The internet has been on fire with “Neruppu Da”, the blaring signature song of Superstar Rajinikant-starrer Kabali, ever since the song’s release. Even if you don’t watch Tamil movies, you are likely to have heard this track by now.
The man who penned the macho lyrics however is a soft spoken singer-lyricist, who shored up the poetic energy to elevate Kabali to Rajinikanth-level with the lyrics of “Neruppu Da”.
For Arunraja Kamaraj, who has spent about four years in the music industry, the offer to compose Kabali’s theme song came out of the blue.
“I got a call around 2am from Santhosh. He asked me if I was sleeping and I mumbled something. He kept the call short and just asked me to be at the studio the next day,” he says. A day later, he was at a studio hearing the track, and Santosh asked him if he could compose the lyrics.
“If I had asked for some time, there was a good chance I would have lost the opportunity. I sat down, wrote the lyrics. I would check with the music director as and when I wrote four lines. All it took was 20 minutes. But when I sat down later and read the lyrics I realised it actually had a connection with Rajini’s dialogue in ‘Thalapathy’- “Idhu Surya sir, orasadhinga” (I am the sun. Don’t try to come near me)” he says.
It is still too surreal for him. “Even now,” Arunraja says, “sometimes I feel time has stopped at that point and I am lost in a different dimension. Although most of the songs for which I have composed the lyrics for have been successful, this opportunity to work for a superstar movie is definitely a lifetime experience.”
The 31-year-old lyricist initially started out as a rapper and mimicry artist during his engineering college days in Tiruchirapalli. With no formal training in the field, Arunraja says he is a home-grown artist.
“My songs lack grammar. Grammar isn’t only about sentences formation, but also the various technicalities a lyricist has to keep in mind. I write as it comes to my mind and I am afraid it won’t work any other way,” he says.
Ever since the release, the song has been featured in many Rajini tributes using various other characters and personalities.
Asked what he thinks of the Bollywood remake of the song, Arunraja says, "If I could sing in Hindi, I would have happily done it. However, the current Hindi version gives a different feel and I am sure it will be liked by the audience too."
But Arunraja has his feet on the ground and knows that there is hard work ahead. “This is just a holiday destination for now. A few days later I have to work for another such holiday,” says Arunraja.