Rahman's song from 'Sivaji' still a rage among choirs across the world

Even as Rajnikanth's 'Kabali' readies for release, a Rahman song from his 2007 hit, 'Sivaji', is all the rage among choirs across the UK and America

While the Indian media goes into a tizzy about Kabali’s just-released music, the university town of Rock Island, Illinois, is swaying to another Rajini number from 2007.

Composed by AR Rahman, Balleilakka from Sivaji prods even the non-Tamil speaking listener to sway. With all the ingredients of a quintessential upbeat Rahman song — a big chorus backing up the leads, a fast-paced melody and foot-tapping beat that refuses to leave your head — it had legend SP Balasubrahmanyam sing without stopping for two minutes, accompanied by Rahman’s elder sister Reihana and Benny Dayal.

On YouTube, Balleilakka is sung by Western choirs, their members dressed in prim pearl necklaces and bowties. From tiny university towns across America, Canada, UK and Ireland, the groups sing, smile and break into a jig. The girls from the Augustana Choir, Rock Island, Illinois, shimmy and smile at each other naughtily as the lead singer mouths the solo bits cockily, his hands spread out in a filmy way. Towards the end, they throw their hands up in Bhangra style, and dance. The Oakland Chorale has a mridangam player giving them company; the Portland State Chamber Choir introduces the number as “a song that like all other Bollywood songs has nothing to do with the plot of the movie it is from” and the girls in black gowns strike femme fatale poses; the Austin High School Concert Choir in pink robes does a synchronised dance routine till they go crazy on stage and make a mess.

The Bradley University Chorale based in Illinois, USA, have sung AR Rahman’s Balleilakka at a dozen performances last year

The Internet is littered with proof of choirs all over the world having the time of their lives singing the song. It would seem that Rahman’s composition, with intricate layering, appeals to the Western ear. The ace composer, who we met in Mumbai at an event held last week, says he has seen many of the adaptations. “Choirs, I think, have a typical type of score and they are always looking to experiment and try music from a different culture. But, it needs to be challenging, like Balleilakka is,” says Rahman. He calls it a tough song “right from inception”. Fast-paced and daunting, Rahman shares, “Even SP [Balasubrahmanyam], who is an amazing singer, found it difficult to breathe; so we had to punch in the vocals at a lot of places. It also is phonetically sound and very catchy.”

The Augustana Choir from Rock Island, Illinois, does a Bollywood-inspired jig as they sing Balleilakka

As we spoke to choirs all over the world, we realised that a big part of being in a choir is loving all kinds of music. Sam Schlouch, senior communication director at the Augustana College, seat of the Augustana Choir, says over the phone from Rock Island that the choir wanted to “communicate its love for music through this song”. The members watched the original Rajini video for inspiration, and tried copying some of moves, but without making a mockery. Dr Jon Hurty, director of the choir, says that the song appealed to them because they loved the rhythm and it came with the challenge of performing music from Indian culture. “It was one of the most popular pieces we performed on our tour programme. I think the American audience do not get to hear this kind of music very often, so they were particularly interested,” he says over email.

Rajinikanth dances to Balleilakka

But, there were challenges. “The language was difficult for the students. However, we had an Augustana student from India [Tamil Nadu] come over to rehearsals and work with us on the pronunciation. In addition, this particular song has a very fast section where the words just fly. That was especially difficult for the students to pronounce and to memorise. It was not easy, but we did have a lot of fun.”

Alan Xaykongsa, an engineering and music student at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, introduced Ensemble Director, Gerard Yun, to the song after he saw it being performed by another Canadian choir. “I am drawn to pieces of Indian classical and cinema music. They are different from the standard Western classical music, which I find limiting in some ways — it’s a lot of ‘stand still and sing’. Balleilakka and other Indian pieces are vivid, joyful, and full of life,” he says. The Waterloo Choir starts with their hands folded in namaste, and then wave them in the air like they just don’t care.

The Millikin Singers from Millikin University in Illinois feel that the song has captivated their audiences

Dr Yun, who said the choir “loves” the piece, says that as conductor and professor, he valued the element of discovery the students experienced. “While Western classics are often deeply beautiful and moving through their lush harmonies and physical stasis, many Indian works and Balleilakka specifically, are able to convey an almost magical joy through rhythm and movement.”

The magical joy that Dr Yun speaks of is palpable in most renditions of Balleilakka. It would seem that the big sound our Indian ears have got used to, is like a burst of musical happiness to the rest of the world. Dr John Jost, director of choral activities at the Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois, says, “We performed Balleilakka last year and sang it at least a dozen performances. The rhythm, tune, the harmonies were all very appealing to the singers and the audience. The words were difficult to learn at first, but I was amazed at how fast the choir was able to pick it up.”

It is Brad Holmes, Director of Choir Programs at the Millikin University, Illinois, who tries to explain why so many choirs are stuck on Balleilakka. “The song provides a sound that, at least to our Western ears, seems quintessentially Indian. It demands a vocal approach unlike that for the usual choral repertoire. The pattern of the text, the driving rhythms and repetitive motives captivate our audiences. It offers a much-needed variation in the usual tonal palate of a typical concert.”

In a world that seems divided by philosophy, it feels ridiculously simple that a song is all it takes to unite people across continents.

Rahman, the king of true fusion, puts it well, when he says, “It’s great to see [the coming together of audiences] because these are kids who are going to rule the world next. The fact that they are being understanding [of another culture] could only be a good thing.”

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