Updated October 2026: this article has been expanded into a guide to Jessie's Land and the whole Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa soundtrack, with every song, its singers and lyricists, and the Telugu and Hindi versions. Gaurav Aradhye's original 2012 article, the very first post published on MusicReprise, is preserved in full further down the page.
Jessie's Land is a short, almost wordless piece by A. R. Rahman from the soundtrack of Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010), Gautham Vasudev Menon's Tamil romance starring Silambarasan and Trisha. It takes its name from Jessie, the heroine: a Syrian Catholic Malayali woman from Alappuzha in Kerala, whose family stands between her and Karthik, the Chennai boy who wants to make films and falls for her. The track was not on the original seven-song album. It arrived as a bonus on the Collector's Edition that Sony Music released on 1 December 2010, with the vocal credited to the singer Megha, and it reappeared as an instrumental on the Hindi album of Ekk Deewana Tha (2012).
The track itself is embedded in the original article below. This guide covers what makes it work, then the full soundtrack song by song, and finally the Telugu and Hindi versions that carried the same tunes into two more languages.
What Jessie's Land sounds like
Jessie's Land is a miniature. A repeating keyboard figure starts in the first bar and loops underneath everything, changing its notes as the chords move. A low, steady female voice hums over it rather than singing words, and strings come in during the second half to widen the sound. It has no chorus or hook in the pop sense.
What gives it weight is where the melody comes from. As Gaurav points out in his original piece, the tune drifts from Hosanna into Mannipaaya and back again. Those are the album's two emotional poles: the giddy rush of first attraction and the long, aching duet of regret. Folding both into one quiet piece makes Jessie's Land feel like a summary of the whole love story, told without a single word.
Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa songs, singers and lyricists
The original Tamil album has seven songs, all with lyrics by Thamarai except where noted. It was released by Sony Music, with a launch at BAFTA in London followed by a Chennai launch on 6 January 2010.
- Hosanna (Vijay Prakash, Suzanne D'Mello, rap by Blaaze): the album's calling card and its most promoted song. Vijay Prakash's open, unhurried lead carries the verses, Suzanne D'Mello carries the title hook, and Blaaze wrote and performed the English rap. Vijay Prakash's classical training is better showcased in Rahman's Manmohini Morey, which Gaurav also wrote about; here he shows how lightly he can sing a pop melody.
Hosanna (Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa) - Mannipaaya (A. R. Rahman, Shreya Ghoshal): at over six and a half minutes, the longest song and the emotional centre of the album. Rahman's own voice against Shreya Ghoshal's gives it the feel of an argument between two people who both know they are right. Thamarai won the Filmfare Award South for Best Lyricist for it, and Ghoshal won the Vijay Award for Best Female Playback Singer.
Mannipaaya (Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa) - Omana Penne (Benny Dayal, Kalyani Menon; Malayalam lines by Kalyani Menon): a playful duet that switches between Tamil and Malayalam, mirroring the Chennai to Kerala journey at the heart of the story.
Omana Penne (Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa) - Aaromale (Alphons Joseph; Malayalam lyrics by Kaithapram): sung by the Malayalam composer Alphons Joseph, whom Rahman brought in after meeting him at the launch of Alphons's debut album. Rahman proposed adding a Malayalam song to what was meant to be a six-song score. The chorus is based on raga Bageshri, the song starts slowly and keeps gathering speed, and the guitars give it a country-music edge.
Aaromale (Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa) - Anbil Avan (Chinmayi, Devan Ekambaram): the album's celebratory wedding number and a useful breather between the heavier songs.
Anbil Avan (Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa) - Kannukkul Kannai (Naresh Iyer): Naresh Iyer's solo on the album, which later became the basis for Dost Hai in the Hindi version.
Kannukkul Kannai (Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa) - Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (Karthik, Vivek Aggarwal): the short title track, a little over three minutes, which sets out the film's mood of longing in compact form.
Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa title track
The Collector's Edition added two bonus tracks: a female version of Aaromale sung by Shreya Ghoshal, and Jessie's Land.
Why the album still matters
Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa was the first collaboration between Rahman and Gautham Vasudev Menon, whose earlier films, beginning with Minnale (2001), had been scored by Harris Jayaraj. The partnership lasted: the two reunited for Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada (2016) and Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu (2022), both again with Silambarasan.
The album is also unusually consistent. Thamarai wrote almost every lyric, so the songs share one voice even as they move between Tamil, Malayalam and English. Most of the arrangements lean on guitars, strings and voices rather than chasing the dance floor, which suits a film about a relationship that never quite resolves. The awards followed: Rahman won Best Music Director at both the Filmfare Awards South and the Vijay Awards, and Vijay Prakash took the Vijay Award for Best Male Playback Singer for Hosanna.
The affection has not faded. In 2020 Menon made the short film Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn, with Silambarasan and Trisha back as Karthik and Jessie. For the wider picture of where this period sits in Rahman's career, see our ranking of A. R. Rahman's best albums.
Ye Maaya Chesave: the Telugu version
Menon shot a Telugu version, Ye Maaya Chesave, at the same time, with Naga Chaitanya and Samantha in the lead roles. Both films were released on 26 February 2010. Rahman's compositions were kept without change, Anantha Sreeram wrote the Telugu lyrics, and the singers were the same apart from one swap: Karthik replaced Rahman on the Mannipaaya tune, which became Vintunnaava. Hosanna became Ee Hrudayam. The album won Rahman the Filmfare Award South for Best Music Director in Telugu, his first Filmfare in that language.
- Vintunnaava (Ye Maaya Chesave, 2010): the Telugu counterpart of Mannipaaya, with Karthik and Shreya Ghoshal. Anantha Sreeram was nominated for Best Lyricist at the Filmfare Awards South for it.
Vintunnaava (Ye Maaya Chesave)
Ekk Deewana Tha: the Hindi remake
Menon remade the film in Hindi as Ekk Deewana Tha, released in February 2012 with Prateik Babbar and Amy Jackson. Rahman kept the tunes again, Javed Akhtar wrote the Hindi lyrics in his first film with Menon, and the album was launched in Agra on 21 December 2011. Omana Penne became Phoolon Jaisi Ladki, sung by Clinton Cerejo and Kalyani Menon; Kannukkul Kannai became Dost Hai; Alphons Joseph returned for Aromale (My Beloved). Rahman added a new song he sang himself, Kya Hai Mohabbat, and the album also carried three instrumentals, one of them Jessie's Land. That is the connection Gaurav mentions in his 2012 article.
- Hosanna (Ekk Deewana Tha, 2012): the Hindi version, sung by Leon D'Souza and Maria Roe Vincent, with Suzanne D'Mello's humming and Blaaze's rap carried over.
Hosanna (Ekk Deewana Tha)
Frequently Asked Questions
Which movie is Jessie's Land from?
It comes from Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010), the Tamil film directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon. It was added to the soundtrack as a bonus track on the Collector's Edition in December 2010 and later appeared as an instrumental on the album of the Hindi remake, Ekk Deewana Tha (2012).
Who sang Jessie's Land?
The vocal is credited to the singer Megha. She hums the melody rather than singing lyrics, over A. R. Rahman's looping keyboard pattern and strings.
Who wrote the lyrics for the Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa songs?
Thamarai wrote the Tamil lyrics. The exceptions are Aaromale, written in Malayalam by Kaithapram, the Malayalam lines of Omana Penne by Kalyani Menon, and the English rap in Hosanna by Blaaze.
Are the songs in Ye Maaya Chesave the same as Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa?
Yes. The tunes are identical, with Telugu lyrics by Anantha Sreeram. Mannipaaya became Vintunnaava, sung by Karthik in place of Rahman, and Hosanna became Ee Hrudayam.
Did A. R. Rahman win awards for Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa?
Yes. He won Best Music Director at the Filmfare Awards South and the Vijay Awards for the Tamil album, and the Filmfare Award South for Best Music Director in Telugu for Ye Maaya Chesave.
Our Original Article (2012)
Gaurav Aradhye wrote this article in August 2012. It is preserved below as originally published.
I wasn’t quite sure which song should I choose to kick start this thing off…well, one thing I was always sure about. It has to be Rahman’s track!
Me and my friend Vishal have always lived to one clear psychology…spreading knowledge about music is our responsibility and similarly, everyone else’s is! Whatever may be the genre, whichever may be the language, absolutely doesn’t matter, as long as the sole purpose of the existence of music in this world remains the same… expressing emotions.
So clearly, the thing is, we think that all the people who share the same crave for music, and deserve to know much more about it, must be able to connect to each other and widen their area of interest. Even you will agree, there is much more in this world which is unknown to us than we know about. Let’s try to change this fact, by at least a small margin.:)
Track – Jessie’s Land – VTV
Very beautiful. Self expressive. This is one of those tracks, which I prefer to listen to, when I want to find that inner me, when I want to feel the perfect peace, when I feel low, when I am alone… well, the list won’t end.
Jessie's LandThis is originally from the movie “Vinnaithandi Varuvaya” (Tamil) and also in its Hindi remake “Ek Deewana Tha”. I personally feel that Vinnaithandi Varuvaya is Rahman’s greatest musical achievement till date. No match. The songs are just heavenly. If you haven’t heard the tracks in this movie, then please do yourself the favour. It will feel like the most amazing gift to you by yourself!
Pre-requisites for listening to this particular track – You must listen to the tracks “hosanna” and “mannipaaya” from the same movie. I will not go into details of these two tracks, just go for them.
The track “Jessie’s Land” proves the fact that words are not necessary for expressing the feelings. It’s just the instruments and soft humming of the singer. That’s it! But the way it takes me into a different world each time I listen to it…is simply unreal.
What impresses me, is the simple RPG (Rhythm Pattern Gators) Rahman has used. In simple words, RPG is something here which you will hear right at the start of the song, and will play in loop continuously in the background till the end. The notes of the pattern change according the chord.
Another brilliant thing is the voice of the singer is so deep, without any vibrations, it feels like it’s telling us a story, and we are quietly listening to it.
Few things you shouldn’t miss in this track –
1) The flow of the RPG pattern and its beautiful harmony with the keyboard notes. The keyboard goes up the notes slowly at the start of the song until it encounters the beautiful female voice.
2) Strings playing in the background from middle of the song to the end.
3) Try to figure out when the tune of the song is switching from hosanna to mannipaya, and again back to hosanna!
Finally, full marks to Rahman for selecting that rich keyboard tone. That tonal quality reminds me of the song “Sunari sakhi” from “Humse Hai Muqabla”. Another masterpiece by the God of Music.
