# Chithha (soundtrack)

Chithha is the soundtrack to the 2023 Tamil-language drama film of the same name directed by S. U. Arun Kumar starring Siddharth, Nimisha Sajayan and Anjali Nair. The film's soundtrack featured three songs composed by Dhibu Ninan Thomas and one song composed by Santhosh Narayanan. Preceded by three singles, the soundtrack was released through Think Music on 27 September 2023. At the 69th Filmfare Awards South, both composers won the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director – Tamil.

## Album information

Chithha's soundtrack featured four songs—three of them, "Kangal Edho", "Theera Swasame" and "Show Me The Way" were composed by Dhibu Ninan Thomas; one song "Unakku Thaan" was composed by Santhosh Narayanan as a guest composer. "Unakku Thaan" served as the title song for the film.
The first single "Kangal Edho" was released on 7 September 2023. The song was written by Yugabharathi and performed by Pradeep Kumar and Karthika Vaidyanathan. The second single "Show Me The Way" which accompanied the film's teaser in the background was released as a single on 11 September 2023. The third single "Unakku Thaan" was accompanied with a music video directed by Deeraj Vaidy featuring Siddharth and Sahasra Shree, released on 22 September 2023. The song was written by Vivek and performed by Narayanan and Dhvani Kailas.
The soundtrack was released on 27 September 2023 in digital music platforms.

## Reception

Divya Venugopal of Radio Mirchi called "Kangal Edho" as an "endearing track that will grow on you". Krishna Selvaseelan of Tamil Guardian wrote "Although the score and songs often slip into the melodramatic, it does not detract too much from the intensity of the film." Rajasekar S. of The Federal called the songs as "soul-touching". Atchayaa Rajkumar of The News Minute found the film's music as "the perfect accompaniment to complement the highs and lows of the movie." Janani K. of India Today added that the music "aided well in creating the thrill".
Reviewing the trends of Tamil film music in 2023, Navein Darshan of The New Indian Express mentioned "Unakku Thaan" and called it as "the anthem of the year for every parental figure, celebrating the song with all their hearts." Karthik Srinivasan of Milliblog and Vipin Nair of Music Aloud ranked the song at 5th on their best of Indian film music in 2023. In their 2023 year-ender, analyzing best of music in Indian films and webseries, Devarsi Ghosh of Scroll.in mentioned "Unakku Thaan" as a soul-stirring number.

## Impact

The song "Unakku Thaan" became popular after the film's release, with numerous covers being surfaced. A cover of the song with vocals by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam generated via AI went viral. According to Darshan, "The thought that an AI can almost bring to life the voice of the legend we lost three years ago startled music lovers, especially the ones who belonged to the cassette era. The software-generated cover versions of recent famous songs and classics featuring voices of AR Rahman, Dhanush, Vijay, Sid Sriram and an amusing list of political leaders were widely consumed and shared by a significant portion of the crowd; to the point where AI covers have almost become a sub-genre of music now."

## Background score

An album which consists of the film's musical score composed by Vishal Chandrashekhar was released on 15 March 2024 by Think Music, featuring 18 tracks.

## Personnel

Credits adapted from Think Music:
* Dhibu Ninan Thomas – composer (tracks: 1, 2, 3), piano (track: 1), synths (track: 1)
* Santhosh Narayanan – composer (track: 4), recording engineer (Future Tense Studios, Chennai) [track: 4]
* Aravind Srinivas – additional vocals (track: 2)
* Saisharan – additional vocals (track: 2)
* Jithin Raj – additional vocals (track: 2)
* Santhosh Hariharan – additional vocals (track: 2)
* Kalyani Nair – backing vocals (track: 3), strings arrangement (tracks: 1, 2)
* Kapil Kapilan – backing vocals (track: 3)
* Naveen Napier – bass (track: 1)
* Shruthiraj – percussion (track: 1)
* Kamalakar – flute (track: 1)
* Nikhil Ram – flute (track: 2)
* Nadhan – clarinet (track: 1)
* Santhosh Chandran – guitar (track: 3)
* Anupam Roy – violin (track: 4)
* Aditya Ravindran – harmony (track: 4)
* Karthik Vamsi – live rhythm (track: 4)
* Budapest Scoring Orchestra – strings (tracks: 1, 2)
* Peter Illenyi – conductor (tracks: 1, 2)
* Balasubramanian G – orchestra co-ordinator (tracks: 1, 2)
* K. S. Mani Ratnam – recording engineer (The Mystics Room, Chennai) [tracks: 1, 2]
* Avinash Satish – recording engineer (20db Sound Studios, Chennai) [tracks: 1, 2]
* Dennis – recording engineer (Grace Records, Chennai) [tracks: 1, 2, 3]
* Karthik Manickavasakam – recording engineer (Future Tense Studios, Chennai) [track: 4]
* Pranav Muniraj – recording engineer (Future Tense Studios, Chennai) [track: 4]
* Rupendar Venkatesh – recording engineer (Future Tense Studios, Chennai) [track: 4], mixing engineer (track: 4), mastering engineer (track: 4)
* Balu Thankachan – mixing engineer (20db Sound Studios, Chennai) [tracks: 1, 2]
* Kiran Lal – mixing engineer (Grace Records, Chennai) [track: 3]
* Shadab Rayeen – mastering engineer (New Edge Studios, Mumbai) [tracks: 1, 2]
* Jaba Raj – studio assistance (track: 4)
* Meenakshi Santhosh – musicians co-ordinator (track: 4)

## Chart performance

| Chart | Song | Peak position |
| India (Billboard) | "Unakku Thaan" | 18 |
| Asian Music Chart (OCC) | "Unakku Thaan" | 11 |
| Radio Mirchi (Tamil) | "Unakku Thaan" | 1 |
| Radio Mirchi (Tamil) | "Kangal Edho" | 4 |

## Accolades

| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) and nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
| Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards | 22 June 2024 | Best Music Director – Songs | Santhosh Narayanan | Nominated | |
| Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards | 22 June 2024 | Best Music Director – Score | Vishal Chandrashekhar | Nominated | |
| Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards | 22 June 2024 | Best Male Playback Singer | Santhosh Narayanan – ("Unakku Thaan") | Nominated | |
| Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards | 22 June 2024 | Best Female Playback Singer | Karthika Vaidyanathan – ("Kangal Edho") | Nominated | |
| Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards | 22 June 2024 | Best Lyricist | Yugabharathi – ("Kangal Edho") | Won | |
| Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards | 22 June 2024 | Best Lyricist | Vivek – ("Unakku Thaan") | Nominated | |
| Filmfare Awards South | 3 August 2024 | Best Music Director | Santhosh Narayanan and Dhibu Ninan Thomas | Won | [26] [27] [28] [29] |
| Filmfare Awards South | 3 August 2024 | Best Female Playback Singer – Tamil | Karthika Vaidyanathan – ("Kangal Edho") | Won | [26] [27] [28] [29] |
| South Indian International Movie Awards | 14–15 September 2024 | Best Music Director – Tamil | Santhosh Narayanan – ("Unakku Thaan") | Pending | [30] [31] |
| South Indian International Movie Awards | 14–15 September 2024 | Best Lyricist – Tamil | Vivek – ("Unakku Thaan") | Pending | [30] [31] |
| South Indian International Movie Awards | 14–15 September 2024 | Best Female Playback Singer – Tamil | Karthika Vaidyanathan – ("Kangal Edho") | Pending | [30] [31] |