Bujji From Karthik Subbaraj’s Jagame Thanthiram: This Song, Starring Dhanush, Is Quite The Deepavali Earworm

In the absence of Prabhu Deva in Tamil cinema, we can look up to Dhanush to give us massy steps! After the 'Rakita Rakita Rakita' number from the Dhanush, Aishwarya-Lekshmi starrer Jagame Thanthiram, directed by Karthik Subbaraj, took YouTube by storm, the second single 'Bujji' has just hit the video sharing platform. But, unlike the previous big hit, 'Bujji' is not just a lyrical video, but also a fully-edited video song where you can watch the National Award-winning actor have a gala time lip-syncing to the earworm, rendered mostly by Anirudh Ravichander to Santhosh Narayanan's music.

'Bujji' is a likeable composition and you don't have to listen to it multiple times to get into the groove. The enormous amount of untranslated English words in the new song might take listeners back to their Anirudh and Dhanush's first collaboration, 'Why This Kolaveri Di' for 3. The comparisons are obvious and inevitable. 

The 'Kolaveri Di' tune was quite simple and the lyrics could easily be mugged up by any middle-school going kid. The words were a colloquial mix of Tamil and English, and the spotlight was on a boy missing the girl he's in love with. Vivek, who has penned the lyrics for 'Bujji', uses the same theory. But, this time, the lyricist appears to be drawing attention to the hero's nature. Aishwarya Lekshmi is missing in the video. 

Usually, in a song like this, the man stalks the woman and the latter brushes off his curious gaze and walks away. However, by the end of it, she's usually shaking a leg to the catchy tune. This song stays clear of that stereotype. But, Dhanush's character emerges from behind a crowd of people and sings, 'Enna mattum love you pannu, Bujji; enna mattum darling sollu, Bujji' (Love nobody else but me, Bujji, and call me darling)."

Oh, by the way, Bujji and Bujjima are commonly used terms in Telugu. Whenever heroes try to flirt with young women in Telugu films, they call them Bujji. It seems like the words, which more or less mean sweetheart, have gained popularity in Tamil, too, just like how Macha has travelled to other South Indian states from Tamil Nadu.

Jagame Thanthiram, like Lokesh Kanagaraj's Master, was supposed to release in theatres earlier this year, but the pandemic hit, and films took the backseat. Many producers are not willing to screen their works on OTT platforms directly because that would hinder the general public's theatrical experience. But the long wait does seem to be coming to an end, as many films have been lined up for release in January 2021. Only time will tell if they will see the light of day as per schedule. Until then, we'll have to make do with lyrical and video songs on YouTube.