Popular Over-the-Top platform Netflix released a new song titled ‘Namma Stories- The South Anthem’ on Thursday to celebrate stories from the south Indian states. The upbeat rap track features rapper Arivu, The Family Man fame actor Neeraj Madhav, Kannada rapper SIRI and rapper Sooraj Cherukat aka Hanumankind. A day before the release of the song, Netflix India announced that it has dedicated a new social media handle, Netflix India South, to post updates about south Indian films that are available for streaming on Netflix. It announced the launch of Netflix India South in a tweet featuring a poster of Narcos’s Pablo Escobar as “Pablo Chetta”, clad in a mundu. “For the love of stories from the south,” the Twitter bio of the page reads.  

Sharing the song ‘Namma Stories’ on Twitter, Netflix India South wrote: “Get ready to drop some adipolis, vera levels, kirraks and sakkaths because your screens are about to be set on Presenting Namma Stories - a celebration of stories from the south. #NammaStoriesNammaNetflix.”  

The song opens with lines about Tamil music and dance corresponding with visuals of people playing the parai and a dancer tying the salangai. In the Tamil portion of the song, Arivu raps about the glory of the Tamizh language. The lines explain how the stories about Tamil, range from the beauty of its literature, chronicles of artists to stories about people’s expertise in language, art and intellect. 

In one sequence, we see a group of folk artists playing traditional percussion instruments around an exhibit. In a close-up shot of the exhibit, we see the lines from the first kural from Valluvar’s Thirukural. Fun stories from “Tea Kadais” (Tea shops) and “Veetu Thinnais” (stories from homes) also get featured in the track. Dressed in an embossed golden and black jacket, Arivu’s visuals are shot from the streets and against the backdrop of a library.  

We then move to the Kannada segment by SIRI, where the greatness and diversity of the Kannada language is celebrated. In an addition to the “Southside fix”, SIRI speaks about the broad spectrum of Kannada dialects ranging from Bidar to Kodagu. While the rapper shines light on the cuisine, with the mention of the Chikmagalur coffee and Maddur Vada, due credit is also given to Sandalwood stars Dr Rajkumar, Upendra, Bharathi, Kalpana,  Kichcha Sudeep, Umashree, Malashri, and Yash.  

“From Hyderabadi Biryani to real stories from the streets, we got you covered. Hear our voices, watch the visuals unfold,” Arivu raps in Telugu as he discusses the splendor of stories originating from the Telugu heartland. Adding quirk to the song, Hanumankind narrates stories from the south in an English rap sequence.  

The final part of the track features Neeraj, with his vocals in Malayalam. In his ode to Malayalis and the Malayalam language, the rapper speaks about the rich legacy, literacy rates and the extent of the Malayali diaspora. Speaking about the success of Malayalam cinema, Neeraj notes how Mollywood has changed the pace of the film industry.  From Resul Pookutty bagging the Academy Award and Malayalam stars Mohanlal and Mammootty winning hearts, noteworthy achievements from Mollywood get their share of the spotlight. “Let the rhythm of Panchavadyam build up, let's do some sparring in kalaripayattu, kathakali and vrindavadyam, let’s chant the verses of the boat race,” the translation of Neeraj’s lines from the track reads.  

The song concludes with glimpses of south Indian celebrities from movies streaming on Netflix. The list includes actors Vijay, Prabhas, Mohanlal, Mammootty, Vijay Sethupathi, Rajinikanth, Dhanush, Shraddha Srinath, Samantha Akkineni and Parvathy Thiruvothu, among others.  

‘Namma Stories’ is composed and produced by Kartik Shah. Bankrolled by Supari Studios, the music video is directed by Akshay Sundher.   

Watch the video of ‘Namma Stories- The South Anthem’ here:  

Get ready to drop some adipolis, vera levels, kirraks and sakkaths because your screens are about to be set on

Presenting Namma Stories - a celebration of stories from the south.#NammaStoriesNammaNetflix@NeerajMadhavv @TherukuralArivu @yomamasiri @Hanumankind1 pic.twitter.com/CTT1E8Y7Le

— Netflix India South (@Netflix_INSouth) July 8, 2021

The wait will be over soon, Pablo chetta!
Mark your calendars - July 7th. #NammaStoriesNammaNetflix pic.twitter.com/CdrKXWufdc

— Netflix India (@NetflixIndia) July 5, 2021

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