"Vilaiyaadu Mankatha" ( ta, விளையாடு மங்காத்தா; en, Play Mankatha) is a song by

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

artist and film composer

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 ...

. A part of the soundtrack album to the Tamil film '' Mankatha'', it was released as a

single track Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

on 20 May 2011. The song was performed by

Ranjith Ranjit or Renjith may refer to: Religion * Anton Ranjith Pillainayagam (born 1966), Sri Lankan Tamil Catholic priest, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Colombo * Malcolm Ranjith (born 1947), Sri Lankan Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, C ...

, Premgi Amaren, Sucharita and Anitha along with Yuvan Shankar Raja, while

Gangai Amaren Gangai Amaran is an Indian music composer, singer, lyricist, writer, film director and actor in Tamil films. Personal life Gangai Amaran was born in Pannaipuram in Theni district, Tamil Nadu in December 1947, as the youngest son of Daniel Ram ...

, 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 (born 1 May 1971) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil films. To date, he has starred in over 60 films. His awards include four Vijay Awards, three Cinema Express Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and three Tamil N ...

's birthday, on 1 May 2011 on

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,IndiaGlitz - ‘Mankatha’ teaser song byte released! - Tamil Movie News
/ref> 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 Kumar Gangai Amaren (born 7 November 1975), better known by his stage name Venkat Prabhu, is an Indian filmmaker, actor and playback singer in Tamil films. After completing his education, he began pursuing an acting career, with his first ...

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

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

separately ahead of the complete soundtrack album.

Music video

The video was shot in

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

, along with dancers from

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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.IndiaGlitz - Ajith’s Signs 5000 ‘Mankatha’ Posters, Literally! - Tamil Movie News
/ref> This hip-hop song is 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 is 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 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 on 11 May 2011,Mankatha Single Is Ready! - Ajith - Mankatha - Venkat Prabhu - Dayanidhi Alagiri - Tamil Movie News - Behindwoods.com
/ref> while the single track released on 20 May 2011.

References

{{Reflist 2011 singles Indian songs Songs with music by Yuvan Shankar Raja Songs in Tamil Songs written for Tamil films