"Vilaiyaadu Mankatha" is a song by Indian artist and film composer Yuvan Shankar Raja

Yuvan Shankar Raja

Yuvan Shankar Raja is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer, singer and occasional lyricist. He has predominantly scored music for Tamil as well as several Telugu films. His musical career began in 1996, at age 16, as he composed the film score for Aravindhan...

. A part of the soundtrack album to the Tamil film Mankatha

Mankatha

Mankatha is a 2011 Tamil action thriller film written and directed by Venkat Prabhu. It features Ajith Kumar in the lead role, starring in his 50th film, along with an ensemble cast including Arjun, Trisha Krishnan, Vaibhav Reddy, Lakshmi Rai, Andrea Jeremiah, Premji Amaren and Anjali...

, it was released as a single track

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 on 20 May 2011. The song was performed by Ranjith

Ranjith (singer)

Ranjith is an Indian playback singer who originally hails from Kerala. He was brought up in Tamil Nadu and he is very famous for his playback singing in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam....

, Premgi Amaren, Sucharita and Anitha along with Yuvan Shankar Raja, while Gangai Amaren, Sucharita and Yuvan Shankar Raja penned the lyrics in Tamil, Hindi and English, respectively.

Background

A teaser the song was released on Ajith Kumar

Ajith Kumar

Ajith Kumar is an Indian film actor who works mainly in Tamil cinema. He began his career as a supporting actor in a Telugu film before gaining critical recognition in the Tamil thriller Aasai . A succession of high-grossing films followed where Ajith was usually depicted as a romantic hero, with...

's birthday, on 1 May 2011 on YouTube

YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

, after plans of releasing the film or the soundtrack on that day had failed. As the teaser garnered high response and became a success within few days, Venkat Prabhu

Venkat Prabhu

Venkat Kumar Gangai Amaren , better known by his stage name Venkat Prabhu is an Indian filmmaker, who has worked as an actor, director and playback singer in the Tamil film industry...

 and Dayanidhi Azhagiri decided to launch the complete version of the song as a single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 separately ahead of the complete soundtrack album.

Bonus tracks

Four songs were included as bonus tracks to the single release of "Vilaiyaadu Mankatha", all of which were part of earlier soundtracks by Yuvan Shankar Raja and were marketed by Sony Music Entertainment

Sony Music Entertainment

Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....

. The four songs - "Dia Dia Dole" performed by Suchitra

Suchitra

Suchitra Karthik Kumar is an Indian Tamil Radio Jockey and Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu playback singer. Born and brought up in Kerala, she had her school education in Bhavans Vidya Mandir Giri Nagar, Kochi. She is a graduate from the Kerala University...

 for the film Avan Ivan

Avan Ivan

Avan Ivan is a 2011 Tamil comedy-drama film written and directed by Bala, who with this project directs his fifth feature film. The film stars Vishal Krishna, Arya, Janani Iyer and Madhu Shalini in the lead roles. The film, produced by Kalpathi S. Agoram's AGS Entertainment, features music by...

, "Goa" from the same-titled film

Goa (film)

Goa is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Venkat Prabhu, who with the project, directed his third film following two previous successes...

 featuring vocals by Krish

Krish (singer)

Vijay Balakrishnan popularly known by his stage name, Krish, is a Tamil playback singer. Other than working with reputable Indian film composers, including Harris Jayaraj, A. R...

, Ranjith

Ranjith (singer)

Ranjith is an Indian playback singer who originally hails from Kerala. He was brought up in Tamil Nadu and he is very famous for his playback singing in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam....

, Tanvi Shah

Tanvi Shah

Tanvi Shah is a popular playback singer for films in India. She is the first Indian woman to win the Grammy Awards for the lyrics of "jai ho". She has a versatile voice and can sing in Arabic, Latin, Spanish and sings a wide range of music with her band, Zahrra...

, Suchitra

Suchitra

Suchitra Karthik Kumar is an Indian Tamil Radio Jockey and Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu playback singer. Born and brought up in Kerala, she had her school education in Bhavans Vidya Mandir Giri Nagar, Kochi. She is a graduate from the Kerala University...

, Chynk Showtyme and Pav Bundy, "Yogi Yogi Thaan" from Yogi

Yogi (2009 film)

Yogi is a 2009 Indian Tamil action-drama film directed by Subramaniya Shiva, who earlier directed films like Thiruda Thirudi and Pori. Starring director-turned-actor Ameer Sultan, Madhumitha, Swathi, Ponvannan, lyricist Snehan, making his acting debut, and Ganja Karuppu in lead roles, the film is...

sung by Blaaze

Blaaze

Blaaze is a rap artist and a popular playback singer in Indian films. An Indian by birth, born in Chennai, he grew up in Zambia and later did his education in England and in the US...

 and Neha Bhasin

Neha Bhasin

Neha Bhasin is an Indian singer-songwriter, performer, and TV hostess and was a member of the Indian pop girl group Viva!.-Biography:Neha Bhasin was born on November 18, 1982 in Delhi in a Punjabi Khatri family, India to Ashok Bhasin and Rekha Bhasin and has an elder sister and a younger brother...

 and the title track from Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai

Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai

Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai is a 2010 Tamil romantic comedy film written and directed by Thiru Krishnamoorthy. The film, produced by Vikram Krishna, stars his brother Vishal Krishna in the lead role along with Neetu Chandra, former Miss India Universe Tanushree Dutta making her debut in Tamil...

rendered by Andrea Jeremiah

Andrea Jeremiah

Andrea Jeremiah is an Tamil playback singer, voice actor and a film and theatre actress. Beginning her career singing playback, Andrea has gone on to appear in critically acclaimed films such as Pachaikili Muthucharam and Aayirathil Oruvan, winning praise for her portrayals.-Career:Andrea was born...

, Tanvi Shah

Tanvi Shah

Tanvi Shah is a popular playback singer for films in India. She is the first Indian woman to win the Grammy Awards for the lyrics of "jai ho". She has a versatile voice and can sing in Arabic, Latin, Spanish and sings a wide range of music with her band, Zahrra...

, Vinaitha and Ranjith

Ranjith (singer)

Ranjith is an Indian playback singer who originally hails from Kerala. He was brought up in Tamil Nadu and he is very famous for his playback singing in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam....

 - were added in their original composition without any variation.

Tracklist

1. "Vilaiyaadu Mankatha" - 6:02
2. "Dia Dia Dole" - 4:02
3. "Goa" - 4:40
4. "Yogi Yogi Thaan" - 3:56
5. "Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai" - 4:55

Production

"Vilaiyaadu Mankatha" song has been performed by Ranjith, Premgi Amaren, Sucharita and Anitha along with Yuvan Shankar Raja, while Gangai Amaren, Sucharita and Yuvan Shankar Raja penned the lyrics in Tamil, Hindi and English, respectively. The song was orchestrated and arranged by Yuvan Shankar Raja, recorded, mixed and mastered by M. Kumaraguru Paran, while Karthi and V. Subhaiah was the program manager and program co-ordinator, respectively.

Music video

The video was shot in Bangkok

Bangkok

Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

 in a club called ‘Club Hollywood’ for four consecutive days, featuring Ajith Kumar

Ajith Kumar

Ajith Kumar is an Indian film actor who works mainly in Tamil cinema. He began his career as a supporting actor in a Telugu film before gaining critical recognition in the Tamil thriller Aasai . A succession of high-grossing films followed where Ajith was usually depicted as a romantic hero, with...

, along with dancers from Mumbai

Mumbai

Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

 and Bangkok, while it was choreographed by Kalyan Kumar. A lot of the crowd, featuring in the music video are the people who actually visited the club during the shoot, giving it a more ‘reality’ feel.

This hip-hop song is thala Ajith's introduction track in the film. The song already released a couple of months before the album release and has become a hot favourite for many. It's based in a club and gives a nightlife feel. Yuvan has lent the base voice for this song, and the other singers for this track include Anitha, Premgi Amaren, Ranjith and Sucharitha. A trumpet sound is what that indicates the arrival or a celeb or a king and this song has utilized that catchy tune to introduce thala Ajith.

Release

Director Venkat Prabhu was determined to launch the soundtrack in an innovative way. He revealed that he would just release one song in the digital medium, so that it can be used for ring tones and caller tunes. The single release would cost and will come with a poster signed by Ajith Kumar himself. Unlike a usual signature where a lead actor signs one poster and the rest are digitalized, Ajith Kumar reportedly signed all the 5000 posters by himself in three days. Yuvan Shankar Raja had handed over the Master recording

Master recording

A multitrack recording master tape, disk or computer files on which productions are developed for later mixing, is known as the multi-track master, while the tape, disk or computer files holding a mix is called a mixed master.It is standard practice to make a copy of a master recording, known as...

on 11 May 2011, while the single track released on 20 May 2011.