Jailer (soundtrack)
Jailer is the soundtrack album to the 2023 film of the same name directed by Nelson Dilipkumar, starring Rajinikanth. The film's original score is composed by Anirudh Ravichander, whose soundtrack consists of eight tracks: four songs written by Arunraja Kamaraj, Vignesh Shivan and Super Subu and four instrumental tracks. Three of them—"Kaavaalaa", "Hukum – Thalaivar Alappara" and "Jujubee"—were released as singles prior to the album's release on 28 July 2023, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai.
Background
Anirudh has been associated with Nelson since his directorial debut Kolamaavu Kokila. The film also marked his third collaboration with Rajinikanth following Petta and Darbar. He described the film's soundtrack as a "blend of mass appeal and emotional depth" with most of the themes and songs were composed with the fans mind, whereas the song "Kaavaalaa" was curated for younger audiences and female listeners, and "Rathamaarey" was composed in order to connect with families across all demographics.Anirudh revealed that he did meet Shilpa Rao for recording one of the tracks in Jawan, as per Shah Rukh Khan's suggestion as she had earlier performed "Besharam Rang" in Pathaan. Simultaneously, he started recording the track "Kaavaalaa" and he had felt Rao's vocals were apt for the song. This was Rao's first Tamil song after a decade, after performing "Oru Maalai Neram" from Naan Mahaan Alla. She rehearsed performing the lyrics for two days and sang the track within two hours. Nelson further suggested Arunraja Kamaraj to write the lyrics as he did not know Telugu and experimented on how a person who was unfamiliar on Telugu language, would write a Telugu song.
Anirudh's classmate Super Subu, who had been a fan of Rajinikanth, contributed two of the tracks in the album. Since Nelson and the studio executives suggested Subu's contribution to the soundtrack, Anirudh roped him to write the song "Hukum" which he finished within two hours.
Release
JailerSingles
"Kaavaalaa" the first song from the album was teased with a promotional video released on 3 July 2023. The single was released in digital platforms on 6 July 2023, and a lyrical video accompanying the song released through YouTube. Although the song garnered mixed reception, it became viral upon its release, crossing over 100 million views within a month. The hook step performed by Tamannaah Bhatia went viral on social media."Hukum", the second single from the album, released on 17 July 2023. Performed by Anirudh himself, the song was described as "an ode to Superstar's swag" according to The Indian Express. "Jujubee", the third single from the album, performed by Dhee, with backing vocals by Anirudh and Anantha Krishnan, released on 26 July 2023.