Music unites. Music inspires. Ilaiyaraaja, Isaignani, as the master is called lovingly, has united and inspired generations with his spellbinding work across Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Malayalam, English and many others. The reclusive saintly master, known, over the decades, for his humility and unique skill in having mastered and disrupted the art form is all set to disrupt all over again choosing to tell this unique story to a whole new digital generation via the Facebook platform, which looks at this initiative as a regional-global story straddling millions of Ilaiyaraaja fans and music communities across a swathe of geographies and interests and Arré, the new multi-genre, multi-format digital destination. Joining this initiative is Mindshare, whose specialised content solutions arm Content+ is working with Arré to tell this important story using their deep-rooted expertise and understanding of consumers across the globe.
This ‘digital-first’ film, will play out first on Facebook and Instagram platforms and Arré and Arré platforms. Arré has recently launched its music vertical, Arré Earworm, and has also entered the Tamil market and will soon be launching originals in Tamil.
Ilaiyaraaja or Raja Sir, as he is fondly called, has a pan India and international fan base that till now have been fed with basic facts and statistics of his illustrious career.
This ‘digital-first’ film will be a cinematic recreation of his unique and inspiring story. True to the nature of the medium and the genius of the artist, Arré is in the process of collaborating with domestic and international creative talent to create what will be a path-defining moment for music and media.
The maestro will interact with his fans regarding the project via an exclusive Facebook Live interaction on September 29, 4:30 pm onwards on http://ift.tt/2wZoG53
The Maestro, Ilaiyaraaja, said “I come from a small village and have had no formal training in music or any classes from the masters of Indian classical music. Yet, somehow, music flows through me like the natural flow of water or the flow of breeze. Music has done much more for me than I have for music. Music has made me, Ilaiyaraaja. I am looking forward to sharing my musical journey with all my fans and music lovers on Arré and Facebook.”
Sriram Bakthisaran, strategic advisor and close confidante of the Maestro said “This is a unique and prestigious collaboration of partners of repute; Facebook, Arré and Mindshare, which befits the stature of the Legend and the true potential of his journey.”
Find below the links to the Maestro’s video address in
B. Saikumar, Founder–Arré, said - “We at Arré are honoured and humbled to be working closely with the Maestro whose extensive work and influence know no bounds in geography or language. Arré believes that digital is no longer the mainstay of just the millennial; it is increasingly the medium of choice across age groups and community-led affinities and interests. To that end, the Maestro and this film, will be the ultimate leveler bringing together different sets of audiences united in their common quest for music and love for Ilaiyaraaja, the Maestro. We are pleased to partner with Facebook to ensure that we take this work to millions across India and the world and believe that this is one more important step in the country’s and media’s digital evolution. Arré has recently launched its music vertical, Arré Earworm and also moved into the Tamil market, and this film will play across these new verticals apart from Arré and its platforms. We are delighted to have Mindshare as a strategic partner to provide the required amplification and partners this project deserves.”
B. Saikumar, Founder–Arré
Saurabh Doshi, Head, Media Partnerships, at Facebook India said “It is exciting to have renowned musician and Maestro Shri Ilaiyaraaja connect with his fans, and for them to be able to see this unique film, on the Facebook platform. Millions of people who are on Facebook will now be able to have the opportunity to get a glimpse into Ilaiyaraaja’s musical journey and his work through this video series on our platform.”
Saurabh Doshi, Head, Media Partnerships, at Facebook India
Prasanth Kumar, CEO, Mindshare South Asia said, “A whole generation has grown up listening to the compositions of Ilaiyaraaja and a new generation is rediscovering his music via the internet and his new movies. It is therefore essential for us to understand the motivation that brings this creative genius alive, and take him closer to a new audience. Media today, especially the digital medium is giving us the opportunity to tell this story creatively, with the man re-living his musical journey again via video, text and imagery. Mindshare is working very closely with Arré in bringing together their expertise to give this unique musical journey the right kind of amplification.”
Prasanth Kumar, CEO, Mindshare South Asia
About Arré:
Arré is India’s first multi-format, multi-genre digital media brand. Arré brings to India’s new-gen digital audiences a range of contextual storytelling and entertainment using video, audio, graphic-art and text. Founded by B. Saikumar, Ajay Chacko and Sanjay Ray Chaudhuri, Arré launched its website and social media offerings in early April 2016 with original content ranging from articles that explore sub-culture and popular culture to audio-dramas in partnership with Saavn, the first of which is Trial By Error | The Aarushi Files based on one of India’s most intriguing murder cases, doodles and illustrations that take a satirical look at the world and the socio-political environment, fiction franchises like A.I.SHA | My Virtual Girlfriend that explores the dynamics of interplay between technology and relationships, I Don’t Watch TV which is a satirical sitcom series that explores the many unsaid dimensions of India’s over-the-top entertainment television industry and its protagonists. Arré has also launched the country’s first digital reality show based on a social experiment Arré Ho-Ja-Re-gender (an Israeli format), which explores what it takes for the sexes to literally be the other gender, a fiction web series Official Chukyagiri which is a slice-of-life dramedy about life in the corporate world viewed through the eyes of an intern, a comedy series The Adventures of Abbaas Mastaan which is a ‘fully-filmi’ series about two film students who set out to create a viral digital video. Arré also launched its first vertical dedicated to food – Arré Grub followed by a travel and adventure reality vertical Arré Outdoors, the first property of which was an adventure reality show The Real High. Arré also launched a music vertical – Arré Earworm. Arré has also collaborated with the Indian Express Group to launch a series of documentaries, the first one being a documentary on Pollution titled Death by Breath. It also put out a documentary on the violence towards children in Kashmir titled Kashmir’s Lost Children. Arré also creates contextual short form content ranging from movie reviews and commentary - Fitoor Mishra CommentArré to a uniquely mobile intuitive format called Inside the Phone that plays out imagined conversations in the phones of celebrities and much more.
Arré has been working with a range of advertisers to integrate their brands seamlessly into contextual storytelling and entertainment as well as with a range of Video platforms such as Jio Cinema, Yupp TV, Sony Liv, TF1 Xtra (a French based television and digital network), Vodafone Play, Ola Play, leading airlines such as Jet Airways, Qatar Airways, Emirates etc. to market and distribute its content.