Cobra (soundtrack)

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Cobra
Soundtrack album cover for Cobra
Soundtrack album by
A. R. Rahman
Released16 July 2022
Recorded2019–2022
Studio
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length21:15
LanguageTamil
LabelSony Music India
ProducerA. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman chronology
Iravin Nizhal
(2022) 		Cobra
(2022) 		Ponniyin Selvan: I
(2022)
External audio
audio icon Official Audio Jukebox on YouTube
Singles from Cobra
  1. "Thumbi Thullal"
    Released: 22 June 2020
  2. "Adheeraa"
    Released: 15 April 2022
  3. "Uyir Urugudhey"
    Released: 4 July 2022

Cobra is the soundtrack album composed by A. R. Rahman, to the 2022 Indian Tamil-language psychological action thriller film of the same name,[1][2] directed by R. Ajay Gnanamuthu, starring Vikram, Srinidhi Shetty, Miya George, Mirnalini Ravi, Meenakshi Govindarajan, Irfan Pathan, Roshan Mathew and K.S. Ravikumar in lead roles. The film marks Rahman's fourth collaboration with Vikram after composing for Pudhiya Mannargal (1994), Raavanan (2010) and I (2015).[3] The songs for the film featured lyrics written by Thamarai, Pa. Vijay, Vivek and Jithin Raj.[4] The soundtrack was released at the audio launch held on 15 July 2022 at Phoenix Marketcity, Chennai.

Production[edit]

The album is reported to have five tracks. Out of which, "Thumbi Thullal" was the first song composed by Rahman for this flick in mid-2019.[5] Gnanamuthu mentioned he wanted the track to have celebratory tunes with lyrics that have "a deeper meaning and are emotional". Shreya Ghoshal provided female vocals and Nakul Abhyankar provided male vocals on track.[6] Abhyankar only song the scratch portions of the track, until his version was finalised for the album.[7] He worked on Cobra's soundtrack and sang chorus portions of the songs until the male charanam.[5] As per him, the vocal harmony was recorded to sound like "gumbala paadara maadhihri irukkanum" (transl. It should sound like chorus singing).[5] He further added the track "is a new age track with a tinge of classical Indian music and he [Rahman] is the master of doing such music, right from Roja (1992), where he was able to mash up and seamlessly blend two different genres".[8]

Initially, the track was recorded with gibberish and hummings.[5] The lyrics were penned later. For the Malayalam lyrics, playback singer Jithin Raj brainstormed with the team (Rahman, Vivek and Gnanamuthu) who briefed him to centralise lyrics on a festival theme. Later, he was called to record vocals in Malayalam.[9] Raj said that, he had no idea on writing lyrics for the tracks, but, as he was a Malayali, he went with the overall theme of the song, that could fit with the film's music.[9] The track spans around 4 minutes and half more; is spaced with orchestral strings, the score transcriptions were written by Shubham Bhat.[10] The improvised nadaswaram notes written were based on composition by Sheik Chinna Moulana.[10] Further, prominent instruments on the track are flute, sitar, thavil and continuum.[10]

The original song was recorded by Vagu Mazan and rap verses by Thoughts for Now (Shiv).[11][12] Abhyankar did choral arrangements for the track, alongside programming and mixing,[13] and called that it was "so energetic", that he could imagine it as "a very powerful and thumping track", when being composed in the initial stages.[11] Rahman also performed vocals for the track "Uyir Uruguthey".[14] "Tharangini" was performed by Sarthak Kalyani, a contestant of Rahman's YouTube show ARRived, who described it as the "song of the year".[15]

In August 2022, during his concert tour at the United States, Rahman began working on the mixing and re-recording of the film's score.[16][17]

Release[edit]

Cobra's soundtrack was led by three singles, with the first track from the film, "Thumbi Thullal" was released on 22 June 2020.[18][19] Two years later, the second single "Adheeraa" was launched on 15 April 2022,[20] followed by "Uyir Uruguthey" was released on 4 July.[21] The audio launch was held at the Palladium Mall in Phoenix Marketcity, Chennai, on 15 July,[22] featuring the cast and crew in attendance, and a live musical performance from Rahman and his team.[23][24]

Track listing[edit]

The official track list was released on 14 July 2022, a day before the album release.[25][26] Despite the physical launch event, the soundtrack album was released to digital platforms a day later, on 16 July.[27]

No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Thumbi Thullal"Vivek, Jithin RajShreya Ghoshal, Nakul Abhyankar4:43
2."Adheeraa"Pa. VijayVagu Mazan, Thoughts for Now4:19
3."Uyir Urugudhey"ThamaraiA. R. Rahman, Sreekanth Hariharan5:14
4."Tharangini"ThamaraiSarthak Kalyani3:37
5."Yele Ilanchingamey"Pa. VijayRakshita Suresh3:28
Total length:21:15

Reception[edit]

For the track "Thumbi Thullal", Humming Heart reviewed that "The song has a very busy arrangement of classical instruments throughout, complex structuring and a tune that is not often easy to follow amidst several sounds fighting for attention. But when Shreya Ghoshal lands the opening ‘Thumbi Thumbi’ note following a meandering tune and onomatopoeic sounds, the song materializes and how.[28] The Indian Express stated "Thumbi Thullal is partially a Malayalam song like "Jiya Jale" from Dil Se ("Nenjinile" from Uyire) which has a catchy Malayalam chorus followed by Tamil lyrics."[29] The News Minute also wrote about the track, saying "This song has plenty of AR Rahman tropes in it, especially in its chorus, and comes across as a perfect blend of the evolution of his composing styles, from the '90s to now. One can discern a whiff of his Bombay, Uyire, Varalaru and O Kadhal Kanmani albums mixed into this song."[19]

Reviewing for the soundtrack, Moviecrow wrote "Rahman made the soundtrack worthwhile with a couple of melodies".[30] Calling it as a "terrific soundtrack", critic Siddharth Srinivas gave 3.5/5 and wrote that the album "has many hit numbers in it and is sure to fly higher with the visuals. The songs do not have much of noise in them, and still score superbly thanks to the variety that they come in. Rahman has interestingly delivered a solid soundtrack in his first combination with Ajay Gnanamuthu."[31]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Vikram's next with Ajay Gnanamuthu titled 'Cobra'". The Hindu. 26 December 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  2. ^ "Vikram's character and cobra have a link: Ajay Gnanamuthu". The Times of India. 26 December 2019. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  3. ^ "AR Rahman to compose music for Vikram's next with Ajay Gnanamuthu". The News Minute. 14 July 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  4. ^ The Hindu Net Desk (13 July 2019). "AR Rahman joins team of 'Vikram 58'". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d Lakshmi, V (27 June 2020). "Nakul Abhyankar recorded Shreya Ghoshal's voice for ARR's Thumbi Thullal song". The Times of India. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Singer Nakul Abhyankar on working with Shreya Ghoshal for Thumbi Thullal from the Vikram-starrer Cobra". www.indulgexpress.com. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  7. ^ Sudevan, Praveen (8 July 2020). "'I thought I was singing only the scratch track': Nakul Abhyakar on ARR's 'Thumbi Thullal' single". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  8. ^ "'Thumbi Thullal' is a straight-from-heart melody: Nakul on singing for AR Rahman". The News Minute. 21 July 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  9. ^ a b Ramamoorthy, Preethi (24 July 2020). "Jithin Raj on penning lyrics for AR Rahman's 'Thumbi Thullal'". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  10. ^ a b c Cobra – Thumbi Thullal Lyric | Chiyaan Vikram | AR Rahman | Ajay Gnanamuthu | 7 Screen Studio, retrieved 8 October 2021
  11. ^ a b Swaminathan, Prakash. "It was a special feeling to perform with Rahman sir: Nakul Abhyankar - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  12. ^ "Cobra song Adheeraa: Vikram comes across as a shapeshifter in AR Rahman musical". The Indian Express. 22 April 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  13. ^ India, The Hans (24 May 2022). "Nakul Abhyankar releases 7 songs in 5 languages in last 2 months". www.thehansindia.com. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  14. ^ "Uyir Uruguthe Song From Vikram Starrer Cobra Set to Release Today". News18. 4 July 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  15. ^ Ramanujam, Srinivasa (2 August 2022). "Meet Sarthak Kalyani, the singer who wowed AR Rahman". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  16. ^ "AR Rahman works on Vikram's Cobra tunes during US concert tour". OTTPlay. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  17. ^ "AR Rahman Gives Final Touches To Chiyaan Vikram-Starrer Cobra". News18. 5 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  18. ^ A.R. Rahman – Thumbi Thullal (From "Cobra"), Tidal, 22 June 2020, retrieved 4 July 2020
  19. ^ a b "AR Rahman's festive 'Thumbi Thullal' from Vikram's 'Cobra' is out". The News Minute. 22 June 2020. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  20. ^ Desk, Online (17 April 2022). "Cobra second single: 'Adheeraa' became a melodious party number". DT next. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  21. ^ "AR Rahman's soul-stirring melody from Chiyaan Vikram starrer 'Cobra' is here! - Tamil News". IndiaGlitz.com. 5 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  22. ^ "Grand Audio Launch of Vikram's Cobra on July 15 in Chennai". News18. 9 July 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  23. ^ "Actor Vikram attends Cobra audio launch, dispels rumours of heart attack". The News Minute. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  24. ^ "AR Rahman to perform live at 'Cobra' audio launch; Vikram to grace the event - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  25. ^ "Vikram's Cobra tracklist out". Cinema Express. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  26. ^ "Track List of Vikram's Cobra Released, Grand Audio Launch Today". News18. 15 July 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  27. ^ A.R. Rahman (16 July 2022). "Cobra (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes. Apple Music. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  28. ^ "LISTEN | AR Rahman's 'Thumbi Thullal' from Cobra". A Humming Heart. 24 June 2020. Archived from the original on 6 September 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  29. ^ "Cobra song Thumbi Thullal: AR Rahman delivers a Jiya Jale-esque track". The Indian Express. 23 June 2020. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  30. ^ "Cobra Songs - Music Review". www.moviecrow.com. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  31. ^ "Cobra Songs Review". Only Kollywood. 18 July 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
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