Secret behind 'Why this Kolaveri Di' song's success

I try to keep friendly conversation with the students outside the class, once a student from final year mechanical engineering asked me the meaning of the word ‘kolaveri’ thinking me as a Tamilian as ‘Kumar’ is my sir name even though its not my sir name. I told him I don’t know about that. He only continued that a song by name ‘Kolaveri Di’ has hit more than three million visits in three days of its release and going to hit ten million visits in a week or so. I came home in the evening around 7:00 PM even my room mate started to sing the same song ‘Why this Kolaveri Di’. Suddenly I remembered the song discussed with the student and checked on internet for more information on it.

The song had received more than ten million hits and the number is still increasing. I listened to the song; it turns out to be the mixture of mixture of Tamil and English. Even many had expressed their happiness listening to the music and the hits song has received in very less time. A few had expressed their anger as song doesn’t have any meaning and even the usage of language is not proper. But what is the secret of this song being getting popular? Many have downloaded the song and no wonder if you listen to it on bus or in anywhere else! Even if that count has kept it would have been surely in millions.

The song’s popularity lies in picturing the thinking of younger generation. The song has mainly caught the attention of youngsters in the age group of 20 to 30 may be with the significant number of outliers. In the college life and in the starting of professional career it is likely that a guy gets attracted towards his charming female colleague, even a smile or coffee with her makes his day. The pain guys feel when such charming girls get into a relationship with someone else or get engaged, the feelings are very difficult to express. The normal tendency of guys is to enjoy the pain with the hot drinks explaining their agony to friends with eyes full of tears and a glass of drinks in hand! Everyone will have crush or attraction towards opposite gender at one or the other point of time in life. All these are imbibed in the song with the flavor of regional English is one of the reasons for the success of song.

English words used in the song are quite familiar for the people of South India as the few words are very common in day to day life. Class pronounced as class-u, life pronounced as life-u, light pronounced as light-u and moon as moon-u are very common in Kannada and Tamil. Also, these are not so hi-fi words that anyone cannot understand. Sometimes even I heard n the campus faculty interacting with each other asking ‘class-aa?’ meaning to ask whether he or she has any class to teach. This is also one of the reasons for its popularity as the song closely connects to the speaking language.

Leaving these reasons, the songs popularity is in its newness. The combination of words and a song out of it was beyond imagination but now it is done. It is obvious that people like something new always.

We always like change!