# Ko (soundtrack)

Ko is the soundtrack to the 2011 Tamil-language political thriller film of the same name directed by K. V. Anand, starring Jiiva, Ajmal, Karthika and Piaa Bajpai. Featuring musical score composed by Harris Jayaraj, who previously worked with the director on Ayan (2009), the album features six tracks, with lyrics written by Pa. Vijay, Madhan Karky, Kabilan, Viveka, Vanamali, Sricharan, Emcee Jesz. Sony Music India acquired the film's music rights and the soundtrack was launched at a public event on 12 January 2011 with the cast and crew. The soundtrack album for the Telugu-dubbed version Rangam was released by Aditya Music on 9 March 2011.

## Background

The music compositions sessions took place in Macau where he had tuned all six tracks for the film. In late October 2010, Jayaraj had recorded a club song for the film, while working on three other films. The song was recorded by Emcee Jesz, Vijay Prakash, Tippu, Solar Sai and Ranina Reddy and featured appearances from several Tamil film personalities, including Jayaraj.
On the occasion of Diwali (5 November 2010), a teaser featuring the song "Enamo Aedho" was released to acclaim from critics and audience. The song was initially titled as "Kuviyamilla" which lyricist Madhan Karky termed as "out of focus" in Tamil, that refers to the protagonist Ashwin's (Jiiva) occupation as a photojournalist. But was later renamed to the original title. It further depicts his love for Renuka (Nair) as well as Saro's (Bajpai) affection towards him.
The album featured a song sung "Munpaniya" sung by Bombay Jayashri and Sriram Parthasarathy (later deciphered to be "Venpaniye") which Jayaraj claimed as one of his favourites from the album. He further described the music to be "completely different; young and energetic". The songs were shot in various locations across the world and Jayaraj had been virtually present in all the locations so that he would get feel the feel of the film, and helps him to select appropriate tunes. Anand mentioned that "For the ‘Venpaniyae’ song in ‘Ko’, we went to Harbin, which is in the north-eastern part of China, bordered by Mongolia. Because Harris was insistent on the ambience, the tune was composed there."

## Release

The teaser's success prompted media to claim the soundtrack was "red hot" in audio sales due to the pull of the particular song, with the producers quoting up to ₹1 crore (US$110,000). Later Sony Music India acquired the film's music rights, and the audio was initially set to be released on 10 December 2010, but postponed. The soundtrack was launched on 12 January 2011. The audio invitation was designed as a government file with a confidential paper, and having covers with evidence of photographs of the lead actors in various locations and a FIR of the suspects list of the cast and crew, that fictionally accuses them of Labour Law, Act of 2010 by working day and night of the film.
The music release coincided with a promotional event held at Image Auditorium in MRC Nagar, Chennai with the presence of cast and crew and other celebrities and was hosted by Jagan and Dhivyadharshini. The event was preceded with a laser show and a mime act on the life of a photographer with interactions from the cast and crew, and each members received a tabloid regarding information from the film. At the event, each crew members were invited on stage except for the lyricists, which led to Anand apologizing on his social media platforms. The following day, a press meet was held at the Green Park Hotel. The event was telecasted on Kalaignar TV on 26 January 2011, coinciding with Republic Day. The marketing of the film's album cover involved Harris' image over the lead actors.

## Track listing
### Telugu

All lyrics are written by Vanamali

## Reception

The soundtrack received mixed reviews from critics. Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff gave a 2 out of 5, complimenting "Enamo Aedho" as "sweety and melodius" while other numbers are being "mish-mashed versions" of Jayaraj's earlier hits. Karthik Srinivasan from Milliblog reviewed "KV Anand may be a master storyteller, but his music sense continues to be strictly average; Harris doesn't help either." Vipin Nair of Music Aloud gave a rating of 7 out of 10, calling it as "a middling score from Harris Jayaraj". Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu wrote "A couple of Harris Jayaraj's melodies are chartbusters already, but the re-recording, particularly in the climax, is din." N. Venkateswaran of The Times of India added "'Venpaniye', sung by Sriram Parthasarathy & Bombay Jayshree, is the pick of Harris Jayaraj's tunes, followed by the romantic 'Ennamo Yeatho' by Aalaap Raju and Prashanthini and the anthemic 'Netri Pottil' by Naresh Iyer."
Irrespective of the mixed reception, the song "Enamo Aedho" was reviewed positively by film critics and received a breakthrough for its lead vocalist Aalap Raju, who initially worked as a bass guitarist, and becoming a playback singer.

## Accolades

| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) and Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
| Chennai Times Film Awards | 22 December 2011 | Best Music Director | Harris Jayaraj | Won | |
| Chennai Times Film Awards | 22 December 2011 | Best Male Playback Singer | Aalap Raju – ("Enamo Aedho") | Won | |
| Filmfare Awards South | 7 July 2012 | Best Music Director – Tamil | Harris Jayaraj | Nominated | [22] [23] |
| Filmfare Awards South | 7 July 2012 | Best Male Playback Singer – Tamil | Aalap Raju – ("Enamo Aedho") | Won | [22] [23] |
| Maa Music Awards | 2012 | Best Dubbing Song | "Enduko Emo" | Won | |
| Mirchi Music Awards South | 4 August 2012 | Listener's Choice Award − Song | "Enamo Aedho" | Won (2nd place) | |
| Mirchi Music Awards South | 4 August 2012 | Listener's Choice Award − Album | Ko | Won (4th place) | |
| Tamil Nadu State Film Awards | 13 July 2017 | Best Music Director | Harris Jayaraj | Won | |
| Vijay Awards | 16 June 2012 | Favourite Song | "Enamo Aedho" | Won | [27] [28] |
| Vijay Awards | 16 June 2012 | Best Male Playback Singer | Aalap Raju – ("Enamo Aedho") | Nominated | [27] [28] |
| Vijay Awards | 16 June 2012 | Best Lyricist | Madhan Karky – ("Enamo Aedho") | Nominated | [27] [28] |
| Vijay Awards | 16 June 2012 | Best Background Score | Harris Jayaraj | Nominated | [27] [28] |