Of Ilaiyaraaja's touch and Rahman's experiment

The maestro’s version of a Netflix show’s popular theme music goes viral while the Oscar winner’s directorial debut grabs eyeballs at Cannes

A screening session of the virtual reality film 'Le Musk', directed by A R Rahman. Credit: Special arrangement

‘Raaja kaiya vacha...Strange ah ponadhilla’, wrote Ilaiyaraaja on Twitter. It was a spin off on the hit song from the iconic Tamil flick ‘Apoorva Sagodharagal’ (1986). The music maestro, who has had a vibrant presence on Twitter lately, was drawing people’s attention to his unique collaboration with a streaming giant.

Netflix, frustrated with its lack of success in India, is looking towards the southern industries for better results. To increase its subscription base, it is learnt that Netflix has greenlighted six TV shows, which are set to be out in Telugu and Tamil.

As part of their continuous attempt to impress the regional audience, it sprang a surprise by dropping the maestro’s version of the theme music of the popular American web series ‘Stranger Things’, whose fourth season is set to be out in two parts. The first part released on Friday and the second part is set to release on July 1. The sci-fi horror drama is set to premier in Telugu and Tamil as well.

The viral score had the stamp of Ilaiyaraaja’s famous uncanny style of the 80s. In the two-minute video, Ilaiyaraaja’s tunes blend well with the world of ‘Stranger Things’.

“The maestro’s version has turned our world upside down,” tweeted Netflix as the Indian twist to the theme thrilled fans.

The video starts with four children at a gaming centre. They suddenly enter another world and are puzzled to see Ilaiyaraaja along with other musicians on the beach. He enhances the famous opening track with fine orchestration arrangement and use of Indian and Western melodies. The visuals have also raised rumours that the show was shot in south India.

Rahman’s unique debut

AR Rahman’s first big step in directing a film was the recently released ‘99 Songs’, for which he wrote the story. While that film bombed, he has high hopes on his full-fledged directorial-debut ‘Le Musk’.

The Oscar-winning composer’s work grabbed eyeballs at its world premiere in the ongoing 75th Cannes Film Festival. It is a 37-minute-long virtual reality film aiming to offer an immersive experience to the audience. The film’s cast is led by French actress and singer Nora Arnezeder.

The plot revolves around an heiress and musician who, 20 years after being orphaned, goes in search of men who changed her destiny with one powerful memory, which is the scent.

“We have aimed to create an unprecedented and subtle sensory cinematic surrealism. Aroma and music together bring warm memories subjectively for the audience,” said Rahman. Rahman and his team worked with Positron, a Los Angeles-based virtual reality technology and entertainment company. Positron’s Voyager VR motion chair gives an extra dimension to the viewers by virtually placing them in the scene. The VR headsets are set to make the viewers feel as if the film’s story is happening around them.