Skip to content
Isaimozhi
Lyrics & meaning

Nizhaliyae

From Hi Nanna · 2023

Lyricist
Madhan Karky
Singers
Anurag Kulkarni, Chinmayi Sripada
Music director
Hesham Abdul Wahab
Movie name
Hi Nanna
Movie release year
2023
Lyrics added on
4 Aug 2023

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Nizhaliyae nee kaattum kaattum
Kaatchi unmaiyaa unmaiyaa
Nizhaliyae nee theettum theettum
Vannam unmaiyaa
Hey badhil sollu vaayaa
Chinnanjiru thulai vazhiyae
Azhaginai pargugiraai
Thiraivittu vizhivazhiyae
Avalai nee thirudugiraai
Nizhaliyae nee kaattum kaattum
Kaatchi unmaiyaa unmaiyaa
Nizhaliyae nee theettum theettum
Vannam unmaiyaa
Un kuvimunaiyil ulagam kaana
Azhagin vaanaa edhiril thaana
Sollu solludi
Tharaiyinn mele ivalai pole
Kanavum undaa sollu
Unnai vida maatten
Vinnil mannil neeyum naanum
Kaanaa otrai minnal
Aval aval punnagiyil kandom
Poovodum theeyodum
Kollaa varnaa bodhai
Aval aval nirathinil kandom
Minkambathil poogambathil
Illa adhirvellam
Aval nammai nerungida kandom
Mukkodai muthangal
Ullangaiyin ullae
Aval kaiyai kulikkida kandom
Adhanallena pizhiyae illai
Bathil sol en moondram kanne
Ethirae aval nam boomil
Uthipaala nam thammiyil
{Nizhaliyae nee kaattum kaattum
Kaatchi unmaiyaa unmaiyaa
Nizhaliyae nee theettum theettum
Vannam unmaiyaa
Hey badhil sollu vaayaa
Nizhaliyae
Chinnanjiru thulai vazhiyae
Azhaginai pargugiraai
Thiraivittu vizhivazhiyae
Avalai nee thirudugiraai
Chinnanjiru thulai vazhiyae
Azhaginai pargugiraai
Thiraivittu vizhivazhiyae
Avalai nee thirudugiraai} (overlapping)
Oh camera, the scenes you show,
are they real, are they truly real?
Oh camera, the colors you paint,
are they real?
Hey, won't you speak up and answer?
Through that tiny aperture,
you drink in her beauty.
Leaving the screen, through your eye,
you steal her away.
Oh camera, the scenes you show,
are they real, are they truly real?
Oh camera, the colors you paint,
are they real?
As the world is captured in your focal point,
is this sky of beauty standing right before us?
Tell me, tell me!
On the face of this earth, just like her,
does even a dream exist? Tell me.
I won't let you go!
In the sky or on earth, that neither you nor I
have ever seen, a single flash of lightning—
we saw it in her smile.
With neither flowers nor fire,
a harmless, colorful intoxication—
we saw it in her glowing skin.
Vibrations that cannot be found
in power lines or in earthquakes—
we felt them as she drew near us.
The warmth of three summers of kisses,
held right inside the palm—
we felt it when she shook our hand.
So what? There is no wrong in that.
Answer me, my third eye!
Right before us, upon our earth,
will she dawn into our quiet life?
Oh camera, the scenes you show,
are they real, are they truly real?
Oh camera, the colors you paint,
are they real?
Hey, won't you speak up and answer?
Oh camera!
Through that tiny aperture,
you drink in her beauty.
Leaving the screen, through your eye,
you steal her away.
Through that tiny aperture,
you drink in her beauty.
Leaving the screen, through your eye,
you steal her away.
Male
Female
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Female
Female

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

This song from 'Hi Nanna' captures the perspective of a photographer/filmmaker admiring the beauty of his muse through the lens of a camera. The lyricist addresses the camera lens as a 'third eye' and a 'shadow', questioning whether the magical beauty captured on the screen is real or just an illusion. The song blends the technical aesthetics of photography—apertures, focal points, lighting—with deep romantic wonder and emotional fascination.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Metaphor

Bathil sol en moondram kanne

The camera lens is metaphorically referred to as 'moondram kanne' (my third eye).

Personification

Nizhaliyae nee kaattum kaattum

The camera/shadow is personified as a person who can paint colors and speak answers.

Iyaipu (Rhyme)

Kaatchi unmaiyaa unmaiyaa / Vannam unmaiyaa

End-rhyming with the repetition of 'unmaiyaa' across stanza lines.

Did you know?

Trivia

This track features music composed by Hesham Abdul Wahab, who gained immense popularity in South Indian cinema following his hit album 'Hridayam'. The Tamil version features lyrics by Madhan Karky, who cleverly incorporated photography terminology like focal length and aperture into modern romantic poetry.

Keep listening

Songs with a similar feeling

From the same album

More songs from Hi Nanna

View album

Spot an issue?

Help us improve the lyrics or English translation.