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Mersal
Soundtrack album by
A. R. Rahman
Released20 August 2017 (2017-08-20)
Recorded2017
StudioPanchathan Record Inn and AM Studios,  Chennai
A. R. Studios, Mumbai
Abbey Road Studios, London
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length19:06
LanguageTamil
LabelSony Music India
ProducerA. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman chronology
Viceroy's House
(2017) 		Mersal
(2017) 		2.0
(2017)
Singles from Mersal
  1. "Aalaporaan Thamizhan"
    Released: 10 August 2017 (2017-08-10)
  2. "Neethanae"
    Released: 17 August 2017 (2017-08-17)

Mersal is the soundtrack of the 2017 Indian vigilante 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. 

Production

[edit]

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]

Release

[edit]

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][a] 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]

Reception

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Critical response

[edit]

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]

Chart performance

[edit]

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]

Other chart list
  • 2nd (Top 10) – Siddharth K, Sify[57]
  • 1st (Top 10) – Ramesh Kannan, Moviecrow[58]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Vivek

No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Aalaporaan Thamizhan"Kailash Kher, D. Sathyaprakash, Deepak Blue, Pooja Vaidyanath5:48
2."Neethanae"Shreya Ghoshal, A. R. Rahman4:29
3."Maacho"Sid Sriram, Shweta Mohan4:35
4."Mersal Arasan"G.V. Prakash Kumar, Naresh Iyer, Sharanya Srinivas, T. G. Vishwaprasad4:16
Total length:19:09

Awards and nominations

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See also: List of accolades received by Mersal
Award[b] Date of ceremony[c] Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards 10 January 2018 Best Music Director A. R. Rahman[d] Won [59][60]
Best Playback Singer — Female Shreya Ghoshal for "Neethane"[e] 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[d] 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

Legacy

[edit]

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]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ The amount is equivalent to ₹40 million (equivalent to ₹50 million or US$600,000 in 2023) in 2019.[26]
  2. ^ Awards, festivals and organizations are in alphabetical order.
  3. ^ Date is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.
  4. ^ a b Also for Kaatru Veliyidai
  5. ^ Also for "Mazhaikulle" from Puriyatha Puthir

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Thaman to score music for Vijay's next!". The Times of India. 26 February 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Kajal Aggarwal, AR Rahman roped in for 'Vijay 61'". The Times of India. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b Ramanujam, Srinivasa (8 January 2018). "When I'm making music, it isn't about me all the time: AR Rahman". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  4. ^ "GV Prakash sings for AR Rahman in Vijay's 'Mersal'". The News Minute. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  5. ^ IANS (26 June 2017). "G.V. Prakash sings for uncle A.R. Rahman in 'Mersal'". Business Standard India. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  6. ^ "GV Prakash sings a number in Vijay's Mersal". Behindwoods. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Kailash Kher sings for Mersal". Cinema Express. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  8. ^ "I have been receiving appreciation on a daily basis for Aalaporan Thamizhan – Times of India". The Times of India. 16 September 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Kailash Kher sings for Mersal". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Shreya Ghoshal and Kailash Kher recorded a melody song for Vijay's Mersal". Behindwoods. 29 July 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  11. ^ "AR Rahman starts re-recording for Vijay's Mersal". Behindwoods. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  12. ^ "AR Rahman is thrilled with Mersal's output". www.moviecrow.com. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Vijay's single from Mersal ready for release – Times of India". The Times of India. 8 August 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
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  15. ^ a b "Mersal's first single Aalaporaan Thamizhan is a perfect tribute to Tamilians". The Indian Express. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  16. ^ "Mersal first single out: Aalaporaan Tamizhan song is about Tamil pride". India Today. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
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  46. ^ a b "VIJAY'S MERSAL NOW HAS THE NO 1 SONG IN INDIA". Behindwoods. 12 August 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
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  60. ^ "ஆனந்த விகடன் சினிமா விருதுகள் 2017 – திறமைக்கு மரியாதை". Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). 11 January 2018. Archived from the original on 21 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  61. ^ Upadhyaya, Prakash (26 February 2018). "Ilayathalapathy Vijay's Mersal sweeps Edison Awards [winners' list]". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 29 April 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  62. ^ "Nominations for the 65th Jio Filmfare Awards (South) 2018". Filmfare. 4 June 2018. Archived from the original on 4 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
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  64. ^ Goyal, Divya (15 August 2018). "SIIMA 2018 Nominations: Vijay's Mersal Beats Madhavan And Vijay Sethupathi's Vikram Vedha". NDTV. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  65. ^ Hooli, Shekhar H. (16 September 2018). "SIIMA Awards 2018 – Tamil winners list and photos: Vijay's Mersal tops list with 5 honours". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 18 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  66. ^ ஸ்கிரீனன் (19 February 2018). "இதுவரை 'மெர்சல்' செய்துள்ள சாதனைகள்: பட்டியலிட்ட படக்குழு" [Mersal's achievements thus far: List given by Crew]. The Hindu Tamil (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 18 April 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  67. ^ Upadhyaya, Prakash (4 June 2018). "Vijay Awards 2018: Here is the complete list of winners [Photos]". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 4 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  68. ^ Kandavel, Sangeetha (11 May 2019). "Working with Vijay was a learning experience: lyricist Vivek". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
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