‘Glad Frangipani stopped people from making hasty decisions’

Almost every person in town keeps humming Frangipani like they own the song. Kaber has managed to create a silent sensation that is now the anthem of platonic and long-distance friendships. The video and the lyrics have managed to create a deep impact among the viewers. “Frangipani is purely based on my personal experiences that I have shared emotionally with my friend Nila.

After her passing away, I couldn’t process it. I usually pen my deep emotions as songs but Frangipani was an experience of sorts as I wrote it keeping my closed circle in mind. In a way, it is the love that my close-knit circle had for each other that has reflected in the song’s success, I believe,” begins Kaber.

The musician has been closely following the comments and messages he has been receiving for the song. “Some people messaged me saying that they have been unable to come out of the grief of passing away of their loved one for a very long time and how Frangipani helped them in being a vent.

In fact, a few of them said that they could have ended their life like Nila but this song made me realise how it would hurt their close ones and refrained from making such hasty decisions. These messages have been overwhelming,” he adds.

Sneha has been addressed by a lot of people as Nila wherever she goes. Getting addressed by an on screen character is the best an actor can get. She calls it special too. “I am grateful for all the love. Also, getting an opportunity to play a character like Nila is ‘artistically beautiful’. Being a part of Frangipani healed me in a way.

Being Nila on screen was a lot of responsibility, which itself is life changing. On sets, the entire team created an ambience where I was able to give my best. We all did our best,” says the actor. She also adds that she was able to relate to Nila on a greater level. “I have a Nila in my life too. Kaber kept saying that this success is showered up on us by Nila herself from above. I truly believe in that and I landed on this opportunity because of the Nila in my life,” Sneha remarks.

Marun, the director of Firangipani says that Kaber had a vision and the onus was on them to enhance it. “I am a huge fan of Kaber’s since school days. I was initially scared to take this up but Kaber made things easy for us. Kaber had a proper plan for each of us though I saw it as a challenge, I also wanted to do it. Also, just like what Sneha had mentioned, the team too made me do it to the best of our ability,” he tells us. The song’s tone was beautifully complimented by Marun’s visuals. “I was very clear about a few things-- casting and visuals.

We were okay with taking our own time to get the casting and the location right. We shot the visuals in Puducherry and ensured that not a single frame looked like what the audience had seen previously of the beach town,” Marun says with a smile. Lingeshwer opens up that editing was on papers. “Kaber gave us an edited version and I was always with the team so I know the plan and the mood in advance. This helped in bringing out the transition well,” he says.

Another highlight of the song is Kaber’s acting and as soon as we mention that he pretty much looked like any Chennai boy who takes a walk in Besant Nagar beach or in the lanes of Alwarpet, the team laughs. “I was confident about the music and how the song would come. But when it came to acting, I was a bit skeptical. Only upon seeing the comments, I am assured that I have done a decent job,” he says as the team jams for Frangipani with our colleagues.