A young lady lands in Chennai, rather Madras, for the first time. Quite deadbeat she takes a typical yellow top Ambassador cab to the city in the twilight. Next morning sparks off a whirlwind discovery of Madras where she flits between the various sights, sounds, smells and warmth the city has to offer. It’s a joyous trip where she interacts with the people of the city, travelling on a yellow scooter, waving from a cycle rickshaw or dancing on a street. From not knowing anything about the city, she ends up completely in love with it.

This four-and-a-half minute video, The Madras Song, to the refrain of pudichcha cut-out, pudikkalena get out, 375 aanaalum repeat, has been launched by the Murugappa group, in association with The Hindu, to celebrate the city turning 375. The video available on YouTube is a catchy snapshot of all that is Madras. The experiential film, made in an unchoreographed format with real-life experiences, has been made by director Vijay Prabhakaran, lyricist Subu and music director Vishal Chandrasekharan and features the voice of singer Shakthishree Gopalan and has actor-model Yasmin Ponnappa as the visitor to Madras. “We wanted to make a song about someone’s discovery of Madras and what it meant intrinsically to people,” said Prabhakaran at the launch.

MM Murugappan, Vice Chairman of the Murugappa group, said the video is a tribute to the city that is home to the diversified conglomerate. “It’s important to give back to the city that has nurtured us; a city that we love and live in,” he said. He said the group has been involved closely with events celebrating Madras and the video too reflects a city that is becoming more cosmopolitan.

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