Lingaa (soundtrack) explained

Lingaa
Type:Soundtrack
Artist:A. R. Rahman
Cover:Lingaa album cover.jpg
Caption:Soundtrack album cover
Border:yes
Released:5 November 2014
Recorded:2014
Panchathan Record Inn and AM Studios, Chennai
NYSA Studios, Mumbai
Premier Digital Mastering Studios, Mumbai
Language:Tamil
Label:Eros Music
Producer:A. R. Rahman
Prev Title:I
Prev Year:2014
Next Title:O Kadhal Kanmani
Next Year:2015

Lingaa is the soundtrack album composed by A. R. Rahman, to the 2014 Indian Tamil film of the same name written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar. The soundtrack album consists of five tracks, out of which, four had lyrics by Vairamuthu while the fifth was written by his son Madhan Karky. According to Rahman, as the film is set in different time zones, the music composed works around these time.[1]

Development

According to Rahman, Rajinikanth did not want to include the first version of the song "Oh Nanba" in the film as he felt that it was more of a song suited for a younger generation actor. Rahman, as a result, reworked the entire song to suit Rajinikanth. The song, which was the introduction song in the film and was the last song to be recorded, was a combination of tunes similar to those composed by M. S. Viswanathan, and of EDM genre of music.[2] For the song, "En Mannava", Rahman tried to compose it in the Hindustani classical genre using different ragas like Bilaskhani Todi and Durbari, but the film's director, K. S. Ravikumar, insisted that the song, which is a period song in the pre-independence portions of the film, should have a contemporary feel so as to make the audience like it. Hence Rahman made it as a folk song.[3] The track "Indiane Vaa" was originally sung by Haricharan and Rahman liked Haricharan's rendition of the song and said the same about it to Ravikumar, who said that Rahman himself should sing the song as he felt that it suited Rahman's style of singing. Rahman agreed to Ravikumar's suggestion and sang the final version of the song himself.[4] The song "Mona Gasolina" was in the genre of Latin American music.[5] For the track "Unmai Oru Naal", Rahman composed seven tunes for Ravikumar to choose.[6] In the scene where Raja Lingeshwaran hosts a party inviting the governor, and speaks to him, the piano cover is the composition of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Sonata 11 in A Major K.33.

Reception

The soundtrack received mixed reviews upon released mainly praising "Indiane Vaa" but criticizing other songs. Uma Sudhir of NDTV stated, "Music by AR Rahman is not really soul-stirring except the song "Indiane Vaa". Some frames in the song sequences remind you of scenes from earlier films. The Mona song with Anushka has a nice lilt."[7] Reviewing for Hindustan Times, Gautham Bhaskaran felt, "AR Rahman's music does not help...to stop Lingaa from stumbling on its plot track."[8] T.S. Sudhir of India Today noted, "For the Rajini-Rahman team that gave hit music in Sivaji, Enthiran, this film doesn't match up. Music by A R Rahman is a letdown. Except for the "Indiane Vaa" score sung by AR himself, rest of the music is disappointing."[9] Critics from Indo Asian News Service raised the similar concern writing, "A.R Rahman's music, doesn't touch the bar that he had set with his previous collaborations with the superstar (Rajinikanth)."[10] Bodrul Chaudhury of Bollyspice who reviewed the Hindi version of the soundtrack stated, "The music wasn't as strong as what we normally hear from Rahman. Overall, this is an album which had the potential to be so much better."[11] Siddharth K of Sify felt that the album was "highly underwhelming". He noted that every song’s genre was almost similar to a template and called the album "nowhere near Rahman's best".[12] Behindwoods ystated, "With Rahman experimenting to give period specific music, Lingaa isn't the usual easily accessible Rajinikanth album. Time and visuals might give a different perspective."[13] Saisuresh Sivaswami of Rediff claimed, "It is sacrilege to criticise A. R. Rahman’s music, but of the five songs in the film, only one, Indianey Vaa, had the anthem potential, the others being just about fine. The songs don’t jump out and grab you by the throat."[14] Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu praised the song "Mona Gasolina", calling it "edgy and good".[15] Also writing for The Hindu, S. Shiva Kumar called Rahman's songs and background score "unbelievably prosaic".[16] R. S. Prakash in Bangalore Mirror summarized, "Rahman's music is a far cry from his usual compositions, and it's one of the biggest let-downs in the film. Even the introductory song of Rajinikanth creates no impact."[17] J. Hurtado of Twitch Film said "The music by AR Rahman in the film seems to fall flat, with the exceptions of perhaps Rajini's intro song, "Oh Nanba", Anushka's lovelorn dream suite "Mona Gasolina", and Sonakshi's paean to Rajini, "En Mannavva"."[18]

On the contrary, Anupama Subramanian for Deccan Chronicle wrote, "One usually finds Rahman's background score to be pretty good, and you may find it to be the case here as well and his tunes (a)re catchy."[19] Critic based at The Times of India who reviewed the Telugu version of the soundtrack claimed, "On the whole, the album features a blend of melodious and peppy tunes."[20] Bollywoodlife reviewed the album thus "Lingaa music review: AR Rahman dishes out a musical treat for all Rajinikanth fans."[21]

Release

The soundtrack of the original version was unveiled on 5 November 2014 by hosting a promotional event at Sathyam Cinemas in Chennai with Rajinikanth, Anushka Shetty, Sonakshi Sinha and K. S. Ravikumar in attendance. Rahman could not attend the launch; a video where he spoke about the film was screened.[22] The Telugu version was unveiled officially on 8 November 2014 by hosting a promotional event at Park Hyatt, Novotel in Hyderabad which was followed by the film's curtain-raiser. Chiranjeevi and K. Viswanath were invited as the chief guests. MAA TV televised the curtain raiser live from 5:00 PM.[23] [24] The album for the Hindi version was unveiled on 26 November 2014; prior to its release, five days before, a single track "India Re" (Indiane Vaa) was released on 21 November 2014.[25]

Marketing

A 40-second song teaser of "Mona Gasolina" featuring Rajinikanth and Anushka Shetty was released on 7 November 2014.[26] Another 40-second song teaser was released on 8 November 2014 of the song "En Mannavva" featuring Rajinikanth and Sonakshi Sinha.[27]

Track listing

Original Version

Track listing was released by A. R. Rahman's official website on 2 November 2014.[28]

Telugu Version

Charts

ChartsSong titlePeak positionReference
Radio Mirchi SouthMona Gasolina
En Mannava
Indiane Vaa
Oh Nanba

Album credits

Credits adapted from A. R. Rahman's official website.

Backing VocalsDr. Narayan, Nivas, Santhosh, Deepak, Arjun Chandy, Yazin, Pooja, Maalavika, Sowmya Raoh, Soundarya, Nirjari, Veena, Arpita, Maria Roe Vincent, Varsha, Surbhi, Shashaa Tirupati, Debolina Bose, Swagatha Sundar & K.M.M.C. Choir
Personnel
On the track "En Mannavaa"

Arun Solanki, Aditya Paudwal

Varsha Tripathi, Surbhi Dahsputra, Sashaa Thirupati, Debolina Bose

On the track "Oh Nanba"

Blasco Monsorat. Kishore Sodha, Raghav Sachar

Raghav Sachar

Production

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Salman has approached me with three-four scripts. 5 May 2014. 14 November 2014. Bangalore Mirror. Dubey. Rachana.
  2. Lingaa - AR Rahman Speaks about Oh Nanba Song. YouTube. Eros Tamil. 22 November 2014. 8 December 2014.
  3. Lingaa - AR Rahman Speaks about En Mannavva Song. YouTube. Eros Tamil. 22 November 2014. 8 December 2014.
  4. Lingaa - AR Rahman Speaks about Indiane Vaa Song. YouTube. Eros Tamil. 22 November 2014. 8 December 2014.
  5. Lingaa - AR Rahman Speaks about Mona Gasolina Song. YouTube. Eros Tamil. 22 November 2014. 8 December 2014.
  6. Lingaa - AR Rahman Speaks about Unmai Oru Naal Song. YouTube. Eros Tamil. 22 November 2014. 8 December 2014.
  7. Web site: Lingaa Movie Review. 18 December 2014. NDTV Movies. Sudhir. Uma. 16 December 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141216163034/http://movies.ndtv.com/movie-reviews/lingaa-movie-review-1067. dead.
  8. Web site: Lingaa review: How much of 'Rajinikanth mannerisms' can one take?. https://web.archive.org/web/20141212130925/http://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/reviews/lingaa-review-rajinikanth-s-new-film-is-political-to-the-core/article1-1295871.aspx. dead. 12 December 2014. 18 December 2014. Hindustan Times. Bhaskaran. Gautham.
  9. Web site: Movie review: Lingaa is total paisa vasool for Rajinikanth fans. 12 December 2014. 18 December 2014. India Today.
  10. Web site: 'Lingaa' review: The hero with a thousand faces. 14 December 2014. 18 December 2014. Zee News.
  11. Web site: Lingaa Music Review. 17 December 2014. 18 December 2014. Bollyspice. Choudhary. Bodrul.
  12. Web site: 5 November 2014. 'Lingaa' audio rated and reviewed. https://web.archive.org/web/20141116115828/http://www.sify.com/movies/lingaa-audio-rated-and-reviewed-news-tamil-olqkEzcfeccgf.html. dead. 16 November 2014. 17 December 2014. Sify.
  13. Web site: 5 November 2014. LINGAA SONGS REVIEW. 18 December 2014. Behindwoods.
  14. Web site: Lingaa Review: Two much of a good thing. 12 December 2014. 18 December 2014. Rediff. Sivaswami. Saisuresh.
  15. Web site: Lingaa: Drama minus the punch. 12 December 2014. 18 December 2014. The Hindu. Dundoo. Sangeetha Devi.
  16. Web site: Executed in a hurry. 19 December 2014. 19 December 2014. The Hindu. Shiva Kumar. S..
  17. Web site: Movie review: Lingaa. 12 December 2014. 18 December 2014. Bangalore Mirror.
  18. Web site: Review: Superstar Rajini's LINGAA, For Super Fans Only. 12 December 2014. 18 December 2014. The Twitch Film.
  19. Web site: Movie review 'Lingaa': An exciting return for the superstar Rajinikanth on the big screen in live action. 12 December 2014. 18 December 2014. Deccan Chronicle. Subramanian. Anupama.
  20. Web site: Music review: Lingaa. 21 November 2014. 18 December 2014. The Times of India.
  21. http://www.bollywoodlife.com/south-gossip/lingaa-music-review-ar-rahman-dishes-out-a-musical-treat-for-all-rajinikanth-fans/ Bollywoodlife.com Lingaa Music Review
  22. Web site: Naig. Udhav. 5 November 2014. Lingaa audio launch: A touch of the Superstar magic. 23 November 2014. The Hindu.
  23. Web site: Seshagiri. Sangeetha. 8 November 2014. Rajinikanth's 'Lingaa' Curtain Raiser/Audio Launch Event: Watch Live Online. 23 November 2014. International Business Times India.
  24. Web site: 8 November 2014. T-wood personalities grace Lingaa Telugu audio. 23 November 2014. The Times of India.
  25. http://itun.es/in/UmuB4 India Re (single)
  26. Web site: 7 November 2014. 'Lingaa': 'Mona Gasolina' Song Teaser Releases; Features Rajinikanth and Anushka Shetty [Video]]. 22 November 2014. International Business Times.
  27. Web site: 8 November 2014. 'Lingaa': 'En Mannavaa' Song Teaser Featuring Rajinikanth, Sonakshi Sinha Releases [Video]]. 22 November 2014. International Business Times.
  28. Web site: 2 November 2014. Lingaa tracklist. 2 November 2014. arrahman.com.