| Muthu | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 8 October 1995 (1995-10-8) | |||
| Recorded | 1995 | |||
| Venue | Panchathan Record Inn | |||
| Genre | Film soundtrack | |||
| Language | Tamil | |||
| Label | Pyramid Star Music Aditya Music | |||
| A. R. Rahman chronology | ||||
| ||||
Muthu is thesoundtrack album composed byA. R. Rahman for the 1995Tamil-language filmof the same name starringRajinikanth and directed byK. S. Ravikumar. It is the first film where Rahman, Rajinikanth and Ravikumar worked together.[1][2] The album has six tracks with lyrics byVairamuthu.[3] TheHindi version is titledMuthu Maharaja and had lyrics penned byP. K. Mishra,[4] whereas theTelugu version ofMuthu is penned byBhuvana Chandra.[5] Recording of the songs took place at the composer'sPanchathan Record Inn studio inChennai. The soundtrack was released on 8 October 1995 under the Pyramid label.[3] The Telugu version of the soundtrack was released underAditya Music, andSaregama distributed the Hindi soundtrack.
Ravikumar considered "Thillana Thillana" the song "most difficult to crack". It initially had the lyrics, "Tamizh naatu makkal kootam unnodu dhaane, naan mattum thalli nippena" (transl. All of Tamil Nadu is with you, wouldI stand far away?) which Ravikumar disliked. Vairamuthu eventually became irritated and said, "Ennanga neen[g]a, thanana thanana thillana thillana-nu" (transl. What man, you are likethanana thanana thillana thillana) catching Ravikumar's attention. He realised it was the hook the song needed, so Vairamuthu wrote "Thillana thillana, nee thithikindra meena". The word "meena" was replaced with "thena" at Ravikumar's suggestion since he had previously written "Meena Ponnu" forNattamai (1994).[1] The songsampled African humming which had been previously sampled by French groupDeep Forest in "Night Bird".[6]
Rahman composed a tune beginning with the gibberish word "kuluvalilae". When it came to writing lyrics, Vairamuthu could not find a substitute word for kuluvalilae that was equally long but made sense. He and Ravikumar wanted Rahman to change the tune slightly to accommodate a better word but realised it was not possible without disturbing the song. As a result, kuluvalilae was kept. Ravikumar recalled, "I just made it seem as though the song was set in this village called Kuluvaele [sic] and put up a road sign indicating that it was the name of the village and then had the song start with the word".[7] The background rhythm and beats of "Kuluvalilae" were borrowed from "Rescue Me" byFontella Bass.[8] The song includes "Omanathinkal Kidavo", a lullaby composed byIrayimman Thampi.[9][10]
The concept of "Oruvan Oruvan", a song reflecting philosophies relevant to society through its lyrics,[11] was inspired by "Aandavan Ulagathin Muthalali" fromThozhilali (1964). Ravikumar told Vairamuthu what he wanted the lyrics to portray.[1] The song stresses that "God is above all and that greed will be the end of life".[12]Paravai Muniyamma was originally asked to sing "Kokku Saiva Kokku", but declined,[13] and the song was instead sung byTheni Kunjarammal.[3] It is set in theCarnatic raga known asKalyani[14] while "Vidukathaiya" is set inChakravakam.[15][16] Recording of the songs took place at the composer'sPanchathan Record Inn studio inChennai.[3]
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Oruvan Oruvan" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | 6:25 |
| 2. | "Kuluvalilae" | Udit Narayan,K. S. Chithra,Kalyani Menon,G. V. Prakash Kumar | 6:13 |
| 3. | "Vidukathaiya" | Hariharan | 6:19 |
| 4. | "Kokku Saiva Kokku" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam,Theni Kunjarammal | 5:30 |
| 5. | "Theme Music" (Instrumental) | — | 3:09 |
| 6. | "Vidukathaiya" (One Bit) | Hariharan | 1:14 |
| 7. | "Thillana Thillana" | Mano,Sujatha Mohan,Srinivas | 6:32 |
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Uparwala Malik Hai" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | 6:25 |
| 2. | "Phoolwali Ne" | K. S. Chithra,Udit Narayan | 6:13 |
| 3. | "Koi Samjhade" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam,Ila Arun | 5:30 |
| 4. | "Rangeela Rangeela" | Mano,Sujatha Mohan | 6:32 |
| 5. | "Chhod Chala Nirmohi" | Hariharan | 6:19 |
| 6. | "Theme Music" (Instrumental) | — | 3:09 |
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Thillana Thillana" | Mano,Sujatha Mohan | 6:32 |
| 2. | "Kalagalile Prema" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam,K. S. Chithra | 6:13 |
| 3. | "Konga Chitti Konga" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam,Ila Arun | 5:30 |
| 4. | "Visirinada Vidhi Galam" | Hariharan | 6:19 |
| 5. | "Okade Okkadu" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | 6:25 |
| 6. | "Theme Music" (Instrumental) | — | 3:09 |
The soundtrack album was released on 8 October 1995 atKalaivanar Arangam inMadras (nowChennai), where Rajinikanth andKamal Haasan along with Ravikumar, Rahman and Vairamuthu unveiled the audio cassettes to the public.[17] Over 400,000 cassettes ofMuthu's soundtrack were sold on the release date.[18] It was the most popular foreign soundtrack in Japan.[19][20] "Thillana Thillana" was adapted byNadeem–Shravan into "Deewana Deewana" for the 1996 film,Jung.[6] The songs fromMuthu were later retained in itsKannada remake in 2004,Sahukara, thoughRajesh Ramanath was credited for its music.[21]
D. S. Ramanujam ofThe Hindu appreciated the soundtrack, particularly "Thillana Thillana", "Kuluvalilae" and "Kokku Saiva Kokku".[22]Ananda Vikatan praised the song sequences for their vibrancy.[23]
