on a mission to protect his daughter from his past enemies.
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.
Mersal (transl. Zapped) is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Atlee who co-wrote the film with V. Vijayendra Prasad and S. Ramana Girivasan. Produced by Thenandal Studio Limited in the studio's hundredth feature film production, the film stars Vijay in a triple role alongside S. J. Suryah, Kajal Aggarwal, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Nithya Menen, Sathyaraj, Vadivelu, Hareesh Peradi, Kovai Sarala and Sathyan appear in pivotal supporting roles. The story revolves around two brothers, who were separated at birth; one is a magician avenging his parents deaths and medical crimes, and the other, a reputed doctor who charges meagre amounts from his patients.
Sarkar (transl. Government) is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language political action film written and directed by A. R. Murugadoss, and produced by Kalanithi Maran of Sun Pictures. The dialogues were co-written by Murugadoss and B. Jeyamohan. The film stars Vijay, Keerthy Suresh and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar in the lead roles, while Yogi Babu, Tulasi, Radha Ravi and Pala. Karuppiah play supporting roles. It follows Sundar Ramaswamy, a corporate raider, who arrives in Tamil Nadu from the United States to cast his vote in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, only to find that his vote has already been recorded as cast, which leads him to raises awareness against electoral fraud and contest as a non-partisan politician in the elections amidst several attempts made on his life and reputation.
Sarkar (transl. Government) is the soundtrack album for the 2018 Indian Tamil-language political action film of the same name. The album composed by A. R. Rahman with lyrics written by Vivek, consists of five songs, two of which were released as singles prior to the audio launch, held on 2 October 2018. The album received mostly positive reviews from critics upon release.
"Aalaporaan Thamizhan"(transl. Tamizhan going to rule) is a 2017 Indian Tamil language song composed by A. R. Rahman, from the music album of Mersal. The song's lyrics were written by Vivek and sung by Kailash Kher, Sathyaprakash, Pooja AV, and Deepak. The song's music video is pictured upon actor Vijay. The song was released as first single track of the film on 10 August 2017. As of October 2020, the video song has grossed 176 million of views in YouTube. The song portrays about the popularity of Tamil speaking people all over the world. The song features Vijay as Vetrimaaran, praising Tamil heritage and pride following a wrestling match in Punjab.
Sangathamizhan is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by Vijay Chandar. The film stars Vijay Sethupathi in the title role with Nivetha Pethuraj and Raashii Khanna, Soori, Nassar, Ravi Kishan, and Ashutosh Rana playing pivotal roles. The music is composed by Vivek-Mervin, and cinematography was handled by R. Velraj. Principal photography reportedly commenced during February 2019 in Hyderabad. The film was released on 15 November 2019. It received highly negative reviews and was a flop at the box-office.
"Singappenney" (transl. Lioness) is a 2019 Indian Tamil language song composed and sung by A. R. Rahman, from the film Bigil. The song's lyrics were written by Vivek and featured additional vocals by Shashaa Tirupati. The song has a motivational theme for women, hailed as a women's anthem. The song was released as a first single track of the film on 23 July 2019. The song features Vijay including the 11 women football players. Rahman and Atlee Kumar has a special entrance in the film through this song.
Theri is the soundtrack album composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar for the 2016 Tamil thriller film of the same name, written and directed by Atlee Kumar and produced by S. Thanu, starring Vijay, Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Amy Jackson, while Mahendran, Prabhu and Radhika play supporting characters. Pulamaipithan, Na. Muthukumar, Pa. Vijay, Kabilan, Rokesh, R. Thiyagarajan and Arunraja Kamaraj wrote the lyrics for the songs. The album was launched on 20 March 2016, and received positive reviews from critics and was declared an 'all-time blockbuster' by audiences and critics.
Uttama Villain is the soundtrack album composed by Ghibran, for the 2015 Tamil film of the same name directed by Ramesh Aravind. The film stars Kamal Haasan in the leading role, who also wrote the script and co-produced the film under the banner Raaj Kamal Films International, alongside Thirrupathi Brothers and Eros International. It features an ensemble cast of K. Viswanath, K. Balachander, Jayaram, Andrea Jeremiah, Pooja Kumar, Nassar, Parvathy Thiruvothu and Urvashi in prominent roles. The film marks Ghibran's first collaboration with Kamal Haasan for the first time. The soundtrack album featured seventeen tracks in total; having seven songs, karaoke versions for three of the tracks and seven instrumental compositions from the film score.
Bigil is the soundtrack album, composed by A. R. Rahman, to the 2019 Indian Tamil-language sports action film of the same name, directed by Atlee, starring Vijay. The soundtrack album consists of 5 songs, with 2 bonus tracks, all of them were penned by lyricist Vivek. The soundtrack album was released digitally on 27 September 2019, through the Sony Music India record label.
"Verithanam" (transl. Frenzy) is an Indian Tamil-language song from the 2019 sports action film Bigil directed by Atlee. Composed by A. R. Rahman, the song featured lyrics written by Vivek and sung by actor Vijay, who also played the protagonist in the film. It is the first song Vijay has recorded for Rahman. The song was released by Sony Music India on 1 September 2019, and its video version was unveiled on 1 November.
The 2017 Indian film Mersal was subjected to several controversial issues. The first of this kind was the title naming issue, where a lawsuit was filed against the producers for using the title for promotions. The release further faced complications following the Tamil Film Producers Council's strike following the double taxation issue; protesting against the 10% entertainment tax additionally over the 28% GST, with the last minute denial of censorship, after Animal Welfare Board of India denied NOC over the usage of few animals without their permission. Upon release, the film was criticised by several organisations including the Bharatiya Janata Party and the then ruling AIADMK government objected to scenes featuring Vijay criticising the recently introduced Goods and Services Tax, and another scene in which a character ridicules the Digital India initiative. The party demanded that those scenes must be removed from future viewership. The Indian Medical Association and several other medical associations called for a boycott on the film, following their criticism over the alleged cynical portrayal of doctors working in government-operated hospitals. Several opposition parties and the film fraternity of India condemned the actions instructed by political organisations as a critical attack on freedom of speech in India.
Cobra is the soundtrack album composed by A. R. Rahman, to the 2022 Indian Tamil-language psychological action thriller film of the same name, directed by R. Ajay Gnanamuthu, starring Vikram, Srinidhi Shetty, Miya George, Mirnalini Ravi, Meenakshi Govindarajan, Irfan Pathan, Roshan Mathew and K.S. Ravikumar in lead roles. The film marks Rahman's fourth collaboration with Vikram after composing for Pudhiya Mannargal (1994), Raavanan (2010) and I (2015). The songs for the film featured lyrics written by Thamarai, Pa. Vijay, Vivek and Jithin Raj. The soundtrack was released at the audio launch held on 15 July 2022 at Phoenix Marketcity, Chennai.
Pyaar Prema Kaadhal is the soundtrack to the 2018 film of the same name directed by debutant Elan, starring Harish Kalyan and Raiza Wilson. The soundtrack to the film features 12 songs composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja with lyrics written by Niranjan Bharathi, Vivek, Madhan Karky, Mohan Rajan, Oviya Oompathy and Elan himself. It was preceded with two singles: "High On Love" and "Dope Track", before the full album being released through Yuvan's music label U1 Records and Divo on 29 July 2018.