Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Kolaveri!!

I heard about 'Kolaveri' few days ago. My first reaction was how could people turn so violent that they have started using these phrases in songs!!

Why this kolaveri di?

Is a Tamil song that has gone viral since less than a week and already has over 20 lakh hits; it was 10 lakh when I checked this morning :-/. There is this normal looking next door guy - in a simple black shirt singing for 'Soup' boys. What is it? A jingle for Knorr soups or something? Thats when you understand that 'soup' means 'failed'. The song is for the guys who have been jilted in love and treated like a piece of chicken in a soup!!

The song is half English- half Tamil written by Dhanush (Tamil actor and son-in-law of Rajnikanth) in his spare time; which has become a rage of sorts to everyone and anyone. Everyone seem to relate to this song and it has crossed the Southern belt; and yeah it has invoked this mass hysteria without ARR!!

The setting is a music studio; Dhanush is singing the song and its being recorded; while his wife and Shruthi Hassan looks on. No glamor, no drama, no gimmicks; just him enjoying the song as he sings. The lyrics are lunatic, meaningless and is insanely funny.

Is it the tune? I didnt find it catchy! definitely not as catchy as Ringa Ringa or Appdi Podu. Is it the lyrics? Is it the laid back drawl? Maybe its a combination of all; combined with it the sub titles in English giving out the lunatic lyrics like "White-u skin-u girl-girl-u...girl-u heart-u black-u" which takes it to an audience beyond that of a regular Tamil song.

The dialogues rendered in an utterly easy-go way in between like "What a change over mama...OK Mama..Now tune change-u"  and lyrics like "Cow-u Cow-u Holy Cow-u, I want you here-u now-u" makes it a random jam grabbing your attention and wants you to listen to the song again.

And that wonderful word. Kolaveri in Tamil means barbaric rage but it seems to be used in a mere comical sense asking the lady what is that she is angry about? "Why this kolaveri?" sung in a casual tone had captured the listener and its now a muse. I have been following tweets and rants; "Why this kolaveri di? is being used in every context and in synonyms to "Why are you cold?"

Very soon, I am sure we might find it being used for jokes pulled out on politicians. This was a bonkers hit! I dont think they expected it to be such well received. A song recorded during a break has surpassed any expectations. Very soon, get to hear the Bollywood version, remix version, club version, Cola adverts and so on.

Was it really a random incident? Or a tactical marketing strategy by Dhanush and team? Is it a fad online to grab even the silliest of things and share? Whatever his infectious grin and laid back rendering is doing wonders.

His father-in-law would have blessed it and so we are liking it for sure :P
Ramblings by at
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25 comments:

  1. NehaNovember 23, 2011 at 8:50 PM

    Yes, kolaveri is a craze. almost everyone is liking it. I like it too. It won't make to my playlist, as I enjoy watching the video more than the song. It's kinda addictive for a short while. I am over it already :D

    Twitter made that Madrasan famous too. It's a crazy place.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Shilpa GargNovember 23, 2011 at 8:55 PM

    Ok... so this is Kolaveri!!! Since the last couple of days, was seeing the Twitter world going all crazy about this song! Thanks for sharing this... was planning to do a Google search on this!! LOL :D

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  3. AmritNovember 23, 2011 at 9:25 PM

    I will have to listen to it now...

    These things are short lived though.

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  4. Harish P INovember 24, 2011 at 12:00 AM

    More than the song, I loved the video. Dhanush enjoying himself singing the song..

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kavita SahariaNovember 24, 2011 at 8:42 AM

    I love the song .

    ReplyDelete
  6. MélangeNovember 24, 2011 at 9:39 AM

    No wonder Insi,now we are into minute or second hypes.Just the life of moment..some market it in a big way.

    ReplyDelete
  7. BK Chowla,November 24, 2011 at 10:24 AM

    Last few days,i have been reading about this on twitter.Yesterday,youtube, helped me.

    ReplyDelete
  8. UnknownNovember 24, 2011 at 12:42 PM

    My FB page was filled with everyone sharing the link to the promo video, but when I heard it yesterday being played on radio, I finally checked out what it is....but sorry to say I wasn't that impressed :-(

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  9. Rahul BhatiaNovember 24, 2011 at 4:09 PM

    An euphoria with a short shelf life!

    ReplyDelete
  10. The Holy LamaNovember 24, 2011 at 5:40 PM

    I was on Mars. Didn't know about kolaveri. Thanks for illuminating.
    On the song - Another original catches imagination. it is kinda different and has a real good beat and tempo.

    ReplyDelete
  11. RachnaNovember 24, 2011 at 8:36 PM

    No clue about the song. Read about it in the newspapers.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ms CloudsNovember 24, 2011 at 9:48 PM

    i came to knw abt it from fb n today itself i heard it for first time.d song was just ok kinds!

    ReplyDelete
  13. MakkNovember 25, 2011 at 12:06 AM

    another example of herd mentality.

    though it was a nice review. you saved me. :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ramya RanganathanNovember 25, 2011 at 1:10 AM

    hehe.. never expected this post :)
    ture... god knows what their intentions were while shooting .. ..yaru mele irundha kolaveri la indha pata padinangalo....

    I kinda didn't like it. But I hum the song every now and then.Guess this is what they wanted..ppl who hate it will still try to listen and hum :0

    As others have mentioned, this one will be shortlived ... and who knows .. it might take another national award for best singing /acting /whatever :P

    ReplyDelete
  15. Jayanthy KumaranNovember 25, 2011 at 5:33 AM

    the song, pictoriasation n facial expression of dhanush and rhythm has brought this much of fame, which might they have not expected too..!
    addictive one..
    Tasty Appetite

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  16. chitraNovember 25, 2011 at 9:02 AM

    Now his popularity will hit the sky. I never liked his movies when he camefirst time on screen,but Kolaveri..is changing all that...

    ReplyDelete
  17. anilkurup59November 25, 2011 at 9:57 AM

    There seems to be some technical hitch these days with Blogger , that quite a few commets do not get reflected neither on the blog or on gmail. I posted my comment here and today it seems to have vanished.

    Your post made me go to YT and saw the Kolveri di . I have not heard of this before. Old timer!

    Sure this may turn out a new phrase in the lexicon. Fascinating beat !

    ReplyDelete
  18. ashokNovember 25, 2011 at 10:44 AM

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfprwzgHDtE&feature=share

    check this..Kolaveri has reached Japan!unbelievable!!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. BikramNovember 25, 2011 at 10:13 PM

    No idea what you saying , have not listened to this one .. was it there when i visited ..

    I am so far lagging behind .. got to move myself ..

    Bikram's

    ReplyDelete
  20. GautamNovember 26, 2011 at 6:16 AM

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=uIhQm6gcUCw
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEQ6N-rJmUA

    Hilarious!

    ReplyDelete
  21. InsigniaNovember 26, 2011 at 4:34 PM

    Neha,

    It will be a passe :)

    Shilpa,

    Hahaha now you know :)

    A,

    Its the era of short fame and public memory is short lived. Most of them dont last long.
    But it has made an impact even if its going to be for few days and thats what they want.

    Harish,

    Yes, I liked his attitude.

    kavita,

    :)

    Chowla sir,

    People will try to watch it at least once for curiosity. Thats what they want.

    A.M,

    FB has gone crazy with this. Nothing's special about it; just the simplicity that has earned its fame.

    Rahul,

    As everything else :)

    Holy Lama,

    :-) Now or later; everyone would be bitten by the kolaveri bug :)
    Yes, at least its not lifted like many others

    Rachna,

    I also knew about it a couple of days later only.

    clouds,

    Song is just ok only; its how they have devised - the marketing.

    Makk,

    Hmm i dont think its a herd mentality.
    People would advertise and recommend only if there is something unique in it isnt it?
    People are not dumb either.

    You should watch it; to understand the brain behind marketing the simplicity.

    Ramya,

    True; whatever it grabbed the nation's attention. Much more than what they asked for :)

    Jay,

    Exactly! the very fact that its a lazy drawl has captured people's attention.

    chitra,

    Yeah, very soon it will become some anthem of sorts.

    Anil,

    Oh! blogger is becoming a bit weird these days.
    You didnt miss this song for long. It went viral only 1 week ago.

    Ashok,

    Oh wow! this is totally unexpected. Rajnikanth is famous in Japan and now his son-in-law will be too.

    Bik,

    Yes, go check the song.

    Gautam,

    See, people already started to flick it.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Balachandran VNovember 27, 2011 at 1:32 PM

    Watched it. Just goes to show how shallow our sense of music has become. But then, what hasn't? My memory did not hold it for more than 30 sec. Straight to Trash.

    ReplyDelete
  23. InsigniaNovember 28, 2011 at 9:51 AM

    Balan,

    Just hear, tap your feet and forget. Thats what it is off late. They wanted 60 sec fame from only TN; but this has been a bonus

    ReplyDelete
  24. GautamNovember 30, 2011 at 12:58 AM

    I heard this song play when Rohit Sharma got out in today's match in Cuttack!
    Not chennai, Cuttack!

    I just love this song. Reminds me of the time I spend with friends. I am sure a lot of the Chennai makkal sing like this for fun...

    ReplyDelete
  25. InsigniaDecember 6, 2011 at 9:43 PM

    Gautam,

    Yes, its senseless but fun :)

    ReplyDelete

I'd love to know what you thought :-) Please shoot!

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