“Ooh, yeah, friendship,
Ooh, yeah, friendship”
These opening lines are enough to transport one back to the 90s, and to “Mustafa Mustafa”. A friendship anthem which cemented its place in popular culture, the song from Kadhal Desam remains iconic even three decades later. On 23 August 1996, the Tamil film directed by Kathir released, along with dubbed versions in Telugu (Prema Desam) and Hindi (Duniya Dilwalon Ki). The teen romance film is remembered for being the debut for actors Tabu (in Tamil films) and Abbas – and stays iconic for A. R. Rahman’s soundtrack.
1990s Rahman is widely regarded by fans as a separate mood. Director Kathir recalls, “Rahman composed this in Mumbai. He was busy in all languages at that point. He called me to Mumbai and we were in different hotels. He was quite busy, I was waiting in my room. Suddenly he called me and said, ‘Come to the airport, let’s go to Chennai.’ In the flight he gave me a Walkman and said ‘Listen!’, and there the tune was. He sang the word Mustafa and the rest was humming. And that’s how the song happened.”
One of the reasons “Mustafa Mustafa” is still a part of playlists is its celebration of friendship between the two male leads. “The film is based on friendship. A love story between all three friends. So there had to be a song on friendship. Back in the day there was a song “Paravaigal Pole Marangalil Meedhu”. After that for a long while, there was no song on friendship or farewell. Usually I do not give an example to Rahman but this is one song I asked for,” adds Kathir.
“This song was important to enhance the film’s idea. How they become friends, how they have fun together, all that had to be shown. In fact, I shot most of the song’s visuals before Rahman composed the song itself. Whatever I had in mind about college life, I had shot all that already. A few portions I shot after the song came in like the candle light segment. The humming inspired me to shoot the candle light and swaying shots.”
“Mustafa Mustafa, don’t worry Mustafa,
Kalam nam thozhan mustafa (Time is our friend, Mustafa)
Day by day, day by day,
Vazhkai payanam day by day (Everyday journey of life continues)
Muzhgatha shipae Friendship than (The ship which doesn’t sink is Friendship)”
These lines by writer Vaali shaped the song. Kathir tells Billboard India, “Nobody has written songs for my films like he has… This album he has written very well. I’ve worked with some great technicians like this. With legends like Vaali and Rahman, if I do not give a good song that is on me as a director.”
The Telugu and Hindi versions were penned by Bhuvana Chandra and P. K. Mishra respectively, and the song resonated with audiences across languages. “We’ve been pan-India since 30 years… Now they’re saying pan-India but I feel all my films have been pan-India. And there were no big stars. Only good technicians. I always ensured my films had the best technicians. I insisted my producer spends more on movie-making than on the cast. When the film is good, it speaks for itself,” he concludes.
Listen to the Tamil version here:
The Telugu version here:
And the Hindi version here:
