An idea can spark at the most unlikeliest of places. For Tamil singer VV Prassanna, a routine visit to the neighbourhood salon for a haircut late last year proved to be a game-changer.
There, even as the barber was setting things up, Prassanna conceptualised a word in his head: Masikkadhey. “In Tamil, we refer to vegetable mash as ‘masiyal’. I thought it would be interesting to use that in a romantic context, and coined that word, a combination of 'manasu' (heart)and 'kasakkadhey' (to crush).”
He immediately borrowed a paper and wrote down lines that came to his mind. Once back home, he inserted them in a tune that he had already composed, and came up with an independent song that will be released this Friday.
Prassanna, the singer behind Tamil film hits like ‘Azhagai Pookudhey’, ‘Molachu Moonu’ and ‘Koodamela Koodavechu’, believes that this musical effort will showcase to audiences a side that they haven’t seen before: he has composed, sung, written and acted in it. “It was an enjoyable process. The basic concept tries to subvert the romantic sequences we usually see in films. Here, the protagonist falls in love with a fat girl.”
‘Masikkadhey’, which has been shot by RR Gurudhev, features Indraja Sankar, daughter of actor Robo Shankar. Raghashri Kannan has sung a 30-second rap portion, besides appearing in the visuals.
Prassanna believes that the pandemic and lockdown has egged people from many industries, including the music fraternity, to update themselves. “When the pandemic broke out, many talented singers did not know what to do as they had relied completely on studios to process their work. Now, singers have realised the importance of investing in basic musical equipment and have a basic set-up at home itself,” says Prassanna, who is also well-known in the Carnatic music circuit and specialises in Dasarapadha, the musical works of Saint Purandara Dasa.
