Song: Thottu Thottu from Kadhal
The Artists
Singers – Haricharan, Harini Sudhakar
Composer – Joshua Sridhar
Lyricist – Na Muthukumar
Featuring – Sandhya and Bharath
The Setting
Young love takes centre stage, as Aishwarya (Sandhya) and Murugan (Bharath)’s relationship moves through a series of dates and flying kisses.
The Film
At the time of its release, Kaadhal (2004) was widely celebrated. Directed by Balaji Sakthivel, it followed a young couple, Bharath and Sandhya, whose love was doomed from the beginning. Sandhya, the treasured daughter of a rich businessman, has her life cut out for her. Her relationship with Murugan, a lower caste mechanic, is exciting; but, the family disapproves. Barely eighteen, she elopes with him to start a fresh life in Chennai. Fate catches up with them. Their happy ending is blown apart by members of Aishwarya’s family who value caste above everything else.
Years later, Aishwarya (Sandhya) is married to a much older man. Murugan (Bharath), on the other hand, is homeless and lives with an intellectual disability.
The premise, albeit chilling, is all too familiar. To protect their honour, families rarely allow inter-caste marriages in India. They do everything they can to prevent it, even if it means killing the people who dare to love beyond caste lines.
Kaadhal revived its director’s career. He went on to direct films like Vazhakku Enn 18/9 and Kalloori, whose storyline featured lovers destined to remain apart.
The Song
Recommended
Kaadhal was Joshua Sridhar’s debut film. He started out playing keyboard for the likes of AR Rahman and Mani Sharma, and their influence on his music is apparent. His album for Kaadhal had several chartbusters – the soulful Unakkena Iruppen, the sultry Kiru Kiru, and the title track Kaadhal. Joshua introduced a 17-year old singer, Haricharan Seshadri, and gave him three memorable songs to sing. It turned out to be a huge break for the youngster, who is now one of the most recognisable singers in the Tamil industry.
The song itself is an adrenaline thumping ode to first love. It segues into a chorus now and then, and is dominated by a sweet flute melody. With lyrics like “Maranam thaan vandhaalum poochendu thandhu, un madiyil thalai saaithu irappen kanne,” he captures the intense do-or-die emotions inspired by the Romeo Juliet’ kind of love. Haricharan’s angsty vocals are also perfect for the song, and complemented by Harini’s airy ones.
Like the love story of Aishwarya and Murugan, the songs too bring to mind the popular quote, “The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long.” That much is true.
*****