Aayirathil Oruvan (2010 Film) - Soundtrack

Soundtrack

The film was launched in 2007 with Selvaraghavan's regular music director, Yuvan Shankar Raja, following five successive successful albums together. However, Yuvan Shankar Raja was opted out from the project in March 2008 due to differences of opinion. Subsequently, G. V. Prakash Kumar was signed on for his biggest project to date and work for the soundtrack began again from scratch. Controversially, a song composed for the project by Yuvan Shankar Raja was still used as Prakash Kumar composition.

The soundtrack to Aayirathil Oruvan was released on 14 June 2009 at a University Auditorium in Chennai, in a critically praised event. Prominent film personalities across the South Indian film industry attended the launch, which became one of the first films to play live music at the audio launch. The launch featured live performances from G. V. Prakash Kumar and Andrea Jeremiah for several songs, as well as songs from Selvaraghavan's brother, Dhanush, and his wife, Aishwarya Dhanush. Furthermore, the night featured a fashion show from Erum Ali, a Kalari performance in Chenda Melam by dancers from Kerala led by actress Poorna and choreographed by Sivashankar.

The album features ten tunes; six songs, two alternate versions and another two theme songs. The album featured vocals from singers Karthik, Vijay Yesudas, Bombay Jayashri, Nithyasree Mahadevan and P. B. Sreenivas, who made a comeback to playback singing with his song. Moreover husband-wife personality, Dhanush and Aishwarya Dhanush, sung for the album along with the composer, Prakash Kumar and lead actress, Andrea Jeremiah. Lyrics for the songs were written by Vairamuthu, Veturi Sundararama Murthy, Selvaraghavan and Andrea Jeremiah. For a song set in the thirteenth century, research was carried out to find instruments used during that period. A Yaazh, a melodic instrument used in the Sangama Dynasty from Sri Lanka, and a horn, a brass instrument made from animal horns from Bhutan, were used. The soundtrack garnered critical acclaim and was considered Prakash Kumar's finest work to date. Furthermore, shortly after the music release, an album success meet was held.

In the film, only three songs from the album are used in their entirety. Moreover, the first song in the film, not included in the soundtrack, is the original version of "Adho Andha Paravai Pola" from the 1965 film Aayirathil Oruvan, which was bought from the original copyright holders of the song in December 2007. The film's picturisation of the three exploring the ruins of the fallen kingdom in the song, were praised.