Suganth M (BOMBAY TIMES; April 23, 2020)

Many musicians and celebrities have come out with songs during the ongoing lockdown. And today, Kamal Haasan is all set to release the Tamil song, Arivum Anbum, which will be “a song of hope, positivity and love in these testing times”. Kamal has written and sung the song, apart from directing its video, which features several South Indian artistes. We talked to the actor-director about why he chose to make this track, composed by Ghibran. Excerpts...

As a politician, you have been vocal in expressing your views about the Coronavirus pandemic. So, what made you make a song as well?
There is a certain psychiatry in music. We, as children, are trained to become peaceful with music, and this starts with the mother’s lullaby. It might sound funny, and at times, it doesn’t even have lyrics, but it instills peace and calm in the child. It lulls them into calmness and that is the idea of the song.

What does the song address?
It will tell you what we can be, what we have already been… it’s a reminder and an anthem of hope. We need it now because we are worried about what will happen next. Things are going to change and we will have to convince ourselves that we can adapt. The song is a reminder of what we are capable of. This virtual collaboration has made me proud of my tribe, not just locally, but internationally... the tribe of artistes who are doing so much. And this is just the beginning.

At a time when the less-privileged are facing an existential crisis, do you think that it is possible to spread positivity and hope through a song?
I have my own way of calming my people, who have been neglected. This may definitely not feed them, but in case they are lonely and living in dire conditions, somewhere, this piece of music will help them stay positive.

Is the title of the song, Arivum Anbum, your way of saying that love and wisdom will be constant in the face of such a calamity?
I believe in the ‘meme’ — not what you see in trolling, but memory. Genes might get diluted over a span of generations, but a sincere saying/thought will live for thousands of years. Hence, Arivum, meaning wisdom and intelligence, and Anbum, meaning love, which are all-encompassing words, are what we need at the time of such a crisis.
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KAMAL’S COLLABORATORS

The celebrities who have collaborated on this song include Anirudh, Ghibran, Shruti Haasan, Siddharth, Shankar Mahadevan, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Andrea Jeremiah, Bombay Jayashri, Sid Sriram, Mugen Rao, Devi Sri Prasad and Lydian Nadhaswaram.