''Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa'' is the soundtrack of the 2010

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

romance film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

of the same name, directed by

Gautham Vasudev Menon Gautham Vasudev Menon (born 25 February 1973) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, film producer and actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema, Tamil film industry. He has also directed Telugu cinema, Telugu, Hindi cinema, Hindi and Ma ...

. The soundtrack album and background score were composed by

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967), also known by the initialism ARR, is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinem ...

, collaborating with Menon for the first time. The lyrics for the songs were penned by Menon's usual associate,

Thamarai Thamarai (born 10 November 1975) is an Indian poet and lyricist who writes in Tamil. She is a prominent figure in the Tamil literary world and has worked in Tamil cinema. She made her debut in the Tamil film industry through the 1998 film '' In ...

along with

Vairamuthu Vairamuthu Ramasamy (born 13 July 1953) is an Indian lyricist, poet, and novelist working in the Tamil film industry. He is a prominent figure in the Tamil literary world. A master's graduate from the Pachaiyappa's College in Chennai, he firs ...

for other Tamil song lyrics

Kalyani Menon Kalyani Menon (23 June 1941 – 2 August 2021) was an Indian playback singer who worked in the Indian film industry. After beginning her career in the 1970s as a classical singer, Kalyani established a parallel career as a singer in the film ind ...

and

Kaithapram Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri, popularly known as Kaithapram, is a Malayalam lyricist, poet, music director, actor, singer, screenwriter, music therapist and performer of Carnatic music. He debuted with the movie Ennennum Kannettante in 19 ...

, the latter penning the Malayalam lyrics in the album. The album was released on 25 December 2009 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

with several film personalities participating at the grand function. It was the first time that a Tamil film audio release was held in London. It was followed by an audio launch function which was also held in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

on 6 January 2010.

Sony Music India Sony Music Entertainment India Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian music record label operated by Sony and headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The company began operations in 1997 and was the first record company in India to be fully foreign-owned, with ...

released the album. The album opened to positive reviews from music critics. The audio was marked as #1 in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, in terms of advance bookings. The album was ranked among the best musicals of 2010. A collector's edition of the film was released on 1 December 2010, which featured two unreleased tracks. The same soundtrack album was reused in the simultaneous Telugu version ''

Ye Maaya Chesave ''Ye Maaya Chesave'' () is a 2010 Indian Telugu-language romantic drama film written and directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon. The film stars Naga Chaitanya and Samantha in her debut as lead. It was produced by Manjula Ghattamaneni under the bann ...

'' (2010) and its Hindi remake ''

Ekk Deewana Tha ''Ekk Deewana Tha'' () is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film written and directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon, featuring Prateik Babbar, Amy Jackson (her Hindi debut), and Manu Rishi in lead roles. The film is a remake of Menon's ...

'' (2012).

Release

Unofficial versions

Before the official audio release, the track "

Hosanna ''Hosanna'' () is a liturgical word in Judaism and Christianity. In Judaism it refers to a cry expressing an appeal for divine help.Friberg Lexicon In Christianity it is used as a cry of praise. Etymology The word ''hosanna'' (Latin ', Greek , ...

" was leaked and went viral on the internet. Later the track was officially released with the same singer but another strophe had been added to the song.

Official version

The official audio of ''Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa'' was released at the

BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best Cinema of the United Kingdom, British and Worl ...

held at

on 25 December 2009, which was attended by several film personalities, including the lead actors

Silambarasan Silambarasan Thesingu Rajendar (born 3 February 1984), popularly known as Simbu or by his initials as STR, is an Indian actor, producer, and playback singer who primarily works in Tamil cinema. He is the eldest son of director T. Rajendar. ...

and

Trisha Trisha is either: * a female given name usually derived from the female Latin given name Patricia (derived from the Latin word patrician, meaning 'noble'), * a Hindu unisex given name a transliteration of तृषा (Tṛṣā) meaning thirst ...

, composer

, lyricist

, director

amongst others attending the event, which also featured a live unplugged performance. On 6 January 2010, another audio release function was held at

Sathyam cinemas SPI Cinemas was an Indian multiplex chain originally owned by the SPI Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The company was often lauded for its premium quality and inexpensive pricing. Its theatres, primarily PVR Sathyam Cinemas at Roya ...

with several film personalities participating in the grand function, amongst the cast and crew, after which the original audio cassettes and CDs were available in stores. Three songs and a trailer was screened at the event. The audio was released by

Kamal Haasan Parthasarathy Srinivasan (born 7 November 1954), known professionally as Kamal Haasan, is an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Considered as one of the most accomplished actors of Indian Cinema, Haas ...

, who has previously acted in Gautham's direction in the film ''

Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu ''Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu'' () is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language neo-noir action thriller film written and directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon. The film stars Kamal Haasan and Jyothika, while Kamalinee Mukherjee, Prakash Raj, Daniel Balaji, and ...

'' (2006). The CD's & cassettes cover released by

had an image of three

's and on the right side a

. All the lyrics are penned by Menon's usual associate,

and the Malayalam lyrics by

and

. As a part of the film's promotion, the audio cassettes and CDs were released across the world via

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

's online retail store, and also made available digitally on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

Nokia Store Ovi () was the brand for Nokia's Internet services from 2007 to 2012. It was designed to be an umbrella brand as Nokia attempted to expand into software and Internet services instead of just mobile hardware. Ovi focused on five key service area ...

, and an

iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...

application, in which will allow the users to stream and listen to the full-length songs from the film, download the songs, wallpapers and other movie related information. This initiative is a first for an iPhone application that is entirely based on movie OST. It is the result of the joint efforts by Sony Music Entertainment India and Dot Com Infoway Mobile Studios, a Chennai-based Software and Mobile applications developer. The service will be available to any registered user of iPhone apps across the world, where a user will be charged $1.99 (139 in terms of INR) for downloading the application facilitating unlimited streaming of the songs from the album and $2.99 (213 in terms of INR) to download the whole album. The software company has also made sure to restrict unauthorized sharing of the content through this unique application, where a user who downloads the songs on his iPhone or

iPod The iPod is a series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices that were designed and marketed by Apple Inc. from 2001 to 2022. The iPod Classic#1st generation, first version was released on November 10, 2001, about mon ...

will not be able transfer it to any other unauthorized device.

Collector's edition

A collector's edition special pack, titled ''A. R. Rahman Collectors' Edition Pack of Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa'', was released by Sony Music on 1 December 2010. This edition included two additional songs,

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

audio premiere,

T-shirt and liner notes of the songs. The additional songs, a female version of "

Aaromale "Aaromale" () is a song from the 2010 Tamil film '' Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa'' and Telugu film ''Ye Maaya Chesave'' composed by A. R. Rahman, featuring lyrics by Kaithapram and the word Aaromale frequently used in the 2012 Hindi version of the s ...

" and "Jessie's Land" were performed by

Shreya Ghoshal Shreya Ghoshal (; born 12 March 1984) is an Indian singer. Noted for her wide vocal range and versatility, she is one of the most prolific and influential singers of India. Often referred to as the "Queen of Dynamics'' for her remarkable voc ...

and Megha respectively, at the audio premiere held at

on 11 December 2010.

Other versions

Telugu version

The same soundtrack was also used in the Telugu version of the film, ''

'', which was simultaneously made and released with the Tamil version. The Telugu version of the soundtrack was released on 3 February 2010. It also had the same set of vocalists except for Rahman, who was replaced by Karthik for the Telugu version of "Mannipaaya" which was titled ''Vintunaava''. The lyrics were penned by

Anantha Sreeram Chegondi Anantha Sriram is an Indian lyricist, poet and actor who works in Telugu cinema. Sriram has written lyrics for over 1000 Telugu film songs in his career. He won a Nandi Award, two Filmfare Award and two SIIMA Awards for his work as a ly ...

Hindi version

The same soundtrack was also used for the Hindi remake, titled ''

'' which is also directed by Gautham Menon. The soundtrack was released on 23 December 2011.

Tamil

The tracklist was released by A. R. Rahman's official website on 16 December 2009.

Reception

The album received positive reviews from music critics. ''Indiaglitz'' gave the album 4 out of 5 stating "Vinnaithandi Varuvaya is a cute little album that has experimental score by Rahman. The man with Midas Touch, Rahman is at again. The album is a rich treasure not just for Rahman-fans but to genuine music-lovers too. The music composer seems to have set a trend which others would soon emulate." ''Behindwoods'' rated the album 3.5 out of 5 stating "In a rather telling interview with

Nik Gowing Nik Keith Gowing (born 1951) is a British television journalist. Overview Nik Gowing was educated at the Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys, Simon Langton Grammar School in Canterbury and Latymer Upper School in London, followed by the Uni ...

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, Rahman expressed his deep desire to bring South Indian (he sweetly included all the four states) music out of its narrow confines and popularize it all over the world because it had so much to offer. He has taken a huge step in that direction with this album. Though the music sounds global, it has some tasteful native sensibilities." ''Rediff'' rated the album 3 out of 5 stating "It isn't possible to toss an opinion of an A R Rahman album based on just one listen. This composer has a talent for coming up with numbers that grow on you. Lyricist Thamarai stands out, as well. Having said that, it doesn't look like VTV is one of her best efforts. Blame the post-Oscar hype or the burden of too many projects but aside from a few moments of brilliant heights, ARR pretty much sticks to his proven template. In this collection, he's gone more for the western crowd, it seems and there's little space for experimentation. A discerning music-lover might be left yearning for something more. For diehard ARR fans though, it's a musical treat." Music Aloud gave the rating of 8.5 out of 10 stating "To sum up, it is refreshing to hear a set of totally new tunes from a Gautam Menon flick. Rahman has started off his 2010 campaign in style. And in ''Aaromale'', he has once again shown why he is a league apart from other music directors of his time." Milliblog reviewed "Gautam’s fish-out-of-bowl state shows as he grapples with Rahman’s divergently different melodic palette." Radioandmusic.com gave the album 3.5 out of 5 and reviewed "Experimental in nature, the album Vinnaithandi Varuvaya exudes freshness. My pick in the album includes Hossana which would go well with the audiences, Alphonse Joseph owes Rahman for beautiful composition- Aaoromale and Mannipaya."

Accolades

Album credits

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

Producers

Songwriters

(Composer & Arranger) *

(Lyrics) *

(Lyrics,

)

Performers

Benny Dayal Benny Dayal (born 13 May 1984) is a UAE-born Indian playback singer. He is a prominent singer in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Gujarati and Marathi and more languages films. He is a member of the band S5, launched by ...

Devan Ekambaram Devan Ekambaram (born 25 December 1975) is an Indian American film playback singer, actor and Film composer, composer. He began his career as a playback singer in Tamil language, Tamil films, and later branched out to many other south Indian lan ...

, Chinmayi, Karthik,

Vijay Prakash Vijay Prakash (born 21 February 1976) is an Indian Playback singer and Music director from Karnataka. He has given his voice for predominantly Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu language films, in addition to Hindi, Malayalam and Marathi language ...

, Suzanne,

Blaaze Lakshmi Narasimha Vijaya Rajagopala Sheshadri Sharma Rajesh Raman (born 15 October 1975), professionally known as Blaaze (), is an Indian Tamil language playback singer and rapper in Indian cinema who specializes in writing and performing rap m ...

Naresh Iyer Naresh Iyer (born 3 January 1981) is an Indian playback singer. Born in Mumbai, Iyer is fluent in Tamil, Hindi and Marathi. Naresh Iyer has rendered 2000 film songs in several Indian languages and has several chart hits to his credit. His r ...

Alphons Joseph Alphons Joseph is an Indian music director and playback singer who works in Malayalam film industry. He debuted with 2003 movie ''Vellithira (2003 film), Vellithira''. Alphons is also noted for singing "Aaromale" from the film ''Vinnaithaandi V ...

, Megha

Musicians

Nadaswaram The ''nadaswaram'' is a double reed wind instrument from South India. It is used as a traditional classical instrument in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala and in the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka. This i ...

- Natarajan *

Guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

- Johny George, Sanjeev Thomas, Keith Peters *

Violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

- Ganesh Rajagopalan *

Flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

- Naveen Kumar, Kiran *

Cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

- Elith Martyn *

Strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

- Chennai Strings Orchestra (conducted by V. J. Srinivasamurthy) *

Choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

KM Music Conservatory KM Music Conservatory (KMMC) is a conservatoire college founded A. R. Rahman by AR Rahman Foundation Located in Arumbakkam, Chennai, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the conservatory offers a range of part-time and full-time courses in Hin ...

Backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

Suzanne D'Mello Suzanne D'Mello, formerly known as Suzie Q, is an Indian playback singer of Bollywood films and other regional films. She also has voiced jingles for television advertisements. Career Over the years, Suzanne has worked with several music direc ...

, Vivek Agarwal, Dr. Narayanan, V. V. Prasanna, Haricharan Seshadri,

Personnel

* Additional programming and arrangement - T. R. Krishna Chetan,

P. A. Deepak P.A.Deepak (Adrushta Deepak Pallikonda) is a mix engineer and record producer. He is the winner of two Grammy Awards and a Grammy Certificate of Honor, including the 2010 Grammy Award for the " Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media" fo ...

, Hentry Kuruvilla, Vivianne Chaix * Additional vocal supervisor - Srinivas Doraisamy

Sound engineers

Panchathan Record Inn Panchathan Record Inn and AM Studios is composer/music director A. R. Rahman's studio on his street at Kodambakkam, Chennai in Tamil Nadu. History The Inn was established in 1989, attached to Rahman's backyard, and developed into one of the ...

, T.R. Krishna Chetan, Vivianne Chaix, Suresh Perumal, Kannan Ganpat *

AM Studios Panchathan Record Inn and AM Studios is composer/music director A. R. Rahman's studio on his street at Kodambakkam, Chennai in Tamil Nadu. History The Inn was established in 1989, attached to Rahman's backyard, and developed into one of the ...

- Sivakumar S

Production

* Mixed by -

K. J. Singh Kanwarjit Singh Sawhney, a.k.a. K.J. Singh is an Indian audio engineer/music producer based in Mumbai who won the 54th National Film Award (India), National Film Award for National Film Award for Best Audiography, Best Audiography and Filmfare ...

* Mastered by - Sivakumar S * Musicians co-ordinatior - Noel James, T. M. Faizuddin * Musicians fixer - Samidurai Music Label -

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

Pvt. Ltd.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (Soundtrack) A. R. Rahman soundtracks Tamil film soundtracks 2010 soundtrack albums Sony Music India soundtracks