Lungi Dance

"Lungi Dance" is an Indian song composed and sung by Indian rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh for the soundtrack of the 2013 Bollywood film Chennai Express. The song, along with the rest of the soundtracks, was officially released on 1 July 2013. The song is a tribute to Rajinikanth.

Release

"Lungi Dance" was released as the ninth single from the album. The launch of the original music of the film took place in Mumbai, where performances were seen by the film's music directors and cast members. The star-studded event's telecast rights were sold to a TV channel for INR48 crore (US$7.7 million). The song is said to have significantly more popularised the Lungi, a traditional dress of India.

Lyrics

The song has upbeat and peppy lyrics. Rajinikanth called Shahrukh Khan, the lead actor of the film, on 5 August to praise the song and lyrics of "Lungi Dance". Khan claimed it was a special track in honour of the leading actor of Southern India. He said, "I thought the timing is good. If you don't pay a tribute to Rajini sir in a film called Chennai Express, then it is incomplete". Excerpts from the lyrics of the song include:

Chennai Express

Chennai Express ⁱ/tʃᵻˈnaɪ/ /ɪkˈsprɛs/ is a 2013 Indian romantic action comedy film directed by Rohit Shetty, and produced by Gauri Khan for Red Chillies Entertainment. The film features Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone in lead roles; it is the second collaboration between Khan and Padukone after Om Shanti Om (2007). The film is about a man's journey from Mumbai to Rameshwaram, and what happens along the way after he falls in love with the daughter of a local don. Principal photography began on 27 September 2012, filming began in October 2012 and was completed by May 2013.

Chennai Express was released in the overseas markets on 8 August 2013, and a day later in India. Extensive paid previews were held in India on 8 August as well. Although the film received mixed reviews from critics, it broke several box office records in India and abroad, becoming the quickest film to collect ₹1 billion (US$15 million) net domestically.

The film surpassed 3 Idiots to become the highest-grossing Bollywood film worldwide; a record it held until it was surpassed by Dhoom 3 in December, 2013. According to Box Office India, Chennai Express currently ranks as the fourth highest-grossing Bollywood film worldwide.

Chennai

Chennai /ˈtʃɛnnaɪ/ (formerly known as Madras ⁱ/məˈdrɑːs/ or /-ˈdræs/) is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal, it is a major cultural, economic and educational centre. Chennai is known as the "Detroit of India" for its automobile industry. It is the fourth-largest city and fourth-most populous metropolitan area in the country and 36th-largest urban area in the world.

The city is host to the third-largest expatriate population in India after Mumbai and Delhi, with 35,000 in 2009 and steadily climbing to 82,790, in 2011. Tourism guide publisher Lonely Planet named Chennai as one of the top ten cities in the world to visit in 2015. Chennai is ranked as a beta-level city in the Global Cities Index and was ranked the best city in India by India Today in the 2014 annual Indian city survey. Chennai has also been named in the "hottest" cities to live in for 2015 by BBC among global cities with a mixture of both modern and traditional values. National Geographic ranked Chennai as world's 2nd best food city and Chennai was the only Indian city to feature in the list. Chennai was also named as the 9th-best cosmopolitan city in the world by Lonely Planet.

Lungi

The lungi (لونگي) (/luŋɡi/), also known as a sarong, is a traditional garment worn around the waist in Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Burma, Brunei, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Thailand, the Horn of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. In Kerala, it is also called Kaili. It is particularly popular in regions where the heat and humidity create an unpleasant climate for trousers.

Design

Unlike dhotis (Mundu), which are linear like sheets, lungis are sometimes sewn into a tube shape like a skirt. They are especially worn in hot regions. There are also cheaper "open" lungis, in identical dimensions but not sewn into a tube shape. The standard adult lungi is 115 cm in height and 200 cm in length, when open. Children's lungis are available in approximately 2/3 of this size. They are normally woven from cotton and come in a variety of designs and colors. Silk lungis are available for ceremonial purposes such as weddings. The most common styles are either solid-colored or plaid, reflecting the relative ease and cost-effectiveness of producing these patterns on a power loom. Blue is particularly popular, since it fades to pleasant tones in contrast to other colors. Regardless of the design or color, lungis are often lined at the top and bottom with a black/white stripe containing reinforced weaving to prevent fraying.

Shah Rukh Khan

Shah Rukh Khan (born Shahrukh Khan, 2 November 1965), also known as SRK, is an Indian film actor, producer and television personality. Referred to in the media as the "Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" or "King Khan", he has appeared in more than 80 Bollywood films, and earned numerous accolades, including 14 Filmfare Awards. Khan has a significant following in Asia and the Indian diaspora worldwide. In terms of audience size and income, he has been described as one of the most successful film stars in the world.

Khan started his career with appearances in several television series in the late 1980s. He made his Bollywood debut in 1992 with Deewana. Early in his career, Khan was recognised for portraying villainous roles in the films Darr (1993), Baazigar (1993) and Anjaam (1994). He then rose to prominence after starring in a series of romantic films, including Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001). He earned critical acclaim for his portrayal of an alcoholic in Devdas (2002), a NASA scientist in Swades (2004), a hockey coach in Chak De! India (2007) and a man with Asperger syndrome in My Name Is Khan (2010). Many of his films display themes of Indian national identity and connections with diaspora communities, or gender, racial, social and religious differences and grievances. For his contributions to film, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri, and the Government of France awarded him both the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and the Légion d'honneur.