Why this Kolaveri... a hit?
16 million views on YouTube... Record sharing on Facebook & Twitter... Scores of cover versions... Dozens spoofs... Hundreds write-ups across umpteen publications... Caller tune for millions mobile subscribers... Wikipedia page... All this and more in just over 15 days of release.
According to folklore (yes, it has reached that stage), director Aishwarya wanted a lilting song on heartbreak and composer Anirudh Ravichander obliged. Singer Dhanush then supposedly came up with this song in just 20 minutes. He 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."
And everyone is wondering... What is in this song that makes it what it is? The lyrics are absolutely absurd, is sung by an occasional singer, video shot in a drab studio and the music is not out of ordinary... then why is everyone seems to be humming it not just over the length and breadth of the country but right across the planet?
Well... I have the answers right here... In fact, all the reasons have already been mentioned above. I will just reiterate them in different words.
Firstly, the lyrics are absolutely absurd, in Tanglish (Tamil + English) with only a couple of words in Tamil and the rest in all three letter English words, making it ultra simple for every Venky / John Doe / Pappu Pager / Santa Singh to recite it like just another nursery rhyme... think Baba Black sheep... Johnny Johnny Yes Papa...
Secondly, it is sung by an occasional singer, and in effect, we are all "occasional" singers... Some of us sing in bathrooms, some all alone inside a car, playing antakshari and a few bold ones sing karaoke. And almost all of us rue the fact that our voice is not as sweet as a Sonu Nigam or a Shreya Ghoshal whenever we try to sing one of their songs. But not when we sing Kolaveri... When we sing Kolaveri most of us believe and truly feel that we are singing better than the original singer.
Then have you noticed the beats? Doesn't matter which part of the world you are from. The first time you hear the song, you will feel at home... You will actually feel the beats belong to your region / religion / sect / group / band since they are quite simplistic and rustic. I have heard the cover versions in various languages and truthfully I have liked each one of them implying that the music is simply universal.
Lastly the song bemoans a heart broken lad dumped by his girlfriend. Well then, who in this world will not relate to it?
And finally the real reason... Yes, the above do contribute to the success but not even close to this one... Hold your breath... A song from a movie directed by Rajnikanth's daughter, sung by Rajnikanth's son-in-law and composed by Rajnikanth's nephew... Don't think the song had enough daring not to succeed.
According to folklore (yes, it has reached that stage), director Aishwarya wanted a lilting song on heartbreak and composer Anirudh Ravichander obliged. Singer Dhanush then supposedly came up with this song in just 20 minutes. He 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."
And everyone is wondering... What is in this song that makes it what it is? The lyrics are absolutely absurd, is sung by an occasional singer, video shot in a drab studio and the music is not out of ordinary... then why is everyone seems to be humming it not just over the length and breadth of the country but right across the planet?
Well... I have the answers right here... In fact, all the reasons have already been mentioned above. I will just reiterate them in different words.
Firstly, the lyrics are absolutely absurd, in Tanglish (Tamil + English) with only a couple of words in Tamil and the rest in all three letter English words, making it ultra simple for every Venky / John Doe / Pappu Pager / Santa Singh to recite it like just another nursery rhyme... think Baba Black sheep... Johnny Johnny Yes Papa...
Secondly, it is sung by an occasional singer, and in effect, we are all "occasional" singers... Some of us sing in bathrooms, some all alone inside a car, playing antakshari and a few bold ones sing karaoke. And almost all of us rue the fact that our voice is not as sweet as a Sonu Nigam or a Shreya Ghoshal whenever we try to sing one of their songs. But not when we sing Kolaveri... When we sing Kolaveri most of us believe and truly feel that we are singing better than the original singer.
Then have you noticed the beats? Doesn't matter which part of the world you are from. The first time you hear the song, you will feel at home... You will actually feel the beats belong to your region / religion / sect / group / band since they are quite simplistic and rustic. I have heard the cover versions in various languages and truthfully I have liked each one of them implying that the music is simply universal.
Lastly the song bemoans a heart broken lad dumped by his girlfriend. Well then, who in this world will not relate to it?
And finally the real reason... Yes, the above do contribute to the success but not even close to this one... Hold your breath... A song from a movie directed by Rajnikanth's daughter, sung by Rajnikanth's son-in-law and composed by Rajnikanth's nephew... Don't think the song had enough daring not to succeed.
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ReplyDeleteTill now I have not heard that song, though Iam Tamilian. But the noise that it has made is... Wow! This things strikes me that there are so many small things/concepts which can make difference (like Rupee symbol, Kollaveri, twitter, skype...)... Boss its time to do some thing! than just thinking 'oh this was so simple!'
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