‘Chikku Bukku Rayile’: An Oral History of Shankar & AR Rahman’s Megahit Song

Sruthi Ganapathy Raman

Gentleman’s ‘Chikku Bukku Rayile’, Rahman and Shankar Created a Definitive Pop Moment in Tamil Film History

‘Chikku Bukku Rayile’ instantly transports us into a world of candyfloss and fantasy, away from Shankar’s vigilante warrior story of deceit, death and destruction.

The Inspiration For The Train Sounds Could Be Traced Back To a Conversation Rahman Had With an Ad-Maker

The ad maker’s “whole house would rattle at the noise” of the trains near their house, wrote Kamini Mathai in her book AR Rahman, The Musical Storm)

Shankar Wanted to Incorporate This Into Gentleman

Shankar had this vivid memory of college students singing this catchy line on their way to college by bus when he was a student himself. It went something like "Chikku Bukku Rayile Chikku Bukku Rayile, Oduthu Nagore Mail-le”.