The Jimikki Kammal rage

As Entammede Jimikki Kammal goes viral, here is what the brains behind the song have to say about it
The Jimikki Kammal rage

In Lal Jose's Velipadinte Pustakam, students of a college erupt in celebration when they manage to get an obnoxious teacher suspended. The gang of boys, to irk their rivals, break into a dance to the catchy track, Entammede Jimmikikammal to rejoice over their victory.

Well, the viral track has not just had all of Kerala grooving to it but has managed to create a buzz beyond the borders, too. While social media is out celebrating the foot-tapping number, even American talk show host Jimmy Kimmel couldn't help but love it.

The composition

Music director Shaan Rahman says when the team first made him listen to the first two lines, 'Entammede jimikki kammal Entappan kattondu poye, Entappante brandy kuppi Entamma kudichu theerthe', he knew this was a winner. He says, "Lal Jose wanted to replace it with rhyming lines, but I suggested why not retain it. The verses are quite popular in the coastal areas, and it has a certain warmth and rustic charm to it.  I told him that it would be best if lyricist Anil Panachooran pens the remaining lines with the same wacky flavour. The team loved my composition, and we knew this was going to be a hit."

With Vineeth Sreenivasan's and Ranjith's vocals and actor Sarath Kumar's energetic moves, Jimikki Kammal went on to shatter records within hours of its release.  It has amassed over 12 million views on YouTube so far. 

The 'Anybody can dance' factor
  
While we go gaga over its peppy tune and funky moves, the song's choreographer Prasanna Sujit, aka Prasanna Master, thinks the unique marketing strategy helped its popularity in a big way.

"After choreographing the song, the team sought my suggestions on how to market the song. That's when the idea of dance covers popped up," he says. They decided to ask people to come up with their own versions of Jimikki Kammal. "We did expect a few entries but were amazed by the response.  I shared the best ones on my Facebook page, and now I hear that the video of the Indian School of Commerce has gone viral in Chennai. I saw it and it was awesome," says Prasanna.

He says the 'anybody can dance factor' helped Jimikki Kammal. "Though it might seem otherwise, choreographing for Jimikki Kammal was a bit strenuous. That was because there were no trained background dancers. It was the actors themselves who grooved to the number." And, none of the actors were trained dancers, so the signature steps had to be simple. "In fact, I noticed that almost every video has the same steps. That is because they were easily doable, " adds Prasanna. 

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