# Kumki (soundtrack)

Kumki is the soundtrack to the 2012 film of the same name directed by Prabhu Solomon, starring Vikram Prabhu (in his film debut) and Lakshmi Menon. The ten-song soundtrack consisted of seven musical numbers composed by D. Imman and written by Yugabharathi, and karaoke versions of three songs. Kumki is Imman's second collaboration with Solomon after Lee (2007) and Mynaa (2010).
The soundtrack which mostly consisted of folk and melody numbers, released at a launch event in Chennai on 1 August 2012, with the album being distributed by Sony Music India. It received generally positive critical response with praise directed towards its compositions and lyrics and fetched Imman his maiden Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Music Director and Filmfare Award for Best Music Director amongst other accolades.

## Background

   "When you watch some films without music, it will just stand as plain visuals and music is the element which breathes life into the visuals. This holds good even for Hollywood films. Even in Titanic (1995), when you watch it without music, it would just appear as plain life-less ship. When you open the music, the ship takes life."
— Prabhu Solomon
Solomon and Imman described the film's music as one of the "strongest back bone" and the "vital part" in the film's script as it is being a musical film. Imman complimented Vikram's "unique taste" in music who suggested him to score only melodies. He worked on the film's music and score within eight months.
For the song "Onnum Puriyala", the track was initially recorded with three singers, but Solomon dissatisfied with the vocals zeroed on Imman after he hummed few lines of the track, which satisfied their expectations. For "Ayayayoo Aananthamey", Solomon initially wanted to bring two popular singers giving huge renumeration in advance and had recorded in Mumbai, but he was not satisfied as Solomon wanted the feel and expression of a mahout in the voice that should scream of jubilation and should not be digressed. Solomon then narrated the story to Haricharan, who was brought in for recording the track, and eventually sang the song like how a mahout would.
While most of the album consisted of melodic numbers, the film had two tracks "Yella Oorum"—a travel song and "Soi Soi"—a folk number, which were considered to be "racy". Apart from the music, locations and cinematography also play an integral part in the film. The song "Sollitaley Ava Kadhala" was shot in the Jog Falls, and "Ayayayoo Aananthamey" and "Onnum Puriyala" were shot in the Kerala and Orissa border. Most of the film, including the songs, have been shot in natural low-light photography by M. Sukumar according to Solomon's suggestion.

## Release

Kumki's soundtrack was distributed by Sony Music in digital and physical formats on 1 August 2012. The release coincided with an event held at Sathyam Cinemas in Chennai, where Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan and Suriya, amongst other celebrities in the film's cast and crew, participated in the function. Kamal Haasan unveiled the audio CD and handed the first copy of the album to Rajinikanth and Suriya.

## Track listing

All lyrics are written by Yugabharathi

## Reception

The soundtrack received positive reviews. Kaushik L. M. of Behindwoods gave the album a rating of 3.5 out of 5 describing it as "another huge winner" from Imman and Prabhu Solomon's collaboration following Mynaa; the review further stated "There are tasteful melodies spread across the album while one nice foot tapping number is there as well". A review from Indiaglitz gave 3 out of 5 and summarised "All the 10 numbers make Kumki a jumbo album". Another user review, written by Rameh Ganapathy and published in the same website, described the music as "enjoyable". Karthik Srinivasan of Milliblog said that "Imman is firmly consolidating his form through Kumki" Vipin Nair of Music Aloud gave 7 out of 10 to the album and called it as an "impressive soundtrack" despite "couple of damp squibs".

## Awards and nominations

| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) and Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
| Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards | 16 January 2013 | Best Music Director | D. Imman | Won | [13] [14] |
| Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards | 16 January 2013 | Best Playback Singer – Female | Magizhini Manimaaran for "Soi Soi" | Won | [13] [14] |
| Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards | 16 January 2013 | Best Lyricist | Yugabharathi | Won | [13] [14] |
| The Chennai Times Film Awards | 4 November 2013 | Best Music Director | D. Imman | Nominated | [15] [16] |
| The Chennai Times Film Awards | 4 November 2013 | Best Singer – Male | Haricharan for "Ayayayo Aananthamey" | Won | [15] [16] |
| The Chennai Times Film Awards | 4 November 2013 | Best Singer – Female | Magizhini Manimaaran for "Soi Soi" | Nominated | [15] [16] |
| Edison Awards | 10 February 2013 | Best Music Director | D. Imman | Won | [17] [18] [19] |
| Edison Awards | 10 February 2013 | Best Folk Song | "Soi Soi" | Won | [17] [18] [19] |
| Filmfare Awards South | 20 July 2013 | Best Music Director – Tamil | D. Imman | Won | [20] [21] [22] |
| Filmfare Awards South | 20 July 2013 | Best Lyricist – Tamil | Yugabharathi for "Solitaley" | Won | [20] [21] [22] |
| Filmfare Awards South | 20 July 2013 | Best Male Playback Singer – Tamil | D. Imman for "Onnum Puriyale" | Nominated | [20] [21] [22] |
| Filmfare Awards South | 20 July 2013 | Best Female Playback Singer – Tamil | Shreya Ghoshal for "Solitaley" | Nominated | [20] [21] [22] |
| Mirchi Music Awards South | 26 August 2013 | Song of the Year | "Ayayayo Aananthamey" | Won | [23] [24] [25] |
| Mirchi Music Awards South | 26 August 2013 | Song of the Year | "Solitaley" | Nominated | [23] [24] [25] |
| Mirchi Music Awards South | 26 August 2013 | Album of the Year | D. Imman | Won | [23] [24] [25] |
| Mirchi Music Awards South | 26 August 2013 | Male Vocalist of the Year | Haricharan for "Ayayayo Aananthamey" | Nominated | [23] [24] [25] |
| Mirchi Music Awards South | 26 August 2013 | Music Composer of the Year | D. Imman for "A Lady and the Violin" | Nominated | [23] [24] [25] |
| Mirchi Music Awards South | 26 August 2013 | Music Composer of the Year | D. Imman for "Solitaley" | Won | [23] [24] [25] |
| Mirchi Music Awards South | 26 August 2013 | Lyricist of the Year | Yugabharathi for "Ayayayo Aananthamey" | Nominated | [23] [24] [25] |
| Mirchi Music Awards South | 26 August 2013 | Upcoming Female Vocalist of the Year | Magizhini Manimaaran for "Soi Soi" | Nominated | [23] [24] [25] |
| Mirchi Music Awards South | 26 August 2013 | Mannin Kural Male Vocalist of the Year | Alphons Joseph for "Nee Yeppo Pulla" | Nominated | [23] [24] [25] |
| Mirchi Music Awards South | 26 August 2013 | Mannin Kural Female Vocalist of the Year | Magizhini Manimaaran for "Soi Soi" | Won | [23] [24] [25] |
| Mirchi Music Awards South | 26 August 2013 | Song of the Year – Listener's choice | "Solitaley" | Won | [23] [24] [25] |
| Mirchi Music Awards South | 26 August 2013 | Technical – Sound Mixing of the Year | "Yella Oorum" | Nominated | [23] [24] [25] |
| Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards | 24–28 April 2013 | Best Music Director | D. Imman | Won | [26] [27] |
| South Indian International Movie Awards | 12–13 September 2013 | Best Music Director – Tamil | D. Imman | Nominated | [28] [29] [30] |
| South Indian International Movie Awards | 12–13 September 2013 | Best Lyricist – Tamil | Yugabharathi for "Solitaley" | Nominated | [28] [29] [30] |
| South Indian International Movie Awards | 12–13 September 2013 | Best Male Playback Singer – Tamil | Haricharan for "Ayayayo Aananthamey" | Nominated | [28] [29] [30] |
| South Indian International Movie Awards | 12–13 September 2013 | Best Female Playback Singer – Tamil | Shreya Ghoshal for "Solitaley" | Nominated | [28] [29] [30] |
| South Indian International Movie Awards | 12–13 September 2013 | Best Dance Choreographer – Tamil | Noble for "Ayyayayo Aananthamey" | Nominated | [28] [29] [30] |
| Tamil Nadu State Film Awards | 13 July 2017 | Best Music Director | D. Imman | Won | [31] [32] |
| Tamil Nadu State Film Awards | 13 July 2017 | Best Male Playback Singer | Ranjith for "Solitaley" | Won | [31] [32] |
| Tamil Nadu State Film Awards | 13 July 2017 | Best Female Playback Singer | Shreya Ghoshal for "Solitaley" | Won | [31] [32] |
| Vijay Awards | 11 May 2013 | Best Music Director | D. Imman | Won | [33] [34] |
| Vijay Awards | 11 May 2013 | Best Male Playback Singer | Haricharan for "Ayayayo Aananthamey" | Nominated | [33] [34] |
| Vijay Awards | 11 May 2013 | Best Lyricist | Yugabharathi for "Solitaley" | Nominated | [33] [34] |
| Vijay Awards | 11 May 2013 | Favourite Song | "Solitaley" | Nominated | [33] [34] |