O Kadhal Kanmani (soundtrack)

O Kadhal Kanmani (soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by A. R. Rahman
Released April 4, 2015
Recorded 2014—15
Panchathan Record Inn and AM Studios, Chennai
Length 44:15
Language
Label Sony Music India
Producer A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman chronology

Lingaa
(2014)		 O Kadhal Kanmani
(2015)		 Muhammad
(2015)
Singles from O Kadhal Kanmani
  1. "Mental Manadhil"
    Released: March 17, 2015[1]

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. The music was release on April 4, 2015 by Sony Music India.[2]

Development

It’s an extension of love. I have got everything in my life, working with Mani Ratnam and Roja (1992 film). I am still committed...OK Kanmani is a very young album. It’s got very traditional kind of songs.

—A. R. Rahman, reminiscing on his collaboration with Mani Ratnam since Roja and their new film O Kadhal Kanmani.[3]

Usual associates of Mani Ratnam, A.R. Rahman and Vairamuthu were reported to compose for the soundtrack,[4] while Sirivennela Sitaramasastri wrote the lyrics for the Telugu dubbed version.[5] In December 2014, Rahman announced that his son A. R. Ameen will be recording a song for the soundtrack.[6] In an interview with The Hindu, lyricist Vairamuthu revealed few track names and the sounds associated with them.[7] He called the track "Paranthu Sella Vaa" anthemic and the track "Naane Varugiren" as youthful.[8] According to Rahman, the film's subject was "youthful" and he tried to bring that kind of feel in the songs as well, describing them to be "adventurous".[9]The soundtrack album is youthful with Carnatic themes.[10]Since Leela Samson plays the role of an old Carnatic singer in the film, there is a tinge of Carnatic music in the film.[11]Ratnam wanted an original soundtrack from Rahman that is contemporary as well as trendy.[11]Rahman took inputs from his story and gave it a musical form.[11]

Composition

The first song composed for the film was "Mental Manadhil",[9] which Rahman called a "light-hearted" song. For immediate filming requirements, he had co-written the track with Mani Ratnam during Vairamuthu's absence.[12] Rahman recalled that while writing Mental Manadhil, both he and Ratnam wanted an interesting invention of new words or phrases for the song. During their jamming sessions - Rahman was saying 'Laka Laka' to rhyme with 'Mana Mana... Manadhil...' Ratnam said 'mental' and they decided to coin 'mental' and 'manadhil' together and thus hook words were framed.[13] He further added that they later interchanged a few Tamil words with their English translations.[9] The song put forths desires of a young heart.[14] The song has staccato musical articulation with upbeats.[15] Next "Malargal Kaettaen" was produced, for which the lyrics were written first.[9] It is a Carnatic Keerthanai (Tamil: "Song of praise") which incorporates sounds of Tanpura [7][16] kanjira and flute.[15] The track is based on raga Bihag.[17] Briefing on "Naane Varugiren", Rahman stated, "Sometimes, you have to compromise words for the sound — the sound is very important, it de-clutters from the words. People don’t have as much bandwidth as before; we have to catch their attention immediately."[18] Vairamuthu wrote an antara for the track, which, according to Rahman, had "very complicated words". Instead, Rahman and he came up with repetitive lyrics.[19] The song is based on raag Darbari Kanada.[17] The tune construction of the song with sangathis are complex and forced.[20] The song expresses the glib of surrendering to love.[21]

According to Rahman, the song "Aye Sinamika" took the longest time to get completed. It was a "soft song" that Ratnam wanted to be more energetic and on the lines of "Endrendrum Punnagai" from Alaipayuthey with a more Indipop sound to it. Although the lyrics for the song were written by Vairamuthu, Ratnam and Rahman again contributed two self-coined terms to the song: "Sinamika" and "Anadhika".[9] The words in the song were almost incidental — the words are sounds just like the other sounds, from the instruments. In the track, almost an entire minute is filled with variations on just three words- 'Nee' 'Ennai' 'Neengaathe'.[15] The track has more guitar sounds. Regarding "Kaara Attakkaara", which was one of the first songs to be composed, Rahman told that it was planned to be a very unconventional composition. After incorporating various ideas into the song, it had become over 15 minutes long before Rahman "crushed" and cut it down to about 6 minutes.[9] Darshana recorded her part in January 2015.[22] The lines first rehearsed were used in the trailer.[22] She recorded for twenty minutes. Four days later she was called in the studio to record the same rap as sung by Aaryan Dinesh Kanagaratnam.[22] Theera Ulaa song has been sung by Rahman, Darshana and Nikita Gandhi. Darshana's lines were in the classical Indian music genre.[22] Rahman wanted her to sing with the feel of contentment as if floating in air.[22] "Parandhu Sellu Vaa" was composed using the iPad app "Loopy", which creates loops, since Ratnam wanted it to feature minimal orchestration.[9] It is a slow, sensuous track.[20] When the phrase "Nanaindhu Kollava" appears at the middle of the song, the minimal violin based orchestration begins and runs until the end of the track. The song has sixty odd non-repeating words.[20] "Theera Ulaa" was composed after Rahman had seen the entire film. In parts, the track is laid with twangs of classical instruments.[20] The arrangement of the track is fast paced with all the three singers' voices vocoded. The song starts off with a lot of auto-tune but diminshes when the female vocals begin, blending of classical music.[20]

Critical reception

The album received very positive reviews upon release. Srinivas Ramanujan, who wrote for The Hindu, called the album "classical yet cool" and went on to add, "This album is ample proof that the Mani Ratnam-A.R.Rahman-Vairamuthu combination is still the best in the business. The musical assortment that is Oh Kadhal Kanmani is delicious to the ear!"[20] Nivedita Mishra for Hindustan Times showed wonder, "How A.R. Rahman and Mani Ratnam make magical music".[23] Behindwoods called the album, "Classy and contemporary all the way", giving the album 3.75 stars out of 5.[24] Writing for The New Indian Express, Vipin Nair noted, "Mani Ratnam still does manage to turn A R Rahman into his inventive best! The inventiveness here may not go down well in every case, but this will still remain a brilliant soundtrack."[17] He rated the album 9 on a scale of 10. Indo-Asian News Service heaped praise on the song "Naane Varugiraen", writing that it was "one such song to which Rahman gives his pure touch with tunes that can only come from his soul" and that Rahman "creates magic" with that song, going on to call it "undoubtedly the best of the lot with "Paranthu Sella Vaa" and "Aye Sinamika" blessed by Karthik’s voice following closely".[25]

Shankar of Oneindia Tamil noted that the soundtrack brings a feel of happiness to the heart, rewarding the album with 3.5 stars out of 5.[26] Sify's critic Siddharth wrote, "OK Kanmani is an album that has tracks that didn’t amalgamate imaginations. Being a return to roots romance movie for Mani Ratnam, the songs were expected to be simple. But ARR has delivered some of the most complex tracks in recent times and relieves himself out of his recent debacles. It is not Rahman’s best but even a half blazing ARR is miles ahead of the rest."[27] Anamika Nair based at DNA India wrote, "The legendary duo Rahman-Ratnam...come together once again and created this magic number."[28] Baradwaj Rangan opined, "Nice-ish. That’s the word I have right now for O Kadhal Kanmani. It didn’t make me wince the way the soundtracks for Lingaa and Kochadaiiyaan did. It didn’t activate every single one of my pleasure centres the way the soundtrack for I did. It’s somewhere in the middle." However, he praised the production quality of the soundtrack album.[15]

Track listing

Tamil (Original)

O Kadhal Kanmani (soundtrack) - Tamil
No. TitleLyricsSinger(s) Length
1. "Kaara Attakkaaraa"  Aaryan Dinesh Kanagaratnam, A. R. Rahman, Mani RatnamAaryan Dinesh Kanagaratnam, Darshana, Shashaa Tirupati 05:41
2. "Aye Sinamika"  VairamuthuKarthik 06:39
3. "Paranthu Sella Vaa"  VairamuthuKarthik, Shashaa Tirupati 04:58
4. "Mental Manadhil (Male)"  A. R. Rahman, Mani RatnamA. R. Rahman, Jonita Gandhi 03:27
5. "Naane Varugiren"  VairamuthuShashaa Tirupati, Sathya Prakash 06:10
6. "Theera Ulaa"  VairamuthuA. R. Rahman, Darshana, Nikita Gandhi 04:51
7. "Mental Manadhil (Female)"  A. R. Rahman, Mani RatnamJonita Gandhi 03:16
8. "Malargal Kaettaen"  VairamuthuK. S. Chithra, A. R. Rahman 05:58
9. "Maula Wa Sallim"  TraditionalA. R. Ameen 03:12
Total length:
 44:15

Telugu (Dubbed)

OK Bangaram (soundtrack) - Telugu
No. TitleLyricsSinger(s) Length
1. "Raara Aatagaada"  Aaryan Dinesh Kanagaratnam, Sirivennela SitaramasastriAaryan Dinesh Kanagaratnam, Darshana, Shashaa Tirupati  
2. "Aye Amayika"  Sirivennela SitaramasastriKarthik  
3. "Maayedho Cheyyava"  Sirivennela SitaramasastriKarthik, Shashaa Tirupati  
4. "Mental Madhilo (Male)"  Sirivennela SitaramasastriK. Krishna Chaitanya, Jonita Gandhi  
5. "Yedho Adaganaa"  Sirivennela SitaramasastriShashaa Tirupati, Sathya Prakash  
6. "Neetho Alaa"  Sirivennela SitaramasastriKarthik, Darshana, Maria Roe Vincent  
7. "Mental Madhilo (Female)"  Sirivennela SitaramasastriDarshana  
8. "Manase Theeyaga"  Sirivennela SitaramasastriK. S. Chithra, Dr. Narayan  
9. "Maula Wa Sallim"  TraditionalA. R. Ameen  
Total length:
 44:15

Chart performance

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Indian Music Charts 1
Singles Chart(s) (2015) Song title Peak position Reference
Radio Mirchi South Mental Manadhil 1 [29]
Indian Music Charts Kaara Attakkaara 1 [30]
Aye Sinamika 3
Theera Ulaa 4
Malargal Kaettaen 5
Naane Varugiraen 6
Parandhu Sella Vaa 7
Maula Wa Sallim 8
Mental Manadhil (female) 9

Release history

Album Country Date Format Label Catalogue no. Ref
"O Kadhal Kanmani" India April 4, 2015 Digital download Sony Music India N/A [31]
United States April 7, 2015 Digital download Sony Music Entertainment N/A [32]
India April 10, 2015 Music CD Sony Music B00V4OMERI[33] [34]

Album credits

Credits adapted from the music CD of O Kadhal Kanmani. The credits were posted on the official Twitter handle of the film.[35]

Backing Vocals

Shashwat, Deepak, anand, Shenbagaraj, Santosh, Maalavika, Veena, Shashwathi, Sowmya Raoh, Soundarya, Nivas, Sivakumar, Dhana, Raavena, Srinidhi

Personnel
Production

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Mental Manadhil song: A glimpse". The Times of India. March 15, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  2. ↑ "O Kadhal Kanmani audio release on April 4". Sify. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  3. ↑ Parameswaran, Pratibha. "Rahman Rocks Music Charts with ‘OK Kanmani'". Retrieved 2015-04-14.
  4. ↑ "Mani Ratnam is calling the shots!!". Behindwoods.com. 13 October 2014.
  5. ↑ "Seetharamasastry to write lyrics for Mani Ratnam's film". The Times of India. Feb 24, 2015. Retrieved Feb 24, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Rahman's son likely to sing in Mani Ratnam's next". The Times of India. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Ramanujam, Srinivasa (March 16, 2015). "‘I fear the use-and-throw culture will seep into romance’". The Hindu. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  8. ↑ Ramanujam, Srinivasa (March 16, 2015). "‘I fear the use-and-throw culture will seep into romance’". The Hindu (in en-IN). ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 "A.R.Rahman on OK Kanmani".
  10. ↑ "Rahman Rocks Music Charts with ‘OK Kanmani’". Retrieved 2015-04-15.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Mani Ratnam’s ‘O Kadhal Kanmani’ out on Friday". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  12. ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/if-you-want-to-do-something-do-it-now/article7041412.ece
  13. ↑ Ravi, Nandita. "No one can be the next anybody: AR Rahman - The Times of India". Chennai: The Times of India. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
  14. ↑ "Watch: Maestro A R Rahman at his best in Mani Ratnam’s ‘O Kadhal Kanmani’s ‘Mental Manadhil’". Retrieved 2015-04-15.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Rangan, Baradwaj (April 6, 2015). "Something old, something new". The Hindu (in en-IN). ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  16. ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/vairamuthu-on-the-changing-shades-of-love/article6999568.ece
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 "O Kadhal Kanmani – Music Review (Tamil Movie Soundtrack)". MusicAloud. 5 April 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  18. ↑ Ramanujam, Srinivasa (March 27, 2015). "'I made a mistake by doing too many films last year'". The Hindu (in en-IN). ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
  19. ↑ Ramanujam, Srinivasa (March 27, 2015). "'I live in the now'". The Hindu. Chennai. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 Ramanujam, Srinivasa (April 4, 2015). "Oh Kadhal Kanmani: Classical yet cool". The Hindu (in en-IN). ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
  21. ↑ "OK Kanmani Music Review: AR Rahman creates magic yet again with soulful Naane Varugiraen". Retrieved 2015-04-15.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 Srinivasan, Sudhir (April 11, 2015). "A trip to remember". The Hindu (in en-IN). ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2015-04-14.
  23. ↑ "OK Kanmani audio: How AR Rahman, Mani Ratnam make magical music". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
  24. ↑ "O Kadhal Kanmani (aka) OK Kanmani songs review". behindwoods.com. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
  25. ↑ Iyer, Krishna (5 April 2015). "OK Kanmani Music Review: AR Rahman creates magic yet again with soulful Naane Varugiraen". India.com. IANS. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  26. ↑ "ஓ காதல் கண்மணி இசை விமர்சனம்". Retrieved 2015-04-05.
  27. ↑ "OK Kanmani-Audio review". Sify. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
  28. ↑ "Ok Kanmani audio launched; AR Rahman weaves magic with his music again". Daily News & Analysis. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
  29. ↑ "Radio Mirchi - India's most authentic Weekly Music Countdown". Archived from the original on 2015-04-14.
  30. ↑ "Let your weekend be filled with the chart topping songs of OKKanmani". Sony Music South. Retrieved 2015-04-14.
  31. ↑ "O Kadhal Kanmani (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes. Retrieved 2015-04-14.
  32. ↑ "O Kadhal Kanmani (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes. Retrieved 2015-04-14.
  33. ↑ ASIN B00V4OMERI, O Kadhal Kanmani (2015-04-15)
  34. ↑ "O Kadhal Kanmani - A R Rahman (Composer)". Amazon Music. Retrieved 2015-04-14.
  35. ↑ "O Kadhal Kanmani - Album Credits". Retrieved April 9, 2015.