Shortly before noon on Thursday, fans of A.R. Rahman got a pleasant surprise. The usually reticent composer got on social media and announced that he wanted people to collaborate with him for a song that still brings smiles on people’s faces.
“Dear friends, I’m trying to rearrange ‘Take it Easy Urvasi’ for a performance and wish to update the Charanams. Feel free to contribute. Of course, please do leave out and avoid any reference to Hilary Clinton, Donald Trump or the currency situation for now and try to come up with something interesting & humorous in the same scaling of the original Tamil version,” he posted.
When Shankar’s Kaadhalan released in 1994, among its selling points was the breezy ‘Urvasi, Urvasi, Take it Easy Urvasi’ number. The song, written by Vairamuthu, defied stereotypes, fell in a distinct genre, and fused humour and the paradigms of the time the film was set in.
For instance, ‘Oliyum Oliyum Current Ponaa Take It Easy Policy’ might sound like gibberish to this generation that thrives on YouTube videos, but for those in their 30s and 40s, the programme on Doordarshan was a rare opportunity to watch film songs on television. And, who can forget the illuminated transparent bus that had everyone watch the screen wide-eyed!
The reaction from the public was instantaneous. In just about 24 hours, Rahman’s timeline was flooded with more than 1,100 comments, with numerous sub-comments. Some of them elicited chuckles.
Sample these: ‘Resume Vangitu We Will Call U Back Nu Sonna .....Take It Easy Policy’; ‘DP Maathiyum Like Varalainaa, Take It Easy Urvasi’; ‘Airport Ceiling, Thalaila Vilundha, Take It Easy Urvasi!’ and ‘Vaanavil Vaazhkaiyil Selfie Oru Galaxy’.
Some of Vairamuthu’s lyrics are immortal though, and still resonate. Take this, for example: ‘Pandiga Thedhi Sundayil Vandhaa Take It Easy Policy!’ Now, let’s hope the ‘figure’ and ‘kadala’ references will be replaced by a quirky take of life in 2016!
