Chiyaan Vikram, who has contributed big for Chennai flood victims sans publicity, has produced a flood relief anthem titled "Spirit of Chennai" as a tribute to all the volunteers. It has been directed by the actor himself, and has the music of C Girinandh.
The anthem was released on Saturday, 2 January. Over 20 singers, including Chinmayi and Shakthishree Gopalan, have lent their voices for this special track. Rokesh, Madan Karky and Gaana Bala have penned the lyrics, and Vijay Milton has handled the camera.
The video clip shows the devastating effect of the flood on Chennai. But the purpose of the anthem is not to show the tragedies, but rather display the spirit of the people who cut all through barriers to support each other during such horrible times. One more video will be released shortly in which stars from the Tamil and other industries will make guest appearances.
Chennai and Cuddalore witnessed unprecedented rain in late November and early December, which killed at least 270 people and displaced thousands of others. Public and private property worth crores was damaged, and many lost their houses, vehicles and precious belongings.
During such times, celebrities and NGOs stood by the people to help. Many provided financial support for the victims and did their best for them.
Vikram was inspired to make an anthem after reading lots of inspirational stories of people during the floods. He decided to thank everyone and came up with the idea of praising the spirit of Chennai.
Meanwhile, there are reports that Siddharth and RJ Balaji, who volunteered relentlessly during the crisis, will appear in another video. Vikram also has plans to rope in big names from the South Indian film industries. Puneet Rajkumar and Yash from the Kannada industry, Ram Charan Teja, Prabhas and Nani from Telugu, Nivin Pauly from Malayalam and Suriya, Karthi, Arya, Vishal and Bobby Simha from Kollywood are going to be part of the anthem.