THE TREND OF USING PHRASES FROM HIT SONGS AS TITLES IS BACK .
FUTURE PROJECTS WITH PHRASES FROM SONGS AS TITLES Thenmerku Paruvakaatru Chikku Bukku Inidhu Inidhu Maalai Pozhudhin Mayakathiley Mayilu
Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya got its title from the song Vennilave vennilave vinnaithaandi varuvaaya...from Minsara Kanavu
Mundhinam Partheney was named after the song Mundhinam Partheney...from Vaaranam Aayiram
Saroja was titled after the song Saroja saamaan nikaalo... from Chennai 600028
Theeratha Vilayattu Pillaiwas titled after the Bharathiyar song Theeratha vilayattu pillai...from the film Vethala Ulagam.
Vennilave vennilave vinnaithaandi varuvaayaa… from Minsara Kanavu, Mundhinam partheney… from Vaaranam Aayiram and Thenmerku paruvakaatru… from Karuthamma respectively. With a series of films in recent times—Aayirathil Oruvan, Satrumun Kidaitha Thagaval, Theeratha Vilayattu Pillai, Rajathi Raja, Manjal Veyil, Ninaithale Inikkum— deriving their names from the lines of hit songs, it looks like the trend is catching like fire in Kollywood, again!
“Naming films after hit songs was quite a rage in the 80s and 90s. For example, my father, director Gangai Amaran’s Enga Ooru Paattukkaran had a hit song, Shenbagame shenbagame.... Since the song was a chartbuster, another Ramarajan film was titled Shenbagame Shenbagame to cash in on the popularity of the song. Everything comes a full circle and it’s the same with this trend,” says director Venkat Prabhu, who made the superhit film Saroja. In fact, Venkat named his second venture Saroja after the song Saroja saamaan nikaalo… in his directorial debut Chennai 600028 turned out to be a chartbuster. “The lines had a great recall value and I was pretty sure that it would appeal to the audience.” For director Magilzh Thirumeni, who directed the romantic fare Mundhinam Partheney, his film’s title was a tribute to his mentor, Gautham Vasudev Menon. “I had worked as an associate director with Gautham and I wanted to thank him through one of my films. And when I got the opportunity to do Mundhinam Partheney, I couldn’t think of a better title for the film. It was not only the opening line of a hit number from Vaaranam Aayiram directed by Gautham, but it also suited the storyline perfectly. Titles like these help people remember the names of films easily as the songs have already got registered in their minds,” he says.
Seconding him is director Thiru of Theeratha Vilayattu Pillai (TVP) fame. “I named my film TVP for two reasons.
Firstly, it was a famous song of
Mahakavi Bharathi which every Tamilian could relate to. Secondly, my hero in the film was a playboy who loved the company of women. This title gave the essence of the film and at the same time, was
appealing.”
But is the dearth of titles
forcing directors to rely on catchy lyrics from hit numbers? “I do not buy that theory. Films are great entertainers and they will be made with the same passion in future too. Earlier, a number of plays were adapted into films and when directors used the same titles, the audience could instantly relate to them. Similarly, when film titles based on hit numbers do well at the box office, it not only reaches the audience easily but also inspires other directors to use such titles,” explains Thiru.
Director Thirumeni, who says that this trend doesn’t indicate a dearth of titles, sums it up, “This is just another trend. But every story has a potential title hidden in its storyline. Once a filmmaker discovers it, there can be no better title for his film.”
Posts
