Chennai musician Achu Rajamani’s ‘Vaa Thala’ is a tribute to MS Dhoni
The Hindu
Achu Rajamani's fast-paced Tamil track 'Vaa Thala' is a musical tribute to MS Dhoni and IPL 2024.
Between the tense moments of a nail-biting IPL cricket match the strains of the fast-paced Tamil track ‘Vaa Thala’ plays out.
Often heard between overs during the Star Sports telecast, it features kuthu beats. It is not only a musical representation of the IPL but also a tribute to MS Dhoni, fondly called Thala, for whom IPL 2024 might just be a final outing on the big cricketing stage.
The man behind the track is composer Achu Rajamani, well known among Tamil cinema music fans for his melodies like ‘En Uyire’ (Maalai Pozhudin Mayakathile) and ‘Siru Nadai’ (Urumeen).
“The last mass song I attempted was in 2014, and since then, I have deliberately not taken up any commercial films,” says Achu, “ So, ‘Vaa Thala’ was like an explosion for me. The person for whom I’m making music should inspire me, and who better than MS Dhoni? Despite all the pressure on him, he remains calm and yet, there’s a fire inside him. ‘Vaa Thala’ is an ode to that fire.”
Changing tracks
Achu is the son of late renowned Malayalam music composer Rajamani, and arrived on the music scene in the early 2000s. From 2003 to 2009, Achu was busy as a keyboard player, working on multiple projects, before he landed a film of his own: the Malayalam film Kurukshetra.
He followed that up with Ennai Theriyuma and Polladhavan’s Telugu remake. “After that, I went blank. I didn’t know what to do. I desperately needed a break.” And so, he took a break from movies and music, and travelled down another track, quite literally. Achu pursued a career in car racing, winning many championships, but music never let him go. “Whenever I travelled for racing, I made music demos. I wanted a fresh start.”