Thiruchitrambalam (soundtrack)

Thiruchitrambalam is the soundtrack album to the 2022 film of the same name directed by Mithran R. Jawahar and produced by Sun Pictures. Starring Dhanush, Nithya Menen, Raashii Khanna, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Bharathiraja and Prakash Raj, the film's musical score is composed by Anirudh Ravichander, and featured five songs, with four of them were released as singles prior to the album and film release, and the fifth track was later unveiled as a bonus song from the film. One of the songs in the film were written by Vivek, while Dhanush wrote the remainder of it and also sung for three tracks. Anirudh and composer Santhosh Narayanan recorded one song each for the album.

Background
The musical score is composed by Anirudh Ravichander, in his fifth collaboration with Dhanush after the former's debut film 3 (2012), Velaiilla Pattadhari (2014), Maari and Thanga Magan (2015), and also his reunion with Dhanush after seven years, since their last film Thanga Magan. It is also Anirudh's first collaboration with Jawahar. Anirudh's inclusion was confirmed by Sun Pictures in October 2020, when the film was in pre-production and under the working title D44 (Dhanush's 44th film as an actor in leading role).

The soundtrack to Thiruchitrambalam featured four songs, with all of them were released as singles. "Thaai Kelavi", the first single from the album sung and written by Dhanush, was released on 24 June 2022. It was followed by "Megham Karukkatha" also sung by Dhanush, released on 6 July, and "Life of Pazham" released on 13 July, sung by Anirudh Ravichander and lyrics written by Vivek. The final track from the film, "Thenmozhi", sung by Santhosh Narayanan, was released on 16 July, at the film's audio launch event happened at Jeppiaar Engineering College, Chennai. Dhanush and Anirudh also performed the songs at the launch event, attended by the film's cast and crew and other celebrities.

While the album had only four songs, a fifth song from the film, "Mayakkama Kalakkama" sung by Dhanush was released on 26 August 2022, as a bonus track from the album. The song was featured in the film, as a reprised version of "Thenmozhi". This song was used instead of the original version, as the former was conceived as a love failure song, but the track does not suit well with the film's storyline, hence, the track "Mayakkama Kalakkama" was written. The song portrays on Dhanush's struggles with the relationship.

Background score
The original soundtrack was released by Sun Pictures on 26 September 2022.

Reception
Initially, the soundtrack garnered mixed responses from critics and listeners. Moviecrow rated 2.5/5 to the soundtrack and stated that the album "lacks freshness and the weakest album from the duo that fails to live up to the expectations." In contrast, critic Siddharth Srinivas had stated "Anirudh has a created a major impact with the songs in his earlier albums of the year, but the same cannot be said about Thiruchitrambalam. The album is a lightweight and breezy soundtrack that is in line with his other albums such as Thangamagan, and keeps us entertained for its runtime. Hopefully, it will fly bigger with the film." The songs "Megham Karukatha" and "Life of Pazham" received a more favorable response from critics.

However, following the film's release, the album and musical score received more positive response, akin to the film. Firstpost-based critic Priyanka Sundar wrote "This also marks Dhanush and Anirudh's comeback collaboration, but to be honest, the highlight musical moments in the film belonged to Ilaiyaraaja. Thiruchitrambalam (Dhanush) is a fan of the maestro and every important moment in his life — sad or happy — is accentuated by the maestro's music. Anirudh has captured the attention of audiences with Thaikelavi and Megham Karukkadha, but the background score does seem stale. In fact, many instances take us back to Thangamagan."

Reviewing Anirudh's score, Sowmya Rajendran of The News Minute wrote "Anirudh's background score complements the subtle, unheroic tone of the film. The music director has made a name for himself for the adrenaline pumping scores of star vehicles, but in this film he shows that he can be restrained and mellow when needed." She further praised the picturisation of the song "Megham Karukatha" further stating that it "brings back memories of "Vennilave Vennilave" from Minsara Kanavu". S. Srivatsan of The Hindu opined that the score "follows the structure of Velaiilla Pattadhari".

Controversy
A social activist has lodged a complaint against the makers of the film asking them to change the lyrics of the song "Thaai Kelavi", as the lyrics of the song are shown to be disrespectful to the elders.