For all those who were bowled over by the “Anti-Indian” song by the Arivu-ofRO duo, there’s a whole new album that you’ll want to add to your playlist right now. Titled Therukural, the album has 7 songs in total and is available for streaming on Spotify, Amazon, Apple Music, Google Play and Tidal.
The album’s first song “Kalla Mouni” is a sarcastic take on the people who just dip their toes in social movements and protests for the sake of a “trend” and move on without really doing anything for the cause. The song’s starting line: “Bore adikudhu poradalam vanga thozha; yar adutadhu superstar paru thozha” that translates to “I’m bored, let’s protest. Check out who’s the next Superstar” already has us laughing and by the time we get to the song’s refrain “you sly, silent guy who gathers a crowd and raises a furore; you sly, silent guy who screams till your throat runs dry” its layered sarcasm becomes all the more enjoyable.
By the end of it, we inevitably evaluate if we’ve ever been the sly-silent person (kalla mouni) this song refers to.
The album also has the “Snowlin" song, a moving, evocative piece written in tribute to the young woman who lost her life during the Thoothukudi massacre last year. Preceding it is the “Sterlite Skit”, a brilliant piecing together of different audio clips that ends with a heart-wrenching audio of Snowlin’s mother lamenting her loss. The "Snowlin" song starts playing right after you’re moved to tears.
Then there’s the lighter number “Tamizhachi”, a shout out to all brave Tamil women, encouraging them to be whatever they what to be. This is followed by “Middle Class”, its lines filled with dark comedy that bares clean the lives of the urban middle class. This song also features Roshan Jamrock whom we heard in film songs like "Veerathurandhara" from Kabali and "Kattravai Pattravai" from Kaala.
The last song in Therukural is “Ok Sir” another brilliant number on the hardships of living that begins with "Ozachu kizhacha saaru" (Sir who has worked too hard). The song narrates the personal journey of Tenma and Arivu (portions sung in their own voice), of the rejections they’ve faced, of the hardships that drove them to this point.
By the time you reach the end of the album, in 22 minutes, you’ll want to play it another time, if haven’t already turned on your loop. You can find the album here.