Everyone has heard about ‘Kolaveri Di’ by now, the chartbusting song from Dhanush-Shruti Hassan’s unreleased film, ‘3’. The song first got leaked on the net, after which director Aishwarya, Dhanush’s wife and Ranjikanth’s daughter thought it best to release the original number. In no time, the song was India’s number one trending topic on the net. The news channels picked up the story, and since then there has been no looking back for ‘Kolaveri.. di’.
The song is undoubtedly different, and English sung in kitschy Tamil
accent gives it a nice groovy feel. The lyrics are silly, to the point of being puerile, but Dhanush’s unique singing style, along with the novelty factor, make it a hit. The question is whether the craze will continue or fizzle out in a few days.
The bandwagon effect has never been as intense as it is in today’s wired world, where everything goes viral in no time. That could explain why the song caught on so fast. So what’s the verdict from our youngsters. We spoke to a cross-section of them. Most say the song is maha entertaining. “The song is awesome. I hear it all the time and bug those around me,” says Namratha an IT professional.
One of the song’s USP is that it is easy, allowing everyone to hum along. “It is very different...not the usual stuff that we hear. That is what appealed to me,” says Vikas Madhav.
Many have no clue what ‘Kolaveri’ means, but that doesn’t stop them from liking it. It means a ‘murderous rage’ or a ‘thirst for blood’ in Tamil. “I don’t know the meaning of ‘Kolaveri’ but I love the song because of its simple tune and lyrics. Even the video is stylish and I liked Dhanush’s style of dressing,” says Jubair Khan of Maharaja’s College. Another reason why many are taking to the song is because of its theme of love failure and heartbreak, something many can relate with. “It is a song about boys who are suppressed and depressed by girls, everyone can identify with that,” says Bharath, a media student.
“Since Dhanush is not a professional singer, he represents the voice of those who can't sing well, but love music,” says Anu Ramachandran of Rajagiri College. Indeed a big reason for the song’s popularity is Dhanush himself, who is a hit among youngsters, who like him for his boy-next-door looks and down-to-earth demeanour. Many feel that is one of the reasons why people have warmly welcomed this new venture of his.
The much-talked about song features Aishwarya, along with Shruti Hassan and 21-year-old music director Anirudh Ravichander who are all celebrities in their own right. Some believe it was a good marketing move to bring all the celebrities together for the song. “It is clear that the makers wanted to use the star appeal of Dhanush, Shruti and Aishwarya in the song,” says Navin Varghese, programme producer. He also believes that the fact that the song came out of nowhere, with no expectations is a reason for its success. “The song feels different - that is all. If it has been sung by Santhosh Pandit, it would have invited plenty of negative comments,” adds Navin.
Though a majority have taken to the song in a big way, there is a definite segment who don’t find the song appealing at all. “I didn’t like the song. The kind of language used is disgusting. As it is South Indians are made fun of for their English accent. The same thing has been now projected to a national audience. What is it anyway? Just some random English words put together and made into a song....I think we should not encourage this kind of music,” says student Parvathy Sreekumar.