ViralWorld

Why This Kolaveri Di

You might remember it as Kolaveri Di, Dhanush soup song

Viral classics17 of 40

2011·The social era·funny

The first Indian internet phenomenon at global scale, sung in a language most of its audience did not speak.

At a glanceThe facts

Remembered as
Kolaveri Di
Spread in
2011
Began as
A video upload
Where it started
youtube
Format
Video
Era
The social era
Performed by
Dhanush, who also wrote the words
Made by
Composed by Anirudh Ravichander, as his debut
Taken from
The soundtrack of the Tamil film 3
Language
Tanglish, a mix of Tamil and English
Origin
Origin not yet established
Available
Playable from the source

What this wasThe story

A studio recording session, filmed. Dhanush, a Tamil actor, sings a lovelorn complaint in Tanglish — Tamil grammar with English words, deliberately broken — over a simple loop, while the composer Anirudh Ravichander plays and the film's crew watch. It was released on 16 November 2011 as a promotional leak from the soundtrack of the film 3.

The prime minister of India invited Dhanush as a guest of honour. YouTube gave the video its own recognition awards. It launched Anirudh Ravichander's career and is still the reference point for any Indian song that breaks out online, more than a decade later.

Why it matteredWhat changed

A Tamil film song in a mix of Tamil and English leaked five days before its release and was watched ten million times in a fortnight. Flash mobs danced to it in Groningen and Auckland.

TimelineIn order

  1. Posted

    The song is reported to have leaked online by accident.1

  2. Posted

    It is officially released.1 What else happened on 16 November

  3. Took off

    #kolaveri is the top trend on Twitter in India, where it stays for three days.1

  4. Record

    The video has 10.5 million views on YouTube, two weeks after its release.1

What people misrememberSet straight

Commonly remembered asA planned viral release.

ActuallyIt leaked by accident, and the official release was brought out days later.1

Commonly remembered asNobody knows what the title means.

ActuallyIt translates as “Why this murderous rage, girl?”, and is not meant seriously.1

LegacyWhat it left behind

More from hereIn this collection

Why it is here: something the internet still knows by name · a moment that changed what the internet did next · it got out of its own corner of the internet fast · still being watched and quoted years later

The version shown here is an official copy on YouTube, published by a rights holder.

Where it came fromWhat we know

Original source uncertain. This is the earliest copy currently known.

View the official copy on YouTube

No original upload has been established for this record. The index is showing the earliest copy it currently knows about, and says so rather than guessing.

Not established. This index only names a creator where the evidence supports it.

More from 2011You were there

More from the social eraMore of the archive

SourcesWhat was read

  1. Wikipedia — Why This Kolaveri Di

Sources last read on . That date is about the history on this page. Whether the media still plays is checked separately and can change any day. How ViralWorld documents things

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