Harris vs Anirudh battle begins to brew
Anirudh released the making video of "Oh Penne" during the weekend. The viewers were confused and scratched their heads as to why the first 60 seconds of the video show Anirudh taking an auto to the studio shown in low light conditions. Many fans even reported closing their YouTube browser thinking that they probably clicked on the wrong video.
Is Anirudh taking a jab at Harris Jayaraj?
Music fans who have been closely following both these music directors connected the dots in no time. One of them pointed out that Harris Jayaraj had tweeted his Lamborghini car proudly and commented "My first road trip to Bangalore on a Lamborghini... Killer machine." Within a few hours, Anirudh tweeted "Ennathaan AC car la ponaalum, auto la adikkara kaathe thani :)". Later that week, Anirudh also posted another photo where he is shown working in humble settings "this is my hotel room music setup where most of my music is made :)"
What is Anirudh possibly trying to say ?
Many fans believe that the auto ride video in "O Penne" is to show that he doesn't demand expensive foreign trips to compose music unlike other composers; he is also easy to work with and also not demanding. He made a similar point in the "Ethirneechal" making video when he humorously requests producer Dhanush when he will be able to get an opportunity to travel to Mauritius/Maldives and other countries to compose music.
Competition from Anirudh and other upcoming music directors
It is well known that Anirudh has been snatching some prestigious projects from Harris' regular directors recently (e.g., ARM-Vijay movie). Tamil film industry is finally beginning to accept Anirudh as a real deal after his chart buster songs for Ethirneechal translating to big box office opening.
Producers are flocking to Anirudh ready to offer him the reported salary of Rs.75 Lakhs, which is lower than Harris Jayaraj's remuneration of Rs. 2.5 Crores + 30 Lakhs for foreign trip to an exotic location + additional singer/musician salaries.
After watching the wasted first minute in "O Penne" song, it does make us wonder whether Anirudh is starting to lose his focus as he takes pot-shots at his competitors.