'Kolaveri Di' is a rage: 14 million hits and counting

The track from the Tamil film 3 has become an overnight sensation online. The Guide spoke to its young music director on why the track has created a buzz across the country "Believe it or not, it was all impromptu, " says 21-year-old Anirudh Ravichander, music director of the superhit song, Why This Kolaveri Di for the Tamil movie 3.  The video, which was released on November 16 by Sony Music, already has 14 million hits and counting. The song has (despite its lyrics claiming to be a 'flop song') already gone viral on YouTube and social networking sites, becoming one of the top trending topics on Twitter. "I didn't expect it to become such a huge hit, " says the music director. So much so, even Amitabh Bachchan has tweeted about it: "Just heard Kolaveri after much talk on it... it's so original and catchy...congrats Dhanush and Aishwarya... love (sic)".  The debutant music director, who is fresh out of graduation college (he completed a BCom course from Loyola in Chennai), is lapping it all up. "I am on cloud nine, " he says.  But he isn't going overboard. "I have another nine songs to go and want to give them my best, " says Ravichander. The youngster is already getting many offers, including a few from Bollywood. But right now, 3 is his priority. "This (the movie project) is like my baby. I want to give it my complete attention, " he claims.  The song emerged, literally, out of the blue. The tune, claims Ravichander, came to him in five minutes flat. "The director (Aishwarya Dhanush) gave me the situation. Dhanush sir came after 10-15 minutes and started singing it, " he says. Dhanush gave the lyrics on the spot and since the casual usage of English gelled with the mood of the song, they decided to retain it for the entire song. Incidentally, Ravichander had Dhanush in mind when he was composing the song. "He has a raw voice which would suit the song. He sounds like a common man, who enjoys singing. When he started singing, Why this kolaveri kolaveri kolaveri di? we knew we were on right track, " he says. The tune was composed to make the song sound catchy. The lyrics fit the sequence in the movie in which a boy expresses his feelings about failing in love. Sung in far-from-correct English with a heavy South Indian accent and everyday words like "holy cow", the video shows Shruti Hassan, Dhanush, Aishwarya Dhanush and Ravichander recording the song in a studio and having a great time doing it. Apart from the heavy South Indian accent and the way the song is sung, there is nothing remarkable about the "Soup song" as it has come to be known. "It is funny because the lyrics have no meaning whatsoever. We had a ball while recording it, " recalls Ravichander. The music is a blend of South Indian rhythm, with guitar and saxophone. "It is like a nursery rhyme, " adds Ravichander who till now had only composed music for short films.