It has been 17 years since the release of Subramaniapuram, starring and written and directed by M Sasikumar. It is virtually impossible to talk about this film without at least a mention of the now-iconic song 'Kangal Irandal', featuring Jai and Swathi Reddy. Interestingly, the song was not even part of Sasikumar's original screenplay for the 2008 film. In a recent conversation with Sudhir Srinivasan, he said that he had just "Ilaiyaraaja retro songs" in consideration for the film. One of these songs is 'Siruponmani Asaiyum' from the 1980 film Kallukkul Eeram that Sasikumar planned in place of 'Kangal Irandal' for the film. Sasikumar revealed that he chose this Kallukkul Eeram song and other retro tracks from the legendary composer's discography because the film is also set in the 1980s period. "When I told James Vasanthan that he is the composer for Subramaniapuram, but there are no songs in the film, he was like, 'Why is it so?'"
According to Sasikumar, these Ilaiyaraaja tracks would contribute to not just the film's music but also its ambience. The actor-filmmaker also disclosed that he planned to use the 'Idhayam Poguthe' song from Puthiya Vaarpugal for the scene where Jai's character comes out of jail in the film. However, the makers eventually replaced it with James Vasanthan's composition 'Kadhal Siluvayil'.
Sasikumar puts the decisions to replace the Ilaiyaraaja songs from the 1980s with original compositions down to the requirement to establish the romance angle with the limited scenes featuring Jai and Swathi Reddy's characters. He said that the introduction of 'Kangal Irandal' turned Subramaniapuram from a political film into one with a romantic element. "If we removed the song, it would have become a political film," Sasikumar signed off.
