Wikipedia

Aadukalam (soundtrack)

Aadukalam (transl. Playground) is the soundtrack album for the Tamil film of the same name directed by Vetrimaaran. The film featured music composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar in his second collaboration with Vetrimaaran and Dhanush after Polladhavan (2007), and its soundtrack album features seven tracks; four songs, two rap numbers and an instrumental. Lyrics for the songs were written by Snehan, Ekadesi, Yugabharathi, V. I. S. Jayapalan and Yogi B.[1] The album distributed by Sony Music India was released on 1 December 2010.

Aadukalam
Soundtrack album by
G. V. Prakash Kumar
Released1 December 2010
Recorded2010
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length32:31
LanguageTamil
LabelSony Music India
ProducerG. V. Prakash Kumar
G. V. Prakash Kumar chronology
Va
(2010) 		Aadukalam
(2010) 		Deiva Thirumagal
(2011)

The songs in entirety were used as montages (sequences that travel along with the storyline) in the film, with four of the tracks were picturised on the perspective of Dhanush's character and his romance with Taapsee's character. The album opened to critical acclaim praising G. V. Prakash for his work in the soundtrack and score; critics further praised Vetrimaaran for the use of songs as montages throughout the film. Subsequently, the album received multiple accolades at various nominations, with Prakash winning the awards for Best Music Director in all ceremonies.

Background

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In contrary to Polladhavan, where the film songs were used due to producer's demand of "commercial elements",[2] director Vetrimaaran planned for six tracks, without lip-sync but rather used as montages of visuals,[3] since Vetrimaaran believed that the songs were used to move the story forward and not treated as commercial elements, as a result to be "realistic" and "contemporary".[4][5] The use of all songs as montages in its entirety, is first-of-a-kind trend in Tamil cinema.[6] Vetrimaaran added that "due to the short duration of the film, the songs narrate a story within the main plot to move the story faster and also to give the same impact as a normal scene does".[5][7]

During the recording session of the film, G. V. Prakash hummed a particular tune he thought that would fit in the scheme of the storyline. As a result, Prakash started composing the song titled as "Yathe Yathe" written by Snehan, and also recorded vocals for the track. It was the first song recorded for the film.[8][9] Despite, the film's rural setting, Prakash Kumar composed a rap number crooned by Yogi B, picturised on Dhanush's victory at cockfight.[10] It had two versions: one in Tamil as "Porkalam" written by Yugabharathi, and other in English as "Warriors", written by the singer himself.[11] V. I. S. Jayapalan, who acted in a pivotal role in the film, had also penned a song titled "En Vennilave", a sad number, recorded by KK.[1] S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and his son S. P. B. Charan recorded the song "Ayyayo" written by Snehan, with female vocals crooned by Prashanthini.[12]

Apart from the rap songs "Porkalam" and "Warriors", the rest of the tracks were picturised of the perspective of the character K. P. Karuppu (Dhanush), and his romance with Irene (Taapsee Pannu). The song "Yathe Yathe" is played when Karuppu sees Irene properly for the first time, and "En Vennilave" is about Karuppu's thoughts after Irene refuses to love him. The song "Ayyayo" is played when Irene has a change of heart, rekindles Karuppu's feelings towards her.[7] Although, all the songs were used as montages in the film, it featured a dance sequence for the song "Otha Sollala" crooned by Velmurugan. It was choreographed by Dinesh Kumar, featuring Dhanush as K. P. Karuppu, shaking his lungi, dances on the busy streets of Madurai as if nobody's watching, after Irene reciprocated his proposal.[13] It served as one of the signature dance moves and was praised by audiences and fans.[14]

Release

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The album was highly anticipated among fans, after the soundtrack composed by Prakash Kumar for Vetrimaaran's debut film Polladhavan, became a runaway chartbuster upon release.[15] The soundtrack, distributed by Sony Music India, was released at a low-key function at Lady Aandal School auditorium in Chennai on 1 December 2010,[16] featuring the attendance of the film's cast and crew and the function saw a live performance by Prakash and his musical team.[15] The song "Yathe Yathe" topped the charts and remained in the No.1 position for nearly five weeks.[8]

Critical reception

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The album opened to positive critical feedback. Karthik Srinivasan of Milliblog opined that "Vetrimaaran and Prakash's combination works far better than their previous film Polladhavan".[17] A critic from Sify highlighted the score and songs as "one of the major plus for the film",[18] whereas Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff called that the music "adds depth to the proceedings".[19] The Hindu-based critic Karthik Subramanian, apart from reviewing Prakash's work in the background score, further praised Vetrimaaran's idea of using songs as montages, calling it as "excellent" and "blends with the narrative".[20]

Awards and nominations

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Main article: List of accolades received by Aadukalam
Award Date of ceremony[a] Category Recipient(s) and Nominee(s) Result Ref.
Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards 5 January 2012 Best Music Director G. V. Prakash Kumar Won [21]
Best Playback Singer – Male S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. P. B. Charan for "Ayyayyo" Won
Filmfare Awards South 7 July 2012 Best Music Director – Tamil G. V. Prakash Kumar Won [22]
[23]
Best Male Playback Singer – Tamil G. V. Prakash Kumar for "Yathe Yathe" Nominated
Mirchi Music Awards South 4 August 2012 Best Music Director G. V. Prakash Kumar Won [24]
[25]
[26]
Listener's Choice Award – Song G. V. Prakash Kumar for "Yathe Yathe" Won (5th place)
Listener's Choice Award – Album G. V. Prakash Kumar Won (2nd place)
South Indian International Movie Awards 21–22 June 2012 Best Music Director – Tamil G. V. Prakash Kumar Won [27]
[28]
Vijay Awards 16 June 2012 Best Music Director G. V. Prakash Kumar Won [29]
Best Male Playback Singer S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. P. B. Charan for "Ayyayo" Nominated
Velmurugan for "Otha Sollala" Won
Best Female Playback Singer Prashanthini for "Ayyayo" Nominated
Best Lyricist Snehan Nominated
Favourite Song "Otha Sollala" Nominated
Vijay Music Awards 28 October 2012 Best Folk Song "Otha Sollala" Won [30]
Best Song Sung by a Music Director G. V. Prakash Kumar for "Yathe Yathe" Won

Legacy

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The song "Otha Sollala" and the signature step performed by Dhanush was hailed by fans.[13] In July 2013, when Yo Yo Honey Singh released the track "Lungi Dance", a promotional song for Chennai Express, and became viral upon release, Kollywood fans pointed this song and hailed the signature step calling it as the "original lungi dance".[31] It was parodied by Sathyan in Naiyaandi (2013), whose character Parandhaman assumes that Vanaroja (Nazriya Nazim) had reciprocated his feelings, similar to that film;[32] and also by Vijay in Theri (2016).[33] An article from The Times of India listed "Otha Sollala" as one of the "iconic dance moments of the last decade".[34]

Track listing

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No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Yathe Yathe"SnehanG. V. Prakash Kumar5:44
2."Otha Sollaala"EkadesiVelmurugan3:58
3."Porkkalam" (Tamil Rap)YugabharathiAlwa Vasu, Yogi B4:20
4."En Vennilave"V. I. S. JayapalanKK7:17
5."Ayyayo"SnehanS. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. P. B. Charan, Prashanthini5:24
6."Warriors" (English Rap)Yogi BAlwa Vasu, Yogi B4:20
7."A Love Blossoms"—Navin Iyer1:28
Total length:32:31

Notes

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  1. ^ Date is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Five Reasons To Watch Aadukalam This Pongal". www.behindwoods.com. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  2. ^ "6 Things Vetri Maaran Told Film Bazaar About How He Charted His Cinematic Success". Film Companion. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  3. ^ Dhananjayan 2014, p. 513.
  4. ^ "How are songs useful in tamil movies?". dtNext.in. 14 November 2019. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Aadukalam is a contemporary film". Sify. Retrieved 26 June 2021.[dead link‍]
  6. ^ "Trends: The montage magic". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Why Vetrimaaran is the most interesting director in Tamil films today". Hindustan Times. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Yathe.. is topping the charts: G V Prakash". The Times of India. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  9. ^ "Aadukalam to release on January 14". Sify. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  10. ^ "From Ilaiyaraaja to the YouTube era: Has Kollywood music monopoly come to an end?". The News Minute. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  11. ^ "Yogi B sings the title track of VIP 2". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  12. ^ Rangarajan, Malathi (18 June 2012). "Cinema draws crowds, and how!". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  13. ^ a b "How Vetrimaaran-Dhanush became a hit pair". Deccan Herald. 27 March 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  14. ^ Nathan, Archana. "Picture the song: "Oththa Sollala" is the ultimate street dancing number". Scroll.in. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  15. ^ a b "Aadukalam audio launch on Dec 1". Sify. 29 November 2010. Archived from the original on 22 August 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  16. ^ "Aadukalam songs from December 1". IndiaGlitz.com. 30 November 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  17. ^ "Aadukalam (Music review), Tamil – G V Prakash Kumar by Milliblog!". Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  18. ^ "Aadukalam-Review". Sify. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  19. ^ Srinivasan, Pavithra. "Aadukalam is impressive". Rediff. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  20. ^ Subramanian, Karthik (22 January 2011). "'Aadukalam': Fascinating shades of grey". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  21. ^ "Vikatan Awards 2011". Ananda Vikatan. India Malaysia Online. Archived from the original on 16 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  22. ^ "59th Idea Filmfare Awards South (Winners list)". Filmfare. 9 July 2012. Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  23. ^ "The 59th Idea Filmfare Awards 2011(South)". The Times of India. 8 July 2012. Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  24. ^ "Mirchi Music Awards Background". Radio Mirchi. Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  25. ^ "Mirchi Music Awards Winners". Radio Mirchi. Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  26. ^ "Mirchi Music Awards Listener's Choice". Radio Mirchi. Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  27. ^ Manigandan, K. R. (28 June 2012). "The South Shines". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  28. ^ "SIIMA Awards: 2011 Winners". South Indian International Movie Awards. Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  29. ^ "6th Annual Vijay Awards: Complete list of winners". CNN-IBN. 19 June 2012. Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  30. ^ "2nd Annual Vijay Music Awards Winners". www.behindwoods.com. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  31. ^ "Kollywood does the Lungi dance!". Hindustan Times. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2021.[dead link‍]
  32. ^ Naiyaandi Tamil Movie Comedy Scenes. 3 September 2015. Event occurs at 13:23. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  33. ^ Theri (Comedy Scenes). 23 December 2019. Event occurs at 2:59. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  34. ^ "Dance numbers of the decade that rocked fans to the core". The Times of India. 3 January 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.

Further reading

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