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'Why This Kolaveri Di' () is a song from the soundtrack of the 2012
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...
psychological thriller film '' 3'', starring Dhanush and Shruthi Hassan. The song is written and sung by Dhanush, and composed by Anirudh Ravichander. It became one of the most streamed songs of all-time. The song was officially released on 16 November 2011 and instantly became popular on social networking sites for its quirky "
Tanglish Tanglish ( ta, தமிங்கிலம்) is the mixing or code-switching of the Tamil and English languages. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two languages and has been variously composed. The earliest form is ''Tamilish'' ...
" (
portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsTamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...
and English) lyrics. Soon, the song became the most searched
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
video in India and an
internet phenomenon An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...
across Asia. Within a few weeks, YouTube honoured the video with a '"Recently Most Popular" ''Gold Medal '' award and "Trending" ''silver medal '' award for receiving many hits in a short time. Following its huge success and nationwide popularity, Dhanush, the singer of the original track, was invited by then-Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...
as a "Guest of Honour".


Creation

According to composer Anirudh Ravichander, the film's director Aishwarya R. Dhanush wanted a light-hearted song about love failure. Ravichander quickly composed the tune in about 10 minutes. Dhanush then began working on the lyrics, which he completed in about 20 minutes of brainstorming. The first line he sang was "Why This Kolaveri?" which means "Why do you have this murderous rage against me girl?" The question, however, is not intended seriously. In a party to ''
The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
'', Dhanush said: "When I was writing down the lyrics, I kept in mind all the English words that are used in the Tamil vocabulary. Words like I, you, me, how, why, cow. I just framed them into sentences and thats how I came up with the song." Dhanush sang the song in broken English, as a Tamil person might if his knowledge of English was limited. The song is also called a 'Soup' song, where 'Soup' (as in 'crying in
ame #REDIRECT AME {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...
) is a colloquial Tamil word which refers to young men experiencing depression after love failure in a love relationship. The song was recorded at
A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
's AM Studios in Chennai. The Sound Engineer for this song is Siva Kumar S (Chief Audio Engineer),
Panchathan Record Inn and AM Studios The Panchathan Record Inn and AM Studios is composer/music director A. R. Rahman's studios on his street at Kodambakkam, Chennai in Tamil Nadu. History The Inn was established in 1989, attached to Rahman's backyard, and developed into one ...
. The song was officially released after it was known to become popular after an accidental release on to the internet.


Composition

A downtempo song, "Why This Kolaveri Di" has been built around an ancient south Indian folk rhythm using ancient folk instruments. He used the
nadaswaram The Nagaswaram (nādḥasvaram) is a double reed wind instrument from South India. It is used as a traditional classical instrument in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Kerala. This instrument is "among the world's loudes ...
,
shehnai The ''shehnai'' is a musical instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is made of wood, with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end.saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...
urumee and
thavil A ''thavil'' (Tamil:தவில்) or ''tavil'' is a barrel-shaped percussion instrument from Tamil Nadu. It is also widely used in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamilnadu and Telangana States of South India. It is used in temple, folk ...
drums, acoustic guitar,
keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...
mixed with electronic synths and scratches. The instruments utilize the singing style of
Tamil folk culture Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...
. The composer added a crescendo to make the instrumentation become more layered. The words of the song are in a simple form of
Tanglish Tanglish ( ta, தமிங்கிலம்) is the mixing or code-switching of the Tamil and English languages. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two languages and has been variously composed. The earliest form is ''Tamilish'' ...
, a mixture of
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...
and
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
. The song creates an imagery of an Indian boy who has gone through love failure. While singing, Dhanush creates a tone of being drunk, when he repeatedly asks why she (refers to
Shruti Haasan Shruti Haasan (born 28 January 1986) is an Indian actress and playback singer who works predominantly in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. Born in the Haasan family, she is the daughter of actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan and actress Sarika Thakur. ...
's character) hurt him. The words have been described as "nonsensical" by some and an evocation of "Tamil street humour". Dhanush has stated that the choice of words allows it to be a very relatable song.


Music video

The music video features Dhanush singing the song at AM studios, accompanied by Anirudh on a keyboard. His co-star Shruti Haasan and the director of ''3'',
Aishwarya Rajinikanth Aishwarya Rajinikanth (born 1 January 1982) is an Indian film director and playback singer who works in Tamil cinema. She is the elder daughter of actor Rajinikanth and wife of actor Dhanush. She made her feature film directorial debut with '' ...
are seen listening in the background. The video was recorded by Abinandhan Ramanujam The video of the song in the film, '' 3'', was filmed in a set made to replicate the crowded shopping street of Chennai's Marina Beach. The video featured Dhanush and Sunder Ramu along with other extras singing the song, while Shruti Haasan makes an appearance towards the end of the video.


Records and achievements

Upon release, the hashtag ''#kolaveri'' topped the Indian trends in
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
on the evening of 21 November 2011 and was trended for three consecutive days. Within a week of the official release of the video, it received more than 3.5 million views on
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
, more than 1 million shares on
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
, while trending in India on Twitter the whole time. The song is also a hit among non-
Tamils The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...
, apparently due to the Tanglish lyrics. Soon after its release, the song was played on US radio station
KZYX KZYX (90.7 FM), is a National Public Radio member station in Philo, California. The studios are located at 9300 Highway 128 in Philo, CA, and the transmitter is located on Cold Springs Mountain (near Philo, CA) in the State of California Departm ...
FM by Mister X, on his show, ''Music Out of Bounds''. By 30 November 2011, it had more than 10.5 million YouTube views. By the start of 2012, it had crossed 30 million YouTube views. The song and versions of it account for more than 200 million of YouTube's total views. The song became the top downloaded song on mobile with 4,100,000 downloads within the first 18 days of release. On 24 November 2011, this song became the first Tamil film song to premier on
MTV India MTV India is an Indian pay television channel specialising in music, reality and youth culture programming. It was launched in 1996 as the Indian version of MTV and is owned by Viacom 18, a joint venture operation between MTV International ow ...
. The video was shared by 1.4 million people, liked by 1.8 million people and received more than 1.1 million comments. As of November 2020, the song has 235 million views on YouTube, becoming the second most viewed Tamil song on YouTube only bested by "
Rowdy Baby Rowdy Baby is a Tamil language song composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja for the soundtrack of the 2018 action comedy film ''Maari 2'' and sung by Dhanush alongside Dhee. The song was officially released on 28 November 2018 as a single from the film. ...
" from ''
Maari 2 ''Maari 2'' is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language action comedy film written and directed by Balaji Mohan. It is a sequel to his 2015 film '' Maari''. Dhanush, besides producing the film under his company Wunderbar Films, also stars as the title c ...
'', another Dhanush-starrer. Imitations and parodies of this song have been created, including versions in different Indian languages, a female version, and versions about current events at that time. Its rapid spread to nightclubs and discos in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, Japan were reported soon after release, and a viral video of Japanese women dancing to it spread soon afterwards. Police officers in India used versions of the song and its title to combat road rage and encourage bike riders to wear helmets. The popularity of the song was also reported by international media like
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
and ''Time'' magazine, who attributed its major crossover world appeal to its universal theme, catchy tune and unique lyrics. Top business schools like
Indian Institutes of Management The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are central government-owned-public business schools for management offering undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral and executive programmes along with some additional courses in the field of busines ...
conducted studies to figure out the popularity of this song. The song has inspired
flash mob A flash mob (or flashmob) is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform for a brief time, then quickly disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and artistic expression. Flash mobs may be organized via t ...
s in
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
,
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
,
Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...
and
Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
. The song was performed live by Dhanush in his first-ever live performance at the 2011 BIG Star Entertainment Awards. Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...
invited Dhanush for the dinner party along with Japanese Prime Minister
Yoshihiko Noda is a Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan from 2011 to 2012. He was a member of the Democratic Party, and a member of the House of Representatives (lower house) in the Diet (national legislature). He was named to succeed Naoto ...
in his New Delhi residence, India. The political parties
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...
and
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
used variants of the song in their campaigns for 2012 assembly elections. "Why This Kolaveri Di" also echoed at Beating, the Retreat ceremony (a ceremony which is a part of
Republic Day Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics. List January 1 January in Slovak Republic The day of creation of Slovak republic. A national holiday since 1993. Officially cal ...
celebrations in India).


Criticism

Javed Akhtar, a poet, lyricist and scriptwriter slammed the song for its insult to sensibility. In April 2012, a petition was filed in the Kerala High Court seeking a ban on the song citing negative influence on children, claiming to inciting violence and aggression. The excessive use of "Tanglish" in the song, symbolic of the degradation of the Tamil Language caused Sri Lankan singer S.J. (Jerry) Stalin to riposte with "Yarlpanathilirunthu Kolaverida" (). The lyrics, which featured the line "Why this bloodlust toward my Tamil language?" end with "Jaffna: that place noted for its classical Tamil/ Tamil, your duty is to protect our Tamil mother-tongue". "Why This Kolaveri Di" popularised the soup-song genre, which resulted in many filmmakers and actors having such sequences and songs in their films. This resulted in severe criticism with many cinephiles and critics time and again, due to this culture. In December 2015, Anirudh worked with
Silambarasan Silambarasan Thesingu Rajendar, nicknamed as Simbu or his initials S. T. R., is an Indian actor, filmmaker and musician in Tamil cinema. He began his acting career by playing roles as a child artist in films directed by his father T. Rajendar, b ...
for the " Beep Song". Following the song leak, both of them were criticised widely from several women organisations, including Maadhar Sangam, as the song featured lyrics that found to be explicit and derogative against women. A police complaint was filed against Simbu and Anirudh by the All India Democratic Women's Association from the
Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...
wing, taking offence over the objectionable and sexist lyrics. Anirudh however denied its connection with the song. Following the
Swathi murder case S. Swathi was a 24-year-old Indian Infosys employee who was murdered on June 24, 2016, at the Nungambakkam railway station in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India while on her way to her office. Swathi was murdered in front of several people, with passenger ...
, the debate over alleged misogyny used in the song was revived, after several notions expressed about the portrayal of women and romance in Tamil cinema found to be "unrealistic" and "dangerous to the lives of women". Several film celebrities including Dhanush (the songwriter), Silambarasan and
Sivakarthikeyan Sivakarthikeyan (born 17 February 1985), also referred to as SK, is an Indian actor, singer, film producer, lyricist, and television presenter, who works predominantly in Tamil films. He has also won a Tamil Nadu State Film Award, four Edison ...
were criticised for the portrayal and normalization of
unrequited love Unrequited love or one-sided love is love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such by the beloved. The beloved may not be aware of the admirer's deep and pure affection, or may consciously reject it. The Merriam Webster Online Dict ...
, stalking and misogyny in films. Dhanush, in a 2017 interview with film critic
Baradwaj Rangan Baradwaj Rangan is an Indian film critic, writer, and formerly the deputy editor of ''The Hindu''. He later became a senior editor of Film Companion. Rangan won the National Film Award for Best Film Critic in 2006. Before joining ''The Hindu' ...
, said that the dialogues, songs and characters in his films "may remain in a space that is positive and healthy", in response to the public outrage against portrayal of stalking and misogyny in Tamil films and songs.


Cover and parody versions


Arjun

An R&B version by London-based artist Arjun was uploaded on YouTube 10 December 2011 and received 1.5 million views within a week.


Nevaan Nigam

A "milk version" of the song by
Sonu Nigam Sonu Nigam (born 30 July 1973) is an Indian singer, music director and actor. He has been described in the media as one of the most popular and successful playback singers of Hindi Cinema and Kannada Cinema. He has been honoured by the Governme ...
's son became popular on YouTube, and was acknowledged by actor Dhanush, who stated "I'm in love with Nevaan Nigam's version of Kolaveri Di. Great idea Sonu Nigam". A feature of this version was to replace the word 'scotch' with 'milk'.


Geo TV – Pakistan

The song "''Where is Democracy Di''" was aired by Geo TV on its popular programme '' Hum Sub Umeed Se Hain'', a popular satire in
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
on
Geo TV Geo Television Network is a television channel based in Pakistan. It was established in May 2002 and is owned by the Jang Media Group. The channel began its test transmission on 14 August 2002, with regular transmission beginning on 1 October 2 ...
which is aimed at exposing the wrongdoing of the government in a lighter vein was based on ''Why This Kolaveri Di''.


Bharatiya Janata Party

Abeer Vajpayee, a journalist turned
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...
(BJP) worker, wrote, composed and sung a parody of the Kolaveri Di targeting the corruption and gross financial mismanagement under the
United Progressive Alliance United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is a centre-left political alliance of predominantly left-leaning political parties in India. It was formed after the 2004 general election with support from left-leaning political parties when no single party ...
regime. This song called 'Why This Hera Pheri Ji' became an instant hit on YouTube as it featured mimicry of leaders like
Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...
, Sonia Gandhi, Anna Hazare,
Mulayam Singh Yadav Mulayam Singh Yadav (22 November 1939 – 10 October 2022) was an Indian politician, a socialist figure and the founder of the Samajwadi Party. In the course of his political career spanning more than six decades, he served for three terms as ...
, Amar Singh and
Akshay Kumar Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian-born naturalised Canadian Quote: "(Former prime minister Stephen) Harper campaigned in 2011 alongside one of Modi's biggest celebrity backer ...
. All male voices were done by Vajpayee himself and effect of only female voice of Sonia Gandhi was by his wife Ruchi. Vishnu Wagh, veteran poet who joined BJP, penned the lyrics which have been fitted in the "Kolaveri di" tune. The song has been changed from "Kolaveri di" to "Kamlawari di" to include the party's election symbol lotus. The recorded version is meant for 2012 Goa Legislative Assembly election and 2012 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly election.


Chennai city traffic police

KravMaga instructor Sree Ram created an outdoor campaign on road rage.


Sertab Erener

Turkish pop music singer
Sertab Erener Sertab Erener (born 4 December 1964) is a Turkish singer, songwriter and composer. With her coloratura soprano voice, she started working as a backing vocalist for Sezen Aksu, and with Aksu's help she released her first studio album in the 1990 ...
covered the song as "Söz" ( tr, Promise) for her "Sade" album in 2013, with lyrics written by
Nil Karaibrahimgil Ferhan Nil Karaibrahimgil (born 17 October 1976) is a Turkish singer and songwriter, mostly noted for her distinct lyrics. Nil's passion and admiration for music stems from her father, Suavi Karaibrahimgil, who is also a musician although he is ...
. She released the music video for the song in 2014.


Özcan Deniz and Sıla

Turkish arabesque music singer
Özcan Deniz Özcan Deniz (born 19 May 1972) is a Turkish actor, singer, composer, writer and director, who is of Kurdish descent. Life His family is of Kurdish origin. Deniz's family is originally from Ağrı but he was born in Ankara and grew up in Ayd ...
and pop music singer Sıla covered the song as "Aç Bir Coca-Cola" for
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...
commercial in 2015. The commercial also resembles the scenes from the film '' 3''.


References


External links

* (by
Sony Music India Sony Music Entertainment India Pvt. Ltd. is the record label operated by Sony in Chennai, India. The company began operation in 1997, and it was the first record company in India to be 100% foreign-owned, with Sony being a Japanese corporatio ...
) * {{YouTube, 5DK-ZWyxZ8k, ''Why This Kolaveri Di '' ''movie version'' (by
Sony Music India Sony Music Entertainment India Pvt. Ltd. is the record label operated by Sony in Chennai, India. The company began operation in 1997, and it was the first record company in India to be 100% foreign-owned, with Sony being a Japanese corporatio ...
) 2011 songs Indian songs Tamil-language songs Tamil film songs Songs with music by Anirudh (composer) Songs written for films Viral videos Songs written by Dhanush 2010s fads and trends