Scarecrow M&C Saatchi and Reliance Jewels capture the 1000-years-old history of Thanjavur’s art & architecture

On the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, Reliance Jewels & Scarecrow M&C Saatchi pay homage to Thanjavur – a mystical Kingdom and the cultural capital of spellbinding art and Dravidian architecture.

Along with Scarecrow M&C Saatchi for Reliance Jewels, this is the fifth comprehensive endeavour to narrate thousand-year-old stories of India’s cosmic art, dance, culture, traditions and heritage.

The inspiration behind Thanjavur :

Be it the intricately carved stones of the temples or the excellent craftsmanship of Poompuhar ships, the artistic traditions of Bommai Dolls or the vibrant interiors of Darbar Hall, the collection reflects every little nuance and effort and pays tribute to the artisans of Thanjavur.

Where art is worshipped

Before conceptualising the entire campaign, the marketing team of Reliance Jewels along with Team Scarecrow M&C Saatchi did a lot of research to understand the 1000 years of history, temple architecture, relief sculptures, bronze statues, artistic Bommai dolls, ancient musical instruments, Carnatic music, Bharatanatyam dance form, murals and frescos of the royal Kingdom.

Right from visiting temples to talking to experts from different fields to a detailed cultural recce was conducted.

After 4 months of groundwork, research and rounds of recce, Thanjavur history seemed overly engrossed in artistic traditions and rituals. Its mystical aura, majestic temples and mesmerising art forms make it a holy pilgrimage. People visit Thanjavur not just for holy temples but also for intricate and breath-taking art and architecture.

Needless to say, it’s a pilgrimage where not even the art but architecture is also worshipped.

THE MUSICIANS OF THANJAVUR

The research gave us an idea about the vastness of Thanjavur in terms of art, craft, and culture. Music plays an integral part in its culture. So, we roped in the next generation of musicians to capture the vividness of Thanjavur.

The music is composed by award-winning music composer Ambi Subramaniam, son of maestro Dr. L. Subramaniam and a renowned violinist, composer and educator who is helmed as the “New king of Indian classical violin” by the Times of India and “India’s Itzhak Pearlmann” by Ozy Magazine.

The Thanjavur song is inspired by the beauty of Thanjavur. It captures the traditional and vibrant essence that make Thanjavur the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu.

The composition has been  written in Gambheera Nattai raga and pays tribute to the ancient temples.

The Tamil version of the lyrics are penned by lyricist Madhan Karky, son of eldest son of seven-times National Award winning lyricist Vairamuthu and the most sought after lyricists in the Tamil film industry while the Hindi version are written by Manish Bhatt.

Vocalist Sharanya Srinivas, daughter of prominent singer Srinivasan Doraiswamy who is also Known for her movies Thenali, Ambikapathy, July Kaatril, Mersal has infused magic in the melody of the song with her mesmerizing voice.

The music was produced by Varun Murali, an award-winning musician, and producer, popularly known as the lead guitarist behind the Indian folk-rock band Swarathma.

THE CREATOR OF THANJAVUR FILM

The campaign conceptualized by Scarecrow M&C Saatchi revolves around two young girls; a dance choreographer and her friend. The film captures the beauty of Thanjavur, its architecture, its royal palace and its artistic traditions through the musical journey of these two friends in precisely 3 minutes & 27 seconds.

The film has been produced by Sunil Nair of Thinkpot Productions with cinematography helmed by Harshvir Oberai, a renowned Cinepatographer known for Rocket Boys, Aarya, Navarasa.

The campaign also consists of print ads shot in the temples of Thanjavur by Tarun Khiwal, one of the most awarded and  leading fashion photographers in India. The campaign also features product shoot which was shot by famous photographer Prathamesh Hembade.

Sepaking of the campaign, Manish Bhatt, Founder Director, Scarecrow M&C Saatchi added “It often takes a 3-hour long feature film to capture the 1000 years old history, the tradition, the rich heritage, the dance culture, the ancient musical instruments, the Carnatic music and the many facets of Thanjavur.

The challenge and the most delightful part of this campaign was to encapsulate all of this in precisely 3 minutes and 27 seconds.

Sunil Nayak, CEO of Reliance Jewels, said, We are proud to present our Thanjavur collection this Akshaya Tritiya across India. It captures the essence of the rich heritage of Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu.

Our thematic jewellery collections are an ode to the diverse culture of our country, and we are happy to continue our legacy with the launch of season 7.0.

Our customers have always appreciated our thematic collections, and we are confident that they will love this one too.