Arivum Anbum: Kamal Haasan, Ghibran, Anirudh And Other Artistes Join Hands To Lift Spirits With A Song During The Coronavirus Pandemic

Many Tamil film celebrities have created Coronavirus awareness songs in the past few weeks. The lyrics of these songs span from the practical to the emotional. Tomorrow, Kamal Haasan is to release a song to "help us to stay positive in difficult times", the lyrics of which he shared on Twitter today.

The song is a collaboration among artistes such as Anirudh Ravichander, Bombay Jayashri, Sid Sriram, Siddharth, Andrea Jeremiah and Shankar Mahadevan. Commenting on how each person worked out of their homes due to the lockdown, Kamal Haasan, who wrote the song, says in a release: "This was truly a democratic process, and each participant recorded his/her part themselves as none of us could meet. It's a collaboration in the truest sense since everyone shot and recorded it themselves from their homes." 

Is there a need for yet another coronavirus song? He suggests that there is, because "artistes are continuously trying to inject optimism in the masses since they look up to us. The song is a reminder of all that we are capable of, and also the fact that tough times don't last, only tough people do."

While we have to wait until tomorrow to hear Ghibran's music, the lyrics that have already been shared talk about the need for using our hearts and intelligence to confront the crisis and help others. They suggest that none of us is alone when we can still love each other, that we can overcome insurmountable obstacles together (Alaadhi anbirundhaal anaadhai yaarumillai, adaatha thuyar varinum vidaadhu vendriduvom.) Whatever the destruction, our intelligence and love cannot be destroyed (azhivindri vaazhvadhu nam arivum anbumey). 

While there have been more than a few Coronavirus songs in Tamil, this song is unique for the number of talents who have collaborated remotely. "This collaboration has made me so proud of my tribe, not just locally but internationally," says Kamal Haasan. Ghibran, while noting that he is glad to have worked with several talents, didn't forget to thank "all the chorus singers who sent me their works and came forward to collaborate". As Ghibran says, the lyrics do evoke in our minds "the new world that we all are going to live in after this pandemic is gone". Perhaps, the song might be the much-needed balm for our present anxieties.