"Semmozhiyaana Thamizh Mozhiyaam" ( ta, செம்மொழியான தமிழ் மொழியாம்; alternately titled Tamil Meet Anthem, World Classical Tamil Conference Theme or Semmozhi) is a

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

song composed by

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...

, penned by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister

M. Karunanidhi Muthuvel Karunanidhi (3 June 1924 – 7 August 2018) was an Indian writer and politician who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for almost two decades over five terms between 1969 and 2011. He was popularly referred to as Kalaignar (Art ...

and performed by several leading Tamil artistes of over three generations. It is the official theme song for the

World Classical Tamil Conference 2010 The World Classical Tamil Conference 2010 was an international gathering of scholars, poets, political leaders and celebrities with an interest in Tamil people, the Tamil language and Tamil literature. It was held in Coimbatore between 23 June ...

, encapsulating the contributions of

Tamil culture Tamil culture is the culture of the Tamil people. Tamil culture is rooted in the arts and ways of life of Tamils in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, and across the globe. Tamil culture is expressed in language, literature, music, dance, the ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

down the ages. The song, a tribute to the

Tamil language Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Pudu ...

, features a fusion of various musical styles, including Carnatic,

Folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

, Acoustic,

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

and

Rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

Background

The

, officially the 9th World Tamil Conference and informally known as the World Tamil Meet, is an international meet by Tamil scholars, researchers, poets, celebrities etc. from all around the world, which was held in

Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...

from 23 to 27 June 2010. A poem titled ''Semmozhi'' was penned by the writer turned politician,

specifically for this meet, but with the wider vision that it be an anthem for Tamils across the globe, he demanded this poem to be set to tune by Tamil composer

. Rahman spent months to complete recording the song, which was widely appreciated upon release. Neither Rahman nor

Gautham Vasudev Menon Gautham Vasudev Menon (born 25 February 1973) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema, Tamil film industry. He has also directed Telugu cinema, Telugu and Hindi cinema, Hindi films th ...

, who directed the song, took any remuneration to do this song. The central message of the song is that all were equal by birth and they should have the feeling that they remained so even later and they should live as one race. Through the lyrics, the history of

Tamil literature Tamil literature has a rich and long literary tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution. Contributors to the Tamil literature are mainly from T ...

is also highlighted. After the initial composing was over, a new verse was added highlighting the works of Tamil poets Kambar and

Avvaiyar Avvaiyar (Tamil: ஔவையார்) was the title of more than one female poet who were active during different periods of Tamil literature. They were some of the most famous and important female poets of the Tamil canon. Abidhana Chinta ...

Release

The launch of "Semmozhiyaana Tamizh Mozhiyaam" was held on 15 May 2010. In addition, the video to the song, directed by

was screened to an extremely positive response. On 18 May 2010, the song was made available for

free download Digital distribution, also referred to as content delivery, online distribution, or electronic software distribution, among others, is the delivery or distribution of digital media content such as audio, video, e-books, video games, and other so ...

from A. R. Rahman's official website and on 21 May 2010 from

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

official website.

Music video

The video directed by

showcases the evolution of the

Tamil script The Tamil script ( , ) is an abugida script that is used by Tamils and Tamil language, Tamil speakers in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and elsewhere to write the Tamil language. Certain minority languages such as Saurasht ...

over time as well as aspects of

, Tamil education, and the aesthetic beauty of Tamil locales. The video also features popular websites like

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

and Wikipedia in their Tamil language incarnations, as well as

usage on technologies such as the iPhone. It also features the artistes who were involved in the recording together in front of an orchestration of the words "Semmozhiyaana Thamizh Mozhiyaam." Popular singers

Anuradha Sriram Anuradha Sriram (born 9 July 1970) is an Indian carnatic and playback singer and child actress who hails from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. She has sung more than 700 songs in Tamil, Telugu, Sinhala, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali and Hindi f ...

and

Unni Menon Unni Menon (born 2 December 1955) is an Indian film playback singer. He has recorded over 4000 songs in many Indian languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.S.S.KavutaA melodious journey The Hindu. Retrieved 29 November 2008 In ...

are also featured as part of the group, although they were unavailable for the recording of the song.

Bharatanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of S ...

dancer Srinidhi Chidambaram, actresses

Samantha Ruth Prabhu Samantha Ruth Prabhu (formerly: Samantha Akkineni; born 28 April 1987) is an Indian actress who mainly works in Telugu and Tamil film industries. She is a recipient of several awards, including four South Filmfare Awards, six South Indian I ...

, Anjali and actor

Akhil Akhil (in Devanagari: अखिल {{IAST, akhilā) is a Hindu/Sanskrit Indian given name, which means "everything" or "complete". The equivalent feminine name is Akhilā. See also *Akhil (disambiguation) References Indian mas ...

as well as actor-cum-film producer

Ganesh Janardhanan Ganesh Janardhanan, also known by his stage name VTV Ganesh is an Indian actor, comedian and film producer. He is best known for his hoarse voice, and his appearances in films featuring Silambarasan. He had made his debut in Tamil movie ''Red'' ...

are also featured in the video. Towards the end of the video,

signs off, and a group of youngsters run towards the orchestration. The video was launched on 29 May 2010 by Tamil Nadu Information and Publicity Minister

Parithi Ilamvazhuthi Parithi Ilamvazhuthi, also known as Parithi Ellamvazhuthi, (11 November 1959 – 13 October 2018) was an Indian politician. Born as Gandhi to Elamparithi and Kannammal. His father Elamparithi was a DMK High Command member during 1970's & 80's. ...

. While launching the video, Ilamvazhuthi said it would be telecast on

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...

screens fitted in many parts of

and screened in all theatres in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

. In

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, it would be screened in select places like railway stations, bus terminus and

Koyambedu Koyambedu is a neighbourhood in Chennai, India. Situated in the western part of Chennai city, the Koyambedu area has become a major hub of activity in Chennai City after the inauguration of the Koyambedu market in 1996 and the Chennai Mofussi ...

market.

, also speaking at the launch said that shooting the video spanned over 3 months due to delays in receiving the necessary permission for arial shots. He added that while he would have liked to highlight members of the

Tamil diaspora The Tamil diaspora refers to descendants of the Tamil people, Tamil Emigration, immigrants who emigrated from their native lands (Tamil Nadu, Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry and Sri Lanka) to other parts of the world. They are found pri ...

, he could not due to such restraints.

Personnel

Song credits

Playback singer(s)

The following playback singers lent their voices for the song. The list is in order of first appearance: *

T. M. Soundararajan Thoguluva Meenatchi Iyengar Soundararajan (24 March 1923 – 25 May 2013), popularly known as TMS, was an Indian Carnatic musician and a playback singer in Tamil cinema for over six and a half decades. He sang over 10,138 songs from 3,162 fi ...

Harini Harini may refer to: * Harini (singer), South Indian film playback singer * Harini (Kannada actress) Harini is a former actress in the Kannada cinema. She was active during the 1950s and 1960s, retiring at the peak of her career. As of 2006 sh ...

Chinmayi Chinmayi Sripaada is an Indian playback singer, working mainly for the South Indian film industry. She is also a voice actor, television presenter, radio jockey, and an entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of a translation services company ...

* Karthik * Hariharan *

Yuvan Shankar Raja Yuvan Shankar Raja or Abdul Haliq (born 31 August 1979) is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer and singer-songwriter. He mainly scores music for Tamil films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use of Wes ...

Vijay Yesudas Vijay Yesudas (born 23 March 1979) is an Indian playback singer and actor. He has sung over 1000 film songs. Vijay works predominantly in the South Indian film industry, mostly in Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Hindi. He is the son of ...

P. Susheela Pulapaka Susheela (born 13 November 1935), popularly known as P. Susheela, is an Indian playback singer associated with the South Indian cinema primarily from Andhra Pradesh for over six decades. She is one of the greatest and best-known playba ...

G. V. Prakash Kumar G. V. Prakash Kumar is an Indian composer, actor, producer and singer known for his work in Tamil films and a few Telugu films as well. His first film was S Pictures' ''Veyil'' (2006) and he became popular in Tamil cinema by the early 2010s. He ...

* T. L. Maharajan *

Bombay Jayashri "Bombay" Jayashri Ramnath is an Indian Carnatic vocalist, singer, and musician. She has sung in multiple languages including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi movies. Born into a family of musicians, Jayashri represents the fourth ge ...

Aruna Sayeeram Sangita Kalanidhi Aruna Sairam is an Indian classical vocalist and carnatic music singer. She is a recipient of the Padma Shri award from the Government of India and has been elected as Vice Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Academy (India's premier ...

* Nithyasree Mahadevan *

S. Sowmya S. Sowmya (born 16 April 1969) is a Carnatic music singer. She learnt music initially from her father Dr. Srinivasan, and later from Dr. S. Ramanathan and Smt.T. Muktha. She received the Sangeetha Kalanidhi title by Madras Music Academy in 2 ...

Blaaze Lakshmi Narasimha Vijaya Rajagopala Sheshadri Sharma Rajesh Raman (born 15 October 1975), professionally known as Blaaze (), is an Indian Tamil language playback singer and rapper in Indian cinema who specializes in writing and performing rap m ...

Lady Kash Kalaivani Nagaraj, known professionally as Lady Kash, is a rapper/songwriter from Singapore who started her solo career professionally in 2007. Rapping fluently in English and Tamil, Lady Kash has worked with music composers including A. R. Rahma ...

(of

Lady Kash and Krissy Lady Kash and Krissy, sometimes credited as Kash n' Krissy, were a Singaporean Indian rapper-singer duo that was formed in September 2008 by Kalaivani Nagaraj, known as Lady Kash, and Saradha Vidianand Das, known as Krissy. The duo disbanded in ...

) * Nagoor Brothers *

T. M. Krishna Thodur Madabusi Krishna (born 22 January 1976) is an Indian Carnatic vocalist, writer, activist, author and Ramon Magsaysay awardee. As a vocalist, he has made a large number of innovations in both the style and substance of his concerts, ther ...

* Dr. K. A. Gunasekaran *

Naresh Iyer Naresh Iyer (born 3 January 1981) is an Indian playback singer. Born Mumbai, Iyer is fluent in Malayalam,Tamil, Kannada, Hindi and Marathi. Naresh Iyer has rendered 2000 film songs in several Indian languages and has several chart hits to hi ...

Srinivas Srinivasa (Sanskrit ) is a Hindu name. The term Srinivasa is Vaishnava in origin, the combination of two Sanskrit words, ''Shri'' (श्री) and ''nivasa'' (निवास). It is a name for males in India as well as a family surname. Shriniv ...

Shruti Haasan Shruti Haasan (born 28 January 1986) is an Indian actress and playback singer who works predominantly in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. Born in the Haasan family, she is the daughter of actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan and actress Sarika Thakur. ...

Chinna Ponnu Chinnaponnu (also credited as Chinna Ponnu or Chinnaponnu Kumar) is a folk and playback singer from the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Early life Chinnaponnu was born in Suranam, a small village in Sivagangai district, Tamil Nadu, India. She sta ...

Backing vocalist(s)

A. R. Reihana Raihanah'' (also known as Rayhanah) ''is an Indian playback singer and composer for films. She is the sister of A. R. Rahman and mother of G. V. Prakash Kumar and Bhavani Sree. Her first song being ''Malle Malle'' from the movie Chocolate for ...

Benny Dayal Benny Dayal (born 13 May 1984) is an Indian playback singer. He is a prominent singer in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Gujarati and Marathi and more languages films. He has sung more than 3500 songs in 19+ Indian languages. ...

Devan Ekambaram Devan Ekambaram (born 25 December 1975) is an Indian American film playback singer, actor and composer. He began his career as a playback singer in Tamil films and later branched out to many other south Indian languages as well like Telugu, Kann ...

* Neha * Ujjayinee * Krissy (of

) * Nithin Raj * Munna * R. Vijay Narain * Dr. Narayan * Bhagyaraj * Subiksha * Anitha * K. Renu * Maya Sricharan * Kalyani * Raqueeb Alam * Jawidth Ahamed

Instrumentalist(s)

Sivamani Sivamani (1 December 1959), commonly known by his stage name Drums Sivamani, is an Indian percussionist. He plays many instruments including drums, octoban, darbuka, udukai, ghatam and kanjira. He performed drumming during the IPL Championships ...

–

Drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussions A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Excl ...

*Purushothaman –

Tavil A ''thavil'' (Tamil language, Tamil:தவில்) or ''tavil'' is a barrel-shaped percussion instrument from Tamil Nadu. It is also widely used in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamilnadu and Telangana States of South India. It is used ...

*Natarajan –

Nadaswaram The Nagaswaram (nādḥasvaram) is a double reed wind instrument from South India. It is used as a traditional classical instrument in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Kerala. This instrument is "among the world's loudes ...

Production

*Producer:

*Engineers: S. Sivakumar, T. R. Krishna Chetan, Suresh Perumal, Srinidhi Venkatesh, Kannan Ganpat, Pradeep Menon *Mixing: K. J. Singh, P.A.Deepak, Srinidhi Venkatesh *Mastering: S. Sivakumar *Programming: T. R. Krishna Chetan *Coordination: Noell James

Video credits

Actor and actresses

* Anjali *

Samantha Samantha (or the alternatively Samanta) is primarily used as a feminine given name. It was recorded in England in 1633 in Newton Regis, Warwickshire. It was also recorded in the 18th century in New England, but its etymology is uncertain. Specu ...

VTV Ganesh Ganesh Janardhanan, also known by his stage name VTV Ganesh is an Indian actor, comedian and film producer. He is best known for his hoarse voice, and his appearances in films featuring Silambarasan. He had made his debut in Tamil movie ''Red'' ...

Technicians

*Direction:

*Cinematography:

Manoj Paramahamsa Manoj Paramahamsa is an Indian cinematographer, who has worked in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam film industries. Career He was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. His father UV Babu, has directed more than half-a-dozen films in Telugu and Manoj has sai ...

*Editing:

Anthony Gonsalves Anthony Prabhu Gonsalves (12 June 1927 – 18 January 2012) was an Indian musical composer, music arranger and teacher born in the village of Majorda (near Margao in Portuguese Goa), His father, Jose Antonio Gonsalves, was a choirmaster at ...

*Art Direction:

Rajeevan Rajeevan is an art director in Indian films. He is a graduate of Loyola College, Chennai. Career Rajeevan began doing art direction for ad films and television serials, before being given the opportunity to work in a feature film for the firs ...

*Production:

Escape Artists Motion Pictures Escape Artists Motion Pictures is an Indian film production studio established by producers Madan and James. Formed in 2010, it has since gone on to produce several Tamil language films. They have also acted as distributors for several Tamil fil ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

Music video
on YouTube
Official website of the World Classical Tamil Conference
2010 singles Songs with music by A. R. Rahman Tamil-language songs Indian songs 2010 songs