The first two songs from Mani Ratnam’s upcoming Tamil-Telugu bilingual Chekka Chivantha Vaanam were released on audio streaming platforms on Wednesday, ahead of the launch of the film’s soundtrack in the evening. The music is by AR Rahman, who will reportedly perform live at the audio launch in Chennai. The event is being streamed on Facebook.

The thriller, set in Chennai, is about a mafia don (Prakash Raj) and his three sons Varadan (Arvind Swami), Thyagu (Arun Vijay) and Ethi (Silambarasan). The ensemble cast includes Vijay Sethupathi, Silambarasan, Jyothika, Aishwarya Rajesh, Aditi Rao Hydari and Jayasudha.

The first song, Mazhai Kuruvi, is a light-hearted romantic track sung by Rahman. The accompanying poster suggests that in the film, Ethi sings this to his wife, played by Dayana Erappa.

Bhoomi Bhoomi, with vocals Shaktishree Gopalan, strikes a more sombre note and also offers a glimpse of Rahman’s excellent musicianship. Vairamuthu’s lyrics are a poignant take on man’s preoccupation with war and violence. “Amidst the sound of the earth rotating, of men fighting, can you hear the nightingale’s song?” he asks. The poster accompanying the song features Swami and Jyothika.

Chekka Chivantha Vaanam is scheduled to be released on September 28.