Being Thamarai

It was in the year 2001 when lyricist Thamarai, after close to five years of slogging in the film industry, tasted success in all its euphoric grandeur.
The film Minnale signalled the arrival of a new creative team — director Gautham Menon, composer Harris Jayaraj and Thamarai herself — that went on to become one of the dominant forces in Tamil film music for the decade.
Now, that team might have changed — Harris is no longer a part of it — but there doesn’t seem to be a cause for concern.For, it is AR Rahman who has come on board! Naturally, the first question that one pops to Thamarai is on how different this new team is. “Well, it isn’t very different as I’ve already worked with both Gautham and Rahman separately,” she begins, pauses and adds, “But yes, Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa was Rahman’s first Tamil project after his victory at the Oscars and also his first film with Gautham. In that sense, there were added expectations from this film.”
How is that Thamarai and Gautham seem to bring out the best in each other? “When it comes to Gautham, he tells his stories in a simple, straightforward manner with a slight western touch. So, my writing style will be natural and simple. Actually, we rarely talk to each other between films. It is only when we begin a project that we keep talking about it endlessly,” she reveals.
Known for her penchant for imagery (Anal maele pani thuli... (dew on a flame)), Thamarai makes no bones about her lesser output. “I prefer working on one song at a time,” she says, “When I’m writing a song, I repeatedly listen to the tune till the tune keeps playing in my head. I switch myself off. But internally, a thought process will be on. Ultimately, the lyrics that come out will appear tailor-made for the tune and seem to have come from within the hearts of the character.”
Thamarai, whose refusal to use obscenity and English words in her lyrics have added to her stature, admits that she’s a stickler for details when it comes to lyric writing. “I ask directors to keep talking about their film and characters and note down every detail diligently. The reason is that the same song can be treated differently by different directors and composers,” she reveals and quotes Kangal Irandaal..., her monster-hit from Subramaniapuram, as an example, “The song comes quite early in the film and there wasn’t a need for me to hear the entire story. And the situation is quite generic — a boy and girl expressing their love through glances alone. Still, I asked Sasikumar to narrate the entire story because the film is set in the 80s and I wanted the minutest of details about both the leads. That helped me avoid high-sounding literary words which might not have reflected the characters.”
So, how long does it take her to complete a song? “Well, it depends, but I need a minimum of four days,” says Thamarai, who mentions that she keeps her song diary by her side all the time. “Whenever there is a creative flash, I write it down immediately,” she chips in and adds, “I would say Omana Penne... in Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa was a challenge, in the sense that it took Gautham and me almost four hours to decipher the tune! However, coming up with the lyrics took lesser time.”
So, what about the rumour that she’s been approached by Mani Ratnam to pen the dialogues for his next film? She smiles and refutes it categorically. “I don’t want to diversify. It has taken me a lot to achieve this position and I just don’t want to throw it away. As film lyrics influence a wide range of people, I consider them as an instrument through which I can try and propagate my social and political views,” she signs off.
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