Koothu Songs

[leaf]

Inspired by Minai's great tribute to South Indian dancing, I just searched for a thread for dappankuthu songs and I was shocked to find there wasn't one. Please merge if there is one already.

A lot of the fabulously energetic dancing in South Indian films is from koothu songs. If you don't know what I'm talking about, wiki is here to help: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dappan_koothu

If you've heard Bird Flu or Boyz by MIA, those are koothu songs.

Some of my favourites.

Aathichoodi (TN 07 AL 4777): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB-JJEI8HJ0

Jimbalakka (Bambara Kannaley): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS347roKVsc

Dai Namma (Pattiyal): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b1yHTogtRs

Indadi (Dhool): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW8RhYLyyPE

[kendra]

Did I ever mention how much I can be obsessed with dappankuthu? (my tamil friends call this dappa, is it totally wrong?) This is how I really fallen in love with SI cinema.
All the ones Leaf have posted have crossed the decent amount of repeat on my ipod, specially Aathichudi this year.

Siva Siva Siva Shankara (Suyamvaram)

Thirunelveli halva thaan (Saamy)

Padichupathen (Polladhavan)

Mazhai Thuli (Sangamam)

Nakka Mukka (Kadhalil Vizhunten)  

And one of my favourite ever (this video is spoilery, so don't click if you didn't see the movie)
Ava Enna (Vaaranam Aayiram)

[leaf]

Nakka Mukka (Kadhalil Vizhunten) 

I've never seen that before. That is just exhausting to even watch.

[Brindavani]

You all forget my post from the SI nominations thread in Polling.  Learning Tamil Street Dance (Dappankoothu, Tappaanguttu, whatever) has been the greatest thing ever!  It is incredibly high energy and so.......... much fun.  

Vijay - He is a huge influence in my Tappaanguttu Tamil street dance class!  Most of the songs I have learnt are from his movies.  He is one crazy dancer with mindblowing moves and a fantastic street dance attitude!  That attitude is so difficult to emulate.  Some of the songs we have learnt in class.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm-W-7hFy4A Hey Rama Rama Villu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7hU9IvmMnQ  Kokkare Kokkarako Ghilli

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brfUPVDsvK4   Kumbida Pona Theivam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkvS5ZknOm0  Vaadi Vaadi - Sachein  - Actual dance starts around 1:20

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xvo3DNGA1I Machan Peru Madurey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8TBk2hSWX0 Adungada - Pokiri

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M41lEfkZbA Vaada Vaada - Sivakasi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgA8ylNlZWc  Shambho Mahadeva - Sivakasi

We now have 3 more songs since I posted this list.

Vaadi Vaadi Nattu Katte   - Performing this one this weekend at a wedding!!!  

Chiku chiku boom boom

Thaimasam oora

ETA: I totally forgot about the Naaka Mukka song but the female version!  Here it is : Naaka Mukka female  This one's a nightmare to remember.  Too many steps.  What we do is not an exact copy of the video but some movements are fairly similar. 

[Moot]

You all forget my post from the SI nominations thread in Polling.  Learning Tamil Street Dance (Dappankoothu, Tappaanguttu, whatever) has been the greatest thing ever!  It is incredibly high energy and so.......... much fun.  

We now have 3 more songs since I posted this list.

Vaadi Vaadi Nattu Katte   - Performing this one this weekend at a wedding!!!  

Chiku chiku boom boom

Thaimasam oora

I just watched the 3 newest youtube postings and I thought they were great - am I going mad or is the female vocalist on Vaadi Vaadi Nattu Katte the same woman who did the voice on this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrCLBM2IkHc from Rangeela?

I need to find somewhere to get these films I'm missing sooooo much.  To the SI threads... I want to see more.  Beautiful.

Thank you so much for this.

[Val]

Is Kadhalil Vizhunthen any good?After seeing that song,looks interesting!

[MinaiMinai]

BLESS YOU leaf for starting this thread.  It's finally clicking for me what this dance style is.  I've always been able to visually identify it, and I vaguely heard the words "Kuthu" and "kuth" floating around but never put it all together.  I had seen Brindavani's post about the Dappankoothu (and meant to comment but never did!) but I still didn't quite get what it was exactly.  What confused me was that I kept reading that it was a funeral dance done in the villages, but yet the characteristic moves of the style are seen in countless mass movies.  Is it perhaps that the traditional form originated in villages as a way to celebrate certain events in life (such as funerals), but now has spread to South Indian pop culture and mass films?  

A great example of this apparent shift is the song Varraru Varraru from Emtan Magan (it's on YouTube here, and I completely overlooked it for my dance fanvid!) It's an example of a funeral Kuthu, I think.  It starts out with the dancers moving slowly to a languid beat with lyrics of mourning and the deceased person clearly visible and placed upright on a colorful, decorated mantle carried by the crowd.  Then someone in the crowd comes forward and says "he may get dejected and come back! the music should be riveting!" and then a normal, fast-paced kuthu song (with awesome Bharath moves!) happens intercut with shots of the dead person.  It's quite jarring for a western person who's used to sacred, quiet funerals, but I've always heard that some cultures celebrated after a person's death- I never knew that some areas in Tamil Nadu were among them!

From that Wikipedia link: "...a lungi (colourful cloth wrapped around the waist) is commonly worn and most preferable, with the bottom raised and folded upwards over the knees in the middle. Ideally, it should be worn over pattapatti (lined trousers)."  I've been wondering about these "pattapattis" which look like plaid/striped western shorts to me.  At first I thought the dancers were scandalously showing their underwear, and apparently I'm right since I've seen them referred to as "pattapati underwear" on a couple sites.  So are they considered indecent or just part of the fun?  Looks like rather uncomfortable undies.


And I finally figured out the name of that "sound" (stuttering drum, I call it) I've distinctly heard in songs ever since I got into South Indian films but had no idea what to even search on to begin finding out.  I think I once asked in a thread but no one responded, lol. IT'S CALLED THE URUMI/URUMEE DRUM!  YES!!!!! Check this out!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I6KaAvY-Qs They make the sound by hitting that part of the drum right with the stick!  And check this out too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HXqdryJPQQ  Oh my god I am over the moon right now!

I just rewatched MIA's Bird Flu- I remember what I thought when I first watched it so long ago: "what are these crazy rhythms and instruments! and this awesome freestyle simply dancing!" Wow, deja vu.

Okay, this thread has made my week.  Brindavani, can I move to your city so I can take your Tappaanguttu Tamil street dance class? I mean, why are people still doing lame aerobics workouts when they can be doing Dappankuthu moves!! Probably burns 5x the calories! Off to watch all the songs- so excited!!

[leaf]

It's quite jarring for a western person who's used to sacred, quiet funerals, but I've always heard that some cultures celebrated after a person's death- I never knew that some areas in Tamil Nadu were among them!

While the quiet dignity of Western funeral is a foreign concept in most Indian cultures, I was actually surprised when I was watching an interview with Padma Lakshmi, who is a Palakkad Iyer raised in Chennai, on Craig Ferguson's show and they were talking about how it was considered good luck to go see the dead body of an elderly person who had died of natural causes.

Then, at the beginning of Pattiyal, Arya and Bharath have a conversation about how one will be the one dancing the hardest if the other dies. That was something new for me as well.

Question for those who have watched more Telugu films than I have -  are there Telugu koothu songs? They are very popular in Malayalam films, but then the relationship between Tamil culture and Malayalam culture is different from Tamil and Telugu.

On that note, my favourite kooth paattu from a Malayalam film:
Whistley Whistley (Sathyam) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOojrvuC4Uo (sorry, couldn't find a better quality video)

[MinaiMinai]

Question for those who have watched more Telugu films than I have -  are there Telugu koothu songs? They are very popular in Malayalam films, but then the relationship between Tamil culture and Malayalam culture is different from Tamil and Telugu.

On this interesting blog entry, some of the commenters say the Telugu version is called "Teen Maar" (and a quick youtube search verifies it!).  One example they gave was of Pawan Kalyan in Thammudu (Low quality): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umeJekuKXmc/.  It's interesting - as I sit and ponder your question, I know I've seen lots of kuthu inspired dancing in Telugu films, but it's hard for me to think of examples where it's in true kuthu style with the specific percussion instruments AND the village/lungi dress.  Hmmm..

I'm curious what kuthu numbers are called in Malayalam films!  The only one I had seen before is "Chinga Masam" from Meesa Madhavan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxtOrfT62b0 ETA: Oh silly me- they are called "Kooth Pattu" as you listed.

[leaf]

On this interesting blog entry, some of the commenters say the Telugu version is called "Teen Maar" (and a quick youtube search verifies it!).  One example they gave was of Pawan Kalyan in Thammudu (Low quality): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umeJekuKXmc/.  It's interesting - as I sit and ponder your question, I know I've seen lots of kuthu inspireddancing in Telugu films, but it's hard for me to think of examples where it's in true kuthu style with the specific percussion instruments AND the village/lungi dress.  Hmmm..

That's really interesting. Thanks for sharing. I wonder if it has roots in Telugu culture or if it is borrowed from Tamil. Lungis aren't a requisite, just like you don't need to wear chaadras for bhangra.

I'm curious what kuthu numbers are called in Malayalam films!  The only one I had seen before is "Chinga Masam" from Meesa Madhavan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxtOrfT62b0 ETA: Oh silly me- they are called "Kooth Pattu" as you listed.

It's called the same thing in Malayalam as in Tamil. Paattu just means song, in Tamil and Malayalam. It's a bit awkward to write it as koothu songs for me, since I am used to thinking of it as kooth(u) pattu. Chinga Masam is the song that really started the koothu trend in Malayalam.

[MinaiMinai]

I wonder if it has roots in Telugu culture or if it is borrowed from Tamil. 

Me too- will have to research this more.  That blog link I listed has a great Telugu "kuthu" song of NTR Jr from Simhadri embedded that I overlooked! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92lCLEETFCc&fmt=18.  It seems that Telugus may use the word "Teenmaar" to refer to energetic, rowdy mass numbers in general.

[Brindavani]

Minai, hats off to you for making that video on SI dance extravaganza without fully understanding this style of dance!!  Amazing.


This style of dance is huge in SI.  There are apparently Tappanguttu clubs in Chennai where one can show off.     How cool does that sound?  This style seems to be catching on in rest of India as well.  Shows like Dance India Dance have now shown a few numbers.  Punit, Last year's Prince, Ameeth. The Dance India Dance little masters show that starts on Friday seems to have a few more of these based on the previews.

I am learning in Bangalore.  So, come over anytime.  Really this class is something I wait for all week and have yet to come back disappointed. 

[MinaiMinai]

^Brindavani - Understanding the word "koothu" has made all the difference- now google searching is much more fruitful.  Where have I been all of this time?   I'm hoping others are as helped by this as I am.   If I ever visit India one of my first stops will be one of these clubs you speak of.  And Punit's dance is ridiculously good! Interesting that in the middle video you posted they call it only "Tamil Folk Dance."

And I think I'm spelling it right now (koothu, as leaf spelled it), as I believe the ending vowel is actually a short "u" sound as in "put."  All the different transliterations drive me crazy sometimes!  Okay, done spamming this thread now.

[leaf]

And I think I'm spelling it right now (koothu, as leaf spelled it), as I believe the ending vowel is actually a short "u" sound as in "put."  All the different transliterations drive me crazy sometimes!  Okay, done spamming this thread now.

It might help to know when saying it as "dappankuthu", the "ku" is short, but just on its own as "koothu", the "ku" is long, which is why I prefer those two spellings. Obviously, there are many ways to transliterate it.

You can hear dappankuthu pronounced in one of my favourite slow numbers, Kannadasan Karaikudi (2:33) from Anjaathey.

[Prem Rogue]

Katthaazha Kannala - Anjaathey

Nakka Mukka (Kadhalil Vizhunten)  

I like this version of Nakka Mukka too.  It's the rise and fall of a movie star cutout in Chennai.

Some older ones featuring Prabhu Deva

Vaa Munnima - Indhu

Aey Kutti - Indhu

Lalaku Doldapima - Sooriyan

[Brindavani]

Wish me luck, people!  Off to my first "Koothu" performance in public in a couple of hours.  We are a group of 6 semi-oldies performing at a friend's daughter's wedding sangeet.   And, I am in the center. 

[Moot]

Wish me luck, people!  Off to my first "Koothu" performance in public in a couple of hours.  We are a group of 6 semi-oldies performing at a friend's daughter's wedding sangeet.   And, I am in the center. 

You'll knock them dead.  I really hope it goes brilliantly and you enjoy yourself a lot.

[Brindavani]

You'll knock them dead.  I really hope it goes brilliantly and you enjoy yourself a lot.

Thank you!  It went off quite well.  We ended up dancing to 2 songs instead of one and in the last one, my teacher jumped on to the stage in the middle of the song, ala Prabhudeva, and showed everyone how to dance filmi koothu style! 

[Moot]

Thank you!  It went off quite well.  We ended up dancing to 2 songs instead of one and in the last one, my teacher jumped on to the stage in the middle of the song, ala Prabhudeva, and showed everyone how to dance filmi koothu style! 

Excellent - I'm glad you had a good time.  Uploading the dances to youtube anytime soon?  I'm pretty sure you'd get a few viewers from here.

[Brindavani]

Don't know about putting myself on Youtube!!  Need more guts.   

In the meantime, here is a cute kid from Dance India Dance Little Masters auditions.

Srivatsan from Bangalore

[leaf]

Don't know about putting myself on Youtube!!  Need more guts.    

In the meantime, here is a cute kid from Dance India Dance Little Masters auditions.

Srivatsan from Bangalore

Oh my god, yo quiero uno! I love his Rajnikanth style. How did they get a munchkin-sized lungi for him?

My cousin was a big fan of Mammootty's goonda style when he was four years old and used to go around wearing "lungis" and dishooming everything. This reminds me of that.

[Val]

Awww that little boy is too cute!!

[leaf]

Here's a koothu song from a Telugu film, Chindesi (Avakai Biryani).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjhFMvTF-j0

[Brindavani]

Next one we are learning is Odi Odi Vilayadu also from Masilamani.

This one has a lot of the lady dancing.  But it is like getting hit with a hammer on the head.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOnyerjxemk

[MinaiMinai]

It might help to know when saying it as "dappankuthu", the "ku" is short, but just on its own as "koothu", the "ku" is long, which is why I prefer those two spellings. Obviously, there are many ways to transliterate it.
You can hear dappankuthu pronounced in one of my favourite slow numbers, Kannadasan Karaikudi (2:33) from Anjaathey.

Found it at 2:33, and it sounds like "dappanguthe" with the "e" as sort of a cross between the "e" in "the" and the "e" in "pen." Hmmmm... and then I've also heard it more like "dubba kuthuh" at :10 in Nalamdhana from Silambattam and as "kuth-aye" at :16  in the song "Kuthu Kuthu" from Kuthu.  I'm so confused! Maybe everyone's confused about how to pronounce it, haha.

I love all the examples on this thread! I have a huge list of these songs now. Though apparently there is a subset of Kuthu songs called Gaana songs, and I can't tell the difference except that Gana songs tend to be slower with a steadier rhythm.

I am in love with Prabhu Deva's older dances.  Though they're dated now, the picturizations are so creative and funny!  I simply adore "Siva Siva Siva Shankara" (could watch it over and over) and found these other Prabhu numbers that are wonderful and just had to share.

Mr. Romeo - Monalisa Monalisa - Sort of a bhangra-hybrid, with Shilpa Shetty
Kadhalan - Erani Kuradhani Gopala - Fun costumes, love the beginning
Allaudin - Classic Prabhu dancing
Yeppa Yeppa - Festival setting, might wanna turn down your speakers a bit
Thirupathi Ezhumalai - Ninai Virukkum Varai  Creative, mid-tempo
Kasumela - Kadhala Kadhala - With Kamal Hassan.  Priceless synth percussion.