Thala-Thalapathy fan bases boost business

While it’s a known fact that the box office rejoices with each Thala and Thalapathy release, it’s not the only beneficiary from every new Vijay or Ajith film. The usually dormant music business is nourished by such high profile releases.

Despite the advent of the digital revolution, the physical CD sales of Thalaivaa and Arrambam this year have been extremely healthy and it is purely a result of the Thala-Thalapathy fan bases which throng to stores to own a copy of their idol’s album.

The day Veeram’s audio was released, Coimbatore Ajith fans held an audio release function of their own at Archana Theatre. Madurai also witnessed scenes like it was a first day first show with Vijay fans and Ajith fans engaging in extravagant celebrations.

With the music of Veeram and Jilla arriving in quick succession the music industry is cherishing the fact that 2013 is ending on a high. Popular stores in Chennai and Pondicherry have seen huge demands for both the albums. According to sources in the Landmark store, the pre-release demand of both albums had required them to place fresh orders, which too found takers almost immediately.

The store manager of Tic Tac, a popular audio outlet in Pondy, points out that the sales have been driven by particular songs from each album. He says “Ajith’s intro song ‘Nallavannu Solvaanga’ from Veeram has become a hit amongst the fans and likewise ‘Kandangi’ sung in Vijay’s own voice has won over his legions of fans”.

An official from Junglee music, label for Veeram, has revealed that the tracks have been performing exceptionally well in the mobile downloads space as well recording close to 800 downloads a day with ‘Nallavannu Solvaanga’ leading the pack and ‘Ratha Gaja’ coming in second.

Talking about the response to Jilla’s audio to Behindwoods, composer Imman said “I want to thank all the Vijay fans for the love they have shown for the music. I was a bit nervous in the beginning to make Vijay sing a melody fearing if his fans would be open to the idea but now I’m jubilant seeing the way ‘Kandangi’ has been received. Not just ‘Kandangi’ but even the other melody ‘Verasa Pogailye’ has gone down well with the masses.”

When asked if he was surprised how well the melodies have gained acceptance Imman offered his take by saying, “After Kumki’s success I decided to stick to my strength in melodies despite Jilla being a mass entertainer because I believe that melodies always win and it will always stand the test of time, and it also promotes quality music. Vijay too has been very happy with the music and he invited me over to his place after the audio release and congratulated me. There’s a lot of positive vibes around this film now and I’m happy to know that my music has played its part in it.”

Jilla director, Neason, told Behindwoods that he was always confident that ‘Kandangi’ would be a sure shot hit and he felt that Vijay’s cute dance moves, choreographed by Dinesh master, for ‘Verasa Pogailye’ would make for another winner but he feels that each subsequent listen to the album would fetch a new favorite song. About Vijay’s dance moves in the other songs Neason said “Both ‘Jingunamani’ and ‘Eppo Mama Treat’ will be a festival for Vijay fans and we are certain that it will have people dancing along in the theatres.”

Director of Veeram, Siva, expressed his gladness over the fact that album was declared a hit straightaway upon release. He said that he’s been travelling in buses and autos to get a sense of the reach of the songs and is pleased with the fact that the music has been spread evenly across various classes.

“I set out to make a film for the whole family and the same approach implied for the music as well, and that was my brief to DSP. He and his team have worked hard day and night along with lyricist Viveka to ensure that the songs could be enjoyed by people of all ages. The visual highpoints for the songs would undoubtedly be Ajith, as he’s danced like never before. He performed with a level of happiness that encapsulates the entire tone of the film.”, said Siva.

Lyricist Viveka said he received clear cut instructions while writing Ajith’s intro song in Veeram, “I did have Ajith’s fans in mind while writing the song but I was told clearly not to use any ‘Thala’ references or any lines that bordered around overpraise. I’ve written for an Ajith film long after my debut ‘Nee Varuvayenna’ and the response has been overwhelming with fans sending me a lot of goodwill messages. ”

Apart from contributing to all the tracks in Veeram, Viveka has also written three tunes in Vijay’s Jilla, “I had written quite a few hit songs for Vijay such as ‘Daddy Mummy’ and with tracks like ‘Jingunamani’ and ‘Yeppo Mama Treatu’ you could say that such commercial numbers is a specialty of mine. ‘Jingunamani’ especially got Vijay’s attention and he told me that the song would take off big time with the masses.”

It is after several years that Vijay and Ajith albums have arrived at almost the same time and both the soundtracks have achieved to set the film’s agenda straight. They have also managed to go a step further and provide musical moments which have fueled the films expectations even further.