Team Kannamma Eannamma Celebrates 1 Million Views

Faces of the song Rio Raj, Pavithra Lakshmi and Sam Vishal walk into our office to a rousing welcome by their fans in the campus. 

“The entire idea of Kannamma Eanamma started in the middle of a road,” laughs Rio. “Yes it did. I was reaching home when I met Rio who had come to visit my neighbour, who is also his friend. I told him that I just wrapped up the shoot of Kutty Pattaasu, a music video. Rio too said that he had similar plans in mind. That is how Kannamma Eannamma started,” says Karthik Srinivas of Noise and Grains.

“And it was Rio who asked if I would be interested in playing the female lead in the song. We have known each other for quite a few years now but we haven’t collaborated on any projects. I liked the song instantly and I have been a huge fan of Sam Vishal’s voice. So we started the shoot of the song the very next day,” Pavithra joins the conversation. 

Sam Vishal sings for us and begins, “I love the word Kannamma and all leading singers have at least one song titled Kannamma. I am overwhelmed with the reception and this has gone on to become a special song for me personally.” 

The lyric video version of Kannamma Eanamma was a huge hit with over 2 million views on musical platforms before the video was made. “The song had already raised the expectations by garnering over two lakh streams in a day and this video was an icing on the cake,” adds Karthik. 

Kannamma Eanamma is a fusion of western and folk music and is a story within itself. “There are several independent music videos being made of late. We ensured that Kannamma cannot be just another one. It has something for each one of us—it is a classy song with western music to it at the same time people can also shake a leg to the kutthu beats in the song. Overall, we have managed to strike the right chord,” says Pavithra. 

The team also tells us that the song was shot in less than a day. “This is something that cannot be shot in a day. The quality has to be on a par with a movie song. We use the same equipment that are being used for a movie. Hence, the rate card remains the same for music video as well despite budget constraints. This needs to be considered as an industry in itself, where the rates are revised so that more music videos can be produced,” says Karthik. 

Having shot across tight schedules, the director of the video Britto says, “Though we didn’t have much time to chit chat on the sets, we had a lot of fun while shooting. We were running late but we completed the song in just three hours. Rio, Pavithra, Bala and Sam were constantly changing costumes and doing their hair and makeup. We wanted to do something fun and Kannamma Eanamma has opened up a new market for music videos.” 

Rio and Pavithra have been social media sensations and have been people’s favourites. However, it has its own challenges. “There is a constant pressure to perform and be responsible at the same time. People keep asking us what’s next and also suggest on what we should be doing. We can’t let our fans down by taking things for granted,” says Rio. 

“Today people have opened up because of social media and they all want to be a part of it. We don’t have the privilege to take a hiatus. We need to keep feeding them with good content, which has its own advantages too,” concludes the team as they acknowledge selfies from their fans in the premise.