Mona Gasolina was Fun to Write: Madhan Karky

Madhan Karky’s Mona Gasolina (for Lingaa) has garnered positive response from social media users and music reviewers. Recounting the experience of penning it, Karky said that his father Vairamuthu, who has written all the other songs for the film, couldn’t write Mona Gasolina, as he had to travel to Switzerland to participate in an event conducted by the Tamil Sangam.

Mona Gasolina is Karky’s third Rajinikanth song, after Boom Boom Robo Da and Irumbile Oru Idhaiyam for Enthiran. “KS Ravikumar explained the concept to me. The song is about the romance between a girl and a thief, which is told through three short stories featuring Jack Sparrow (the Pirate), Robin Hood (the outlaw) and a hacker, who manages to steal data,” he said, adding that the lyrics were penned when AR Rahman sent him the tune.

AR Rahman had suggested that the song could be improvised by adding Spanish flavour to it. The Spanish lyrics that are featured in the beginning were penned by singer Tanvi Shah. “Mano sir was about to catch a flight for a concert when he dropped by AR Rahman’s studio. We were floored by his enthusiasm and energy. His portions were recorded in four hours. He kept laughing, and enjoyed himself during the recording. After his recording session, we thought it would be difficult to get a singer to render the female version; it would be impossible to match his energy,” said Karky.

That’s when AR Rahman offered a suggestion, that one of his favourite singers, Neeti Mohan, could do justice. “Neeti Mohan has done a great job, especially in the pallavi, while humming Mona Mona and the way she has sung Lingaa Lingaa.” Karky declared that “Mona Gasolina was fun to write” and the recording session was one of the most memorable ones. His favourite lines from the song are:

♀ சாரங்கி நரம்பா நான் ஏங்கிக் கெடந்தேன்
நீ என்ன உரச நான் என்ன மறந்தேன்!

♂ பீரங்கிக் குழலில் நான் தூங்கிக் கெடந்தேன்
நீ காதலக் கொளுத்த நான் வானில் பறந்தேன்!

With AR Rahman’s tune and Mano’s voice, the song sounds like the modern age Mukkabala Mukkabala (from Shankar’s Kadhalan).